Whaley was first elected to the Dayton City Commission in 2005. She was one of the youngest women chosen for a commission seat. Whaley served on the Montgomery County Board of Elections and as a deputy to Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith.[7][11] Whaley was elected mayor of Dayton in 2013, winning 56 percent of the vote.[12] In 2017, she was unopposed for reelection, making it the first uncontested mayoral race in the city's history since voters have elected the office separately.[13] Before her election as mayor she served on Greater Ohio's Community Revitalization Committee, the Learn to Earn Executive Committee for Education, the Montgomery County Planning Commission and the Dayton Access Television Board of Trustees.[7]
Mayor of Dayton
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Early in her time in office, Whaley founded the Dayton Region Manufacturing Task Force, which is "a regional effort committed to advocating for manufacturing and promoting a strong manufacturing workforce."[14] Initiatives like this and a surge of high tech and research jobs have spurred $600,000,000 in investment in the region.[15][16] During Whaley's term, the unemployment rate in the City of Dayton declined from 9.3% to 5.5%.[17] In 2015, Site Selection magazine named Dayton, which has strong economic ties to the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the overall second-best mid-sized city for new business expansion projects in the nation.[18]
Opioids
In response to a statewide surge in opioid-related drug overdoses, Whaley declared a citywide state of emergency and developed a needle exchange program. Dayton also began to ensure that first-responders had access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone.[19] Whaley has been consistently critical of the Government of Ohio for failing to adequately fund opioid treatment and recovery programs.[20] In 2017, Dayton was the fourth city in the country to sue the pharmaceutical companies, opioid drug distributors and physicians they say are responsible for Ohio's opioid addiction and overdose crisis.[21]
City of Learners and the Preschool Promise
The City of Learners initiative was launched by Whaley in early 2014 as a citywide effort to support Dayton's schools and students. A committee of community leaders and volunteers identified five areas of community focus: ensure all children attend a high quality school, ensure high quality preschool is offered to all children, increase business partnerships with schools, provide mentors to more children, and expand sites for after school and summer learning.[22]
In 2016, the City of Dayton voters passed a 0.25% income tax increase to support critical city services and to offer 1 year of affordable, quality Preschool to all Dayton families with a 4-year-old. This move institutionalized Preschool Promise in Dayton and provides sustained funding.[23]
Downtown revitalization
Whaley has placed significant emphasis on reviving the economy and culture of the Downtown Dayton area. As of 2015, she has drawn in over $200,000,000 in downtown investments and in a refocus of the region into new ventures; she has focused especially on the Arcade Building.[15] As a result of some new renewal efforts, new businesses have begun to move into the downtown area, including a number of small businesses and startups.[24][25][26]
Cycling and Housing
As a previous board member of the Bike Walk Dayton Committee, Whaley has taken significant steps towards making Dayton a bicycle friendly community. For instance, her administration oversaw the implementation of Dayton's first Bike Share program in 2015.[27] She is also a strong advocate for a county-wide landbank system to address the region's housing crisis with a more regional approach and serves on the Montgomery County Landbank Board.[28]
Dayton NAACP President Derrick Foward presents Community Service Award to Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
After a mass shooting occurred on August 4, 2019, she and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown accompanied President Donald Trump on a visit with survivors at the local hospital.[29] Ten people were killed, including the perpetrator; and twenty-seven were injured.[30] She joined over 200 mayors in encouraging Congress to act on gun control legislation that is already before them. The group included Dee Margo, the mayor of El Paso, Texas, where a shooting occurred the day before.[31] According to Dayton NAACP President Derrick Foward, Whaley received the Dayton Unit NAACP Community Service Award for the leadership she provided in guiding the City of Dayton through the violent and horrific mass shooting that took place in the Historic Oregon District.
Ahead of the 2018 election cycle, Whaley considered a run for Congress before declaring her candidacy for governor of Ohio.[32] On May 8, 2017, Whaley announced that she was running for governor in the 2018 election on a platform of job creation.[33] She dropped out of the race on January 12, 2018, and endorsed Richard Cordray.[34]
On April 19, 2021, Whaley announced her candidacy in the 2022 Ohio gubernatorial election.[35] She faced former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley for the Democratic nomination to be Governor of Ohio. On May 3, Whaley won the Democratic primary election and became the Democratic nominee for Ohio Governor.[36] This made her the first woman to win a major party nomination to run for governor of Ohio and, because she was running with Cheryl Stephens, part of the first all-female ticket nominated by a major party for governor and lieutenant governor in that state.[37] Whaley and Stephens lost the race to incumbent Mike DeWine getting 37.2% of votes to DeWine's 62.8%. Whaley gave her concession speech on November 8, 2022, in Dayton, Ohio.[38]
Personal life
In 1998, she settled in the Five Oaks neighborhood in Dayton where she and her husband Sam reside today.[6]
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