By Jeff Wellbaum

February 28, 2009 7:58 PM | Link to this

Speech they never allowed me to give at screening for Commissioner: I am an Iraq War Veteran who wants to help Dayton. Leadership For A 21st Century Dayton I am pleased to be here today to appear before the screening board fo r the Republican endorsement for City of Dayton Commissioner. The City of Dayton is at a major crossroad in history. We are experiencing difficult economic times in a changing economy, in a changing world. Forbes Magazine, las year named Dayton one of the fastest dying citiies in the United States. And the Dayton Daily News cited another Forbes ranking Dayton as one of the five emptiest U.S. cities. In addition another report stated that Montgomery County has lost 41.5 percent of its manufacturing jobs in the past seven years which is another example of the dire economic times we are in. Mayor McLin, who has been Mayor of Dayton during that time period, has had ample time to help create an environment which will retain and attract new manufacturing jobs and other types of jobs to Dayton and the Miami Valley. She has failed as a leader. It is time for new leadership in Dayton. It is time for “Leadership For A 21st Century Dayton.” Dayton has a proud heritage and promising futue. We are a city of Innovation and Invention. The City of Dayton and the Miami Valley is the home of the Wright Brothers, John H. Patterson, and Charles F. Kettering. Our creativity and ingenuity has been an inspiration and has helped lead the United States to prominence as the world’s sole superpower. We have been through times before such as the Flood of 1913, the Great Depression, and World War II. We have survived and prospered after these tough times and we will emerge again as the proverbial phoenix that rises out of the ashes. As conservatives we must emphasize a free market economy that emphasizes competition, not government hand outs. We must be independent and not dependent on a nanny-state, socialistic government. During my campaign for City of Dayton Commissioner, I will focus on creative and realistic solutions to our problems and try to emphasize the positive over the negative. It will require teamwork and hard work. Anything is possible. One of my four campaign themes will be to try to improve the downtown environment to attract businesses and try to lower the tax burden to attract and retain businesses to Dayton. Secondly, I will work with the Dayton Board of Education to try to improve our schools. I want to start a program called “Children First” which will focus on family values and involve parents, teachers, students, and others in the community working together to improve the overall education of our children. Also, another campaign priority of mine will be to focus on veteran’s issues to help improve their quality of life and improve care at the Dayton VA. Without our veterans we would not have our freedom. Finally, I want to start a program called the “Electric Youth” Initiative which will get children involved positively in the Dayton community. Dayton and the Miami Valley have been devastated by the loss of GM, Delphi, and other manufacturing jobs. It will be imperative that we retain and attract more jobs through our other base businesses in Dayton-Wright Patterson, NCR, and Mead-Westavco. As stated before we must do everything possible to retain and attract jobs to Dayton by trying to lower the tax rate, emphasizing a free-market economy, and creating a friendly business environment in downtown Dayton. Also, I want to work with Kroger’s to negotiate a possible Kroger Marketplace at the current site on Smithville Road. I also want to try to get Kroger or another major grocer to open up a much needed grocery store in West Dayton. Finally, I will propose to work with Congressman Turner and David Bohardt to restore and revitalize Dayton. Education is critical for our city. It has a special place in my heart because I am an aspiring teacher, cross-country, and track and field coach. I am frustrated by the liberal mentality that you have to spend countless amounts of money to educate children. (more) cell:231-9378