Dayton — A new mayor for the city of Dayton after a special city commission meeting was held on Monday morning.
Former city commissioner and Mayor-Elect Jeff Mims, Jr., is now known as Mayor Jeff Mims. He was sworn in on Monday morning, along with two other city commission members.
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On Monday, people gathered at the main library in downtown Dayton and honored the swearing-in of Jeff Mims, Jr. who is now the 57th mayor of the city of Dayton.
Mims was surrounded by his children, grandchildren and wife as he took the oath of office. Mims served as city commissioner for the last eight years, but said he’s still coming to grips with stepping into this office.
“It’s so unbelievable. It was just not on my list of things to do,” Mims said.
The new mayor told News Center 7 that decades of work in Dayton has prepared him for working to help people find common ground.
“I always found a way to pull people together. It’s been my primary strength – uniting people around common goals,” he said,
Mims will start with uniting a new commission, with a couple of holdovers, plus Darryl Fairchild being elected to his first full four-year term and the addition of newcomer Shenise Turner-Sloss.
They were also sworn in on Monday.
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“The time is unique. The time is now for us to get in there and roll up our sleeves to do the work,” Turner-Sloss said.
She, along with Fairchild, are strong advocates for strengthening the city’s neighborhood and boosting the people that live there.
“To make sure we have affordable housing. Make sure the roads are paved, the sidewalks are smooth, and that people can actually walk,” Turner-Sloss said.
According to Mims, “Actually, we spend about 75 percent of our budget in neighborhoods.”
Mims said his focus is on neighborhoods as well as keeping downtown investments flowing. However, he said at one point the city is spending $138 million worth of America Rescue Plan funding on many of the suggestions of neighborhood residents.
“Look around, we have more in common than what we don’t agree on,” Mims said.
He continued by saying some of the challenges facing the city are old ones that have been around for years, while others are new brought on by the pandemic. Mims said he believes the team is in place to find solutions and serve the city.
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