Two seats are up for grabs on the Dayton City Commission, with four candidates vying for the spots. Long-term incumbents Dean Lovelace and Matt Joseph have both been in office throughout the recession, while opponents Mark Manovich and William Pace are running for the first time. Dayton Daily News Reporter Jeremy Kelley has been coving the City Commission race, and he says the big question is whether voters feel the incumbents could have done more to improve Dayton’s economy.
“Those incumbents can point to experience managing a city in tough times, but their opponents can say, ‘you were in office for these tough times and you couldn’t turn things around. ’ So it comes down to how much residents think a city commission could have turned things around. ”
Those tough times have been reflected in the city’s population loss - almost 25,000 people in the last decade.
“What’ll be interesting is where do voters come from?” Kelley says, “Do certain areas of the city see their power diminish at all? The population trends in the city, what areas have lost the most people could have a strong impact on who is elected. ”
More information on each candidates platform can be found on their campaign websites:
Matt Joseph: mattjoseph.com
Dean Lovelace: www.re-electdeanlovelace.com
Mark Manovich: www.markfordayton.com
William Pace: williampacefordaytoncitycommission.com