Reconstructing
Dayton

We are an organization dedicated to and in support of practical, common-sense solutions for Montgomery County and the Greater Dayton area. We believe Montgomery county issues are Dayton issues and vice-versa, and that issues can only be solved through close collaboration across the region.

Our solutions are non-partisan, and seek to find common ground on both sides. Any candidate who makes producing results their priority over party or political careerism is an automatic ally of Reconstructing Dayton.

It's time to change elections in Dayton.

Reconstructing Dayton is working to improve the efficiency and fairness of our local elections, and want your help. Learn more about our petition and what you can do to play a part.

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The Inefficiencies of the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office: A Deeper Look at Bonuses

Feb 15, 2021 | Corruption, Investigative Reporting

We put out public records requests to counties around Ohio to see if the bonus system of the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office is standard practice. Our research indicates that it is not. In this post we parse through the data and try to figure out why the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office is run differently than other counties.

Should Government Employees be Involved in Politics?

Jan 8, 2021 | Patronage

Mohamed Al-Hamdani argues that a provision in the City of Dayton Charter prohibiting city employees from participating in political activities is unconstitutional. We look at the history of such restrictions along with Supreme Court precedent to argue that Al-Hamdani is making a disingenuous argument. Striking this provision from the charter would open the doors to political corruption in ways that would help the political party Al-Hamdani is an active member of.

Heck Uses Bonuses to Circumvent Ohio Administrative Code

Jan 5, 2021 | Corruption, Investigative Reporting

In our coverage of the bonus scandal from the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, we first looked at how Mat Heck has provided bonuses averaging $8,851.35 to employees in 2020. Then we looked at Heck’s history of graft and previous reports that called him out for misusing public funds. Today we look at the powers prosecutors hold and how Heck’s use of extravagant bonuses amounts to an illegal abuse of that power by tipping the scales against the public defender’s office.

Regional Cooperation

Our ultimate goal is county-wide government, reducing the number of public safety departments to one, street maintenance to one, etc. County collections of taxes will be distributed based on span of control calculations, with those with the widest spans getting the most bonus money. We believe that consolidating services county-wide will result in increased efficiency that will decrease the tax-burden on Montgomery County citizens. Read more…

the plan

On the Issues

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Fair Property Tax

The value of your property shouldn’t change based on the value of your neighbors’ property. The price you pay should be the price your property is valued at. Forcing people out of their homes because of rising valuation is discriminatory. Anyone who keeps up the exterior of their home shouldn’t be penalized for improvements. Gentrification shouldn’t be a government assisted program. Read more…

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Ranked-Choice Voting

We elect politicians using primaries that no one shows up to and give the two major political parties all the power. It’s time to change the way we elect officials and ensure they represent everyone. Ranked-choice voting brings compromise, efficiency, and fairness to elections. Maine has adopted ranked-choice voting and we can, too. Read more…

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Borders that Make Sense

You wouldn’t buy a house with a living room divided by a property line. Why do we have cities that sprawl into multiple counties, congressional districts shaped like crescents, and cities with territories outside their boundaries like miniature imperial states? It’s about time we redrew our boundaries so maps correlate to economic and geographic realities.

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Fair Tax Abatement

Tax abatement has often been used to reward political donors and friends rather than spur economic development. We believe that tax abatement should be standardized by a specific rubric that disallows politicians from arbitrarily picking winners and losers. Tax abatement should be used to incentivize businesses to join the Dayton community, not as a kickback for political allies.

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Support of Non-Traditional Candidates

Support in getting signatures, ballot initiatives and fair ballot access for all who support our causes. We’ll also help create websites, manage campaigns, and help promote those who agree to campaign finance limits.

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Honest & Accessible Political Contributions

The current Montgomery County Board of Elections site is not ADA compliant. There is no searchable database of donors. In order for this to be both ADA compliant, transparent, and actually useful, all data should be entered in real time in a searchable format. Read more….

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Education Reform

Sure, the public schools are working in our well to do communities, but in the poorer districts, we’re failing. The State funding formula was ruled unconstitutional over 20 years ago. We’re still failing. It’s time to radically change the way we look at the conventional school year, and the many systems we have in place.

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Eliminate Unfair Business Regulations

This isn’t the free parking pool in Monopoly, individual home rules have their limits. Limiting medical marijuana outlets is unfair to those that have medical needs. This is only one example of discriminatory and random legislation.

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