Montgomery County candidates share ideas with young professionals

Before the presidential candidates clashed in their first debate, five people vying for two seats on the Montgomery County commission pitched their ideas and resumes at a public forum in the hopes of wooing a crowd of mostly young potential voters.

The UpDayton candidate forum at the Dayton Racquet Club this evening drew a diverse group of visitors and young professionals who listened to commission candidates answer questions on a wide-range of topics, including their views on the biggest challenges facing the region and its most promising assets and opportunities.

Candidates generally agreed that heroin is one of the largest and most devastating community problems. But candidates have different views of how to effectively address the illegal drug epidemic.

Democratic Commissioner Judy Dodge, who is seeking a fourth term, said the county has helped fund programs to combat heroin addiction through new residential treatment beds and other interventions.

The county has been very proactive to work on solutions to prevent people from getting hooked on drugs or get them help if they become addicted, Dodge said.

Incumbent Democratic Commissioner Debbie Lieberman said the county has worked hard to identify best practices across the state and nation for combating heroin abuse.

The county is working closely with community partners and other groups to share information and try to develop and implement a collective impact model that puts all stakeholders on the same page, Lieberman said.

Bob Matthews, the Republican candidate who is running against Dodge, said heroin has been a problem in the county for years, but it does not seem enough progress is being made by current commissioners to stem the tide of drug abuse.

“I believe our county commissioners are working hard, but I don’t think they are doing the right thing,” said Matthews, a Miami Twp. trustee.

Gary Leitzell, the former mayor of Dayton who is Lieberman’s Republican opposition, said he has proposed heroin-assisted treatment for years, which has proven effective in other countries at reducing the crime rate, drug overdoses and drug addiction.

Lieberman and Leitzell also are competing against write-in candidate Lillie Wright, who is a minister and former Dayton priority board member.

Candidates were asked what they would do to attract and retain young talented workers to the region.

Leitzell described himself as a “calculated risk-taker” who doesn’t view the commission seat as a long-term career. Leitzell said the county has too many vacant homes and many thousands of jobs that cannot be filled, but he’s the right person to boost tourism and better promote the region to lure people here to meet the unmet workforce needs.

He said as mayor he helped increase the number of likes to the city of Dayton’s Facebook page to 22,000 from 2,000. He said he would use his social media skills and knowledge to increase the online presence of the county, the convention and visitors bureau and the Dayton region.

“This is a world-class city that we live in, and the more people who believe in it, the more people who don’t live here will believe in it, and we can turn this whole thing around,” Leitzell said.

Matthews portrayed himself as a savvy businessman who would use his experience in the private sector to make the county run more efficiently.

Matthews

“I think I could help set the tone for the county to make it more business friendly to take advantage of the wonderful amenities we have,” he said.

The county has added thousands of jobs in recent years and it has strategic plan that outlines how to build on that momentum and develop the future workforce through job training and other supports, Lieberman said.

The county is opening a business solutions center to help meet the needs of employers, and it has established a micro-grant program to give companies some financial assistance to expand their operations or payrolls, Lieberman said.

“I believe in investing in people — and that’s from the smallest business to the largest Fuyao business,” she said.

Dodge said she hopes to engage more young professionals by asking them to sit on some of the county’s 40 decision-making boards. She said the county has partnered with UpDayton and local universities to work on outreach with young people.

She said the county has made internships a priority, which can young people work experience and exposure to local career paths.

Dodge, who has served on the commission since 2006, said she helped weather the tsunami that was the Great Recession and the loss of GM and NCR.

But she said the county is headed in the right direction and its focus and investments in workforce development will bolster future job growth.

She said the county also has hosted small-business rallies to connect entrepreneurs with the resources they need or their questions answered about how to start a new business.

“We’ve got great things going on,” she said.

Wright, the write-in candidate, said local citizens need better economic opportunities and the community must come together to make those available.

Other topics of discussion included race relations with the sheriff’s office, the city of Dayton’s proposed income tax hike on the November ballot and the decision of some local jurisdictions to ban medical marijuana.

The Dayton Daily News will have a full, in-depth look at the county commission candidates later this week. Candidates also sat down for interviews with WHIO Reports, which airs on Saturday.