News will be slow for a while. In case anyone didn't know, I am the Mayor-Elect of Dayton Ohio. The race has been described as the "Big Upset" locally and may be national news very soon. I am an Independent candidate. I won the election on a budget of $17,000. There was no special interest money donated to my campaign. The incumbent spent at least $120,000 and had the full backing of the Ohio Democratic Party as well as the Montgomery County Democratic party. Six of the nine political mailings done by the incumbent were negative about me. I had no money for mailings. We went door-to-door. I had the backing of the voters of Dayton which trumped the political machine.
If the incumbent had read this blog and understood the enormous task that this house presented, maybe she would not have underestimated my capabilities.
Update;
The incumbent spent $134,000 and had an additional $60,000 in-kind donations. My money expenditures were $17000 and I had an additional $5000 in-kind. You don't need big money or a whole lot of support from a political party in order to win a mayoral election. Working smart and good timing can beat money and an established name in the political arena. Even a two term incumbent, democratic party super delegate.
From log house to farmhouse. Farmhouse to townhouse. Townhouse to apartment house. Apartment house to crack house. Crack house to our house. Our house to our home.
18 comments:
Major congratulations!!!! I hope you'll be able to get a lot of the ideas you've mentioned on the blog implemented. Dayton will be a better place for it!
My mom is from Dayton, raised in Fairborn, so I am glad you beat the system. She passed away recently, but I recall visiting relatives a couple years back and driving through Dayton was eye opening. My mom was sad to see the state it was in, how it had really had gone "downhill" from her days at Julienne in the late 40s. I hope you can do good for Dayton.
I hope liberty prevails in Dayton, not democracy!
-1916home.net
Congratulations Gary!
Us housebloggers are the type that aren't afraid to jump in and get their hands dirty to get the job done, this country could use more elected officials like that.
Good luck!
Congratulations! I told all of my Dayton people to vote for you. ;) Good luck on your new adventure!
I used to enjoy going to Dayton, but you couldn't get me to go there in less than an up armoured Humvee with a mini-gun on it, let alone take my Wife to some of once favorite places to eat. I hope you can undo what has been done the last few years and sweep out the scum. GOOD LUCK!!
Congratulations to you!
All the best to you and your family as a new test of your skills and patience commences. Please update the blog occasionally even if you don't have time for the crack house during your mayoral term.
Congratulations Gary! Hooray for Dayton!
-Folksy Lady
Congrats! My wife and I almost bought a house in Dayton before finding another old house in Middletown. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you clean that city up! Make Dayton great once again!
Congrats!!! I've followed your blog since discovering it while googling "refinishing floors with shellac" (or something along those lines). Your story gave me encouragement when I would get overwhelmed by the daunting task of restoring my old house. I followed your run for mayor with interest, as a UD alumni, I was sad to hear of Dayton's decline. Good luck and I hope to see positive changes when I visit Dayton in two years for my class reunion!
Congratulations! Show 'em how it's done :)
WOW! Now I can brag that I knew the mayor before he was mayor. I live in a depressed area of an Ohio city and reading your blog made me laugh about the travails of fixing up a house in the ghetto. Congrats - can't wait to see the improvements you've got in store for your city!
Woot! Go Gary!
I have been reading your blog on and off for a couple of years now. I, too, have an old house and it's always helpful to read other's trials and tribulations. I don't live in Ohio and never had, but on the Wednesday after the election I found myself Googling the Dayton news to find out who won. A thousand congratulations to you and I wish you all the best in bringing positive change to your city!
Wow!~ Congratulations! Just goes to show you people and ideas CAN trump money in politics.
Yay! Gary. Congrats Mr. Mayor.
Congratulations, Gary!
Way to go! On this particular day (Saturday, March 20) as our Congress is about to place a permanent curse on this nation, I believe Independents are about to become much more the norm than the exception. My husband first ran as an Independent for our local School Board in 2004 and was told by the registrar, "You can't win in this county if you don't run as a Democrat". (Northeast Arkansas HAS BEEN a deeply entrenched Democrat territory since Reconstruction). But he beat a 20-year incumbent 60-40%, and won again five years later against another "popular" person.
Six years ago he decided to run for County Judge, again as an IDEPENDENT...long story short, he is now running for a fourth term, and three of his four opponents are running as Independents!
However, I am greatly intrigued by your use and research of shellac. I am looking for a finish for faux-finished (sponge-painted) concrete floors and extremely dissatisfied with the "plastic" water-based finishes. As my paint colors are dark, the sealer shows every shoe print as a "scuff"...I just wonder how shellac would perform? I was thinking of putting it right on top of the water-base sealer...what do you think? I'm not that concerned about durability, and any boo-boos could be healed with more shellac, right?
I have not tried shellac over concrete. I don't see why it wouldn't work though. I have put shellac on tile though as an experiment. It gives it an amber color depending on how much you apply.
On our floors I have applied a wiping coat of polyurethane (oil based)over the shellac to protect it from water and then a coat of furniture wax applied with super fine steel wool, then buffed. That last step makes a big difference and dulls the high gloss. It's fun watching the cats glide across the floors!
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