Nan Whaley

Personal life and education

Whaley grew up in Indiana, but has lived in Ohio since attending the University of Dayton, where she earned her B.S. in Chemistry. Whaley also has a M.P.A. from Wright State University where she previously served as an Adjunct Professor. She is a member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church and a graduate of Leadership Miami Valley.

Career

Whaley was first elected to the Dayton City Commission in 2005, Nan was one of the youngest women ever chosen for a commission seat. Nan served on the Montgomery County Board of Elections and as a deputy to Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith. Whaley was elected mayor of Dayton in 2013, winning 56 percent of the vote. 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.

Early in her political career Whaley, while in college, was instrumental in reorganizing the College Democrats and later served as Ohio Chair of the College Democrats. Whaley is also a three time delegate to the Democratic National Convention, worked for John Kerry's presidential campaign, and served as a presidential elector. Whaley considered a run for Congress before declaring candidacy for Ohio governor.

Economic development

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." Initiatives like this and a surge of high tech and research jobs have spurred $600,000,000 in investment in the region. Since Whaley was sworn into office on January 4, 2014, the unemployment rate in the City of Dayton has declined from 9.3% to 5.7%. In 2015, Site Selection magazine named Dayton, which has strong economic ties to the nearby Wright Patterson Air Force Base, the second-best mid-sized city for business expansion projects in the nation.

Addressing 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 accessed to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone. Whaley has been consistently critical of the Government of Ohio for failing to adequately fund opioid treatment and recovery programs.

Downtown revitalization

Whaley has placed significant emphasis on reviving the economy and culture of the Downtown Dayton area. She has done so through drawing 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. 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.

Accessibility

As a 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. 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.