DAYTON, Ohio – Just days after the world marked the start of a new year, Dayton residents and officials gathered to celebrate the beginning of a new era in the Gem City.

​On Monday morning, Jeffrey Mims Jr. – a former Dayton City Commissioner and local educator – was sworn in as mayor of his hometown during a ceremony at Dayton Metro Library on East Third Street in downtown.

Darryl Fairchild also took the oath of office to begin a second term on Dayton City Commission. Commissioner Shenise Turner-Sloss was sworn in for her first term. 

The event took place less than a half-mile from where they’ll join City Commissioners Matt Joseph and Chris Shaw for this new term on the City Commission. Their first meeting is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m.

“It's hard to express in terms of words. Being in this community all my life, and having so many people come out to support me is reassuring that we're moving in the right direction,” Mims said.

Mims moved to the area with his parents when he was 2 months old. He made the decision to stay in Dayton, grow up in the city and remain there to raise his children. On Monday, he was surrounded by his three grandchildren as he assumed the highest elected position in Dayton.

After 40 years of public service, I was sworn in as the 57th Mayor of Dayton today by my grandchildren and family. I’m grateful for this honor and excited to get to work on behalf of our great city.

Whatever challenges we may face, we will conquer them together! pic.twitter.com/ue5w1CUJwP

— Mayor Jeffrey J. Mims, Jr. (@MayorMims) January 3, 2022

“I thank my friends and colleagues, and also the teachers and coaches in the school system for the great work they did with my children. I measure their success based on the fact that my kids don’t ask me for money anymore,” Mims joked.

Building relationships, communities

Mims thanked the people who've helped raise him over the past 74 years in this city. He stressed his desire to continue to give back and work to improve the life of his fellow Dayton residents.

Derrick L. Foward, longtime president of the Dayton Unit NAACP, said that won’t be a problem for Mims. He called him a “natural bridge builder.”

“Whether it’s been as a commissioner or an educator or representing union workers, Jeff has always had a great ability to work with all different kinds of personalities,” Foward said. “You’ve got to be able to cultivate those personalities and nurture those relationships so that at the end of the day, you get the desired result. And I believe that he will do that.”

Foward has known Mims in various capacities over the years. 

Both graduated from Central State University, a public, historically black university in Wilberforce, Ohio, about 20 miles from Dayton. In professional settings, they’ve worked together on several projects related to everything from economic-inclusion efforts to police reform.

The Oregon District in Dayton, Ohio (AP)

In June 2020, the Dayton-area NAACP branch authored a list of eight demands to all law enforcement agencies in Montgomery County in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis and a national movement for changes in community policing.

Around the same time, the city of Dayton was undergoing its own set of police reforms. Working groups made up of city leaders and the community reviewed the Dayton Police Department’s policies and procedures looking for areas of improvement. Mims chaired the use-of-force group.

The department has implemented some of the more than 140 recommendations. Others are partially implemented or still under review. Mims has vowed to continue that progress under new police chief Kamran Afzal. He said it’s about reestablishing public trust with the police.

“I have great faith in Jeff,” Foward said. “I think he's the man for the job at this moment in Dayton’s history.”

Mims has seen great highs and tremendous lows during his time in Dayton. Unfortunately, now is one of those difficult times.

The challenges are daunting – neighborhood blight, a need for more local job creation and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But Mims doesn’t feel Dayton should be singled out; those issues are being faced in cities across the country.

Mims said Dayton has actually made considerable progress in the past decade, especially during the last eight years he’s served alongside other commissioners and outgoing Mayor Nan Whaley, who was in attendance Monday. Dayton has managed to “move faster in the last eight years than we had in the 30 years prior to it.”

He expects to see more of the same this term. And those surrounding him – both personally, and professionally – see no reason why that shouldn’t be the case.

The makeup and energy of his colleagues at City Hall excites Mims as they bring diversity of thought, unique backgrounds and experience and “a lot of positive energy.”

Turner-Sloss said as a native Daytonian, and seventh-ever female commissioner, this is a dream come true.

“To now serve my community, it means a great deal,” she said. “I just look forward to doing the work. Not only that, I think this is an opportunity to create that new pipeline of leadership in the city of Dayton.”

Strengthening neighborhoods by growing the economy

When Cara Chitwood first moved to the area eight years ago, it felt to her like the city was struggling. She said over the past few years that’s changed.

“It feels like Dayton is growing and thriving. Even after the hardships of the Oregon District shooting and COVID, it feels like a close-knit community,” said Chitwood, who lives about four miles from downtown Dayton near Riverside.

It’s not uncommon for Chitwood and her husband to unexpectedly run into friends any night of the week when they’re downtown. She’s a big fan of the development taking place in the Fireblocks District — and she hopes to see more of that type of growth in the future.

“Dayton is a nice place to live because it has a lower cost of living while still providing the perks of a big city. My friends and I always call it a big city with a small town feel,” she said. “I’d like to keep it that way.”

Dayton City Hall (Spectrum News)

Chris Kershner, president and CEO of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, said the region was experiencing “good economic growth” prior to the pandemic and “that growth did not slow during COVID” in part because of the leadership at City Hall. He said that work over the past two years has given Dayton a “leg up” now that things are starting to reopen. 

“We have a strategic advantage as a region because we haven't stopped. We've continued to make the right investments. We've continued to put the right policies and procedures in place to support our economic growth,” Kershner said.

One of the biggest opportunities is the federal COVID recovery dollars. Dayton has $138 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding which the city aims to use to “disrupt multi-generational poverty, income and health disparities in targeted geographies,” according to a city report released Dec. 8.

Last term, the city turned to the community for feedback on how to use the money. The funds will go into six key investment areas:

• Neighborhoods
• Amenities
• Projects that had major catalytic impact (spur other investment)
• City organization projects
• Community proposals
• Small business support

“We, the business community, look forward to working with Mayor Mims,” Kershner said. “We're excited about the different vision he could bring to the city, but we know that he always has the business community as a priority.”

Going into the election, Mims’ platform centered around quality-of-life issues, such as economic development and neighborhood revitalization. He called the growing number of abandoned properties a “No. 1 concern” of residents.

Kershner said social vibrancy of a community plays a huge role in its economic vitality. Affordable cost of living, well-maintained neighborhoods, social amenities – think parks, breweries and sports franchises – make a city inviting to not only investors, but top talent as well.

Dayton has one of the “best arts communities I've ever seen,” he added.

“It’s those kinds of things that people want, that people strive for and that people move to communities for. That's why we're seeing growth in this area and that's why businesses are following them to Dayton,” Kershner said.

On the campaign trail, Mims promised would-be voters that he’d do his best to improve the lives and economic well-being of Dayton residents. His plan to do so includes a series of job-creation initiatives and efforts to lure back manufacturing jobs and attract talent.

Being able to attract young professionals to the city proper will be important in the coming years. Changes to work-from-home rules will likely lead to lower than anticipated income tax revenue, per the Dayton Daily News. In its proposed budget for 2022, the city uses one-time sources, such as federal relief money, to offset those losses. New revenue sources will be needed in the future if income revenues don’t improve, however.

Historically, the manufacturing industry has always been Dayton’s “bread and butter,” Kershner said. He called finding ways to attract those jobs back to the region “extremely important” to Dayton’s long-term future.

Mims said he’s up for the challenge.

“Dayton is a great city. But we have the potential to make this an even greater city,” he added. “We need to focus on working together to make it happen.”