Darryl Fairchild won a Dayton City Commission seat in Tuesday’s May 8 primary over opponent Daryl Ward. Fairchild has run for city commission before. He’ll fill the open seat left by former city commissioner Joey Williams, who stepped down in February.
Fairchild’s victory was too close to call for much of the night. He won with around 52 percent of the vote, with Ward claiming 48 percent of more than 12,000 ballots cast.
Minister Fairchild manages the chaplaincy at Dayton Children’s Hospital.
His opponent was also a faith leader. Pastor Daryl Ward is senior pastor at Omega Baptist Church. He’s also served on a number of Dayton-area boards, including Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and the Omega Community Development Corporation.
Ward’s entry into the city commissioner’s race followed his withdrawal from the more crowded Montgomery County Commissioner's race.
Williams announced his departure in February, citing work obligations. Williams was reelected to the Dayton City Commission less than four months before his resignation.
Fairchild has long advocated for increased revitalization efforts in the city’s neighborhoods - this is his 2nd attempt to join the commission - and says he's eager to begin work with his new counterparts.
"What do we have to do around jobs, economic development, neighborhood development, schools, to create Dayton to be a place that's attractive, where families want to move and be a part of," he says. "And so, I think we should start that conversation in a broader way and then see how that shifts our thinking to move forward."
The new commissioner says he’ll also continue to call for the fiscal responsibility that former commissioner Williams was known for.
