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Michelle Collins
Age: 48
Education: Heidelberg College; Cape Cod Community College; and Wright State University with concentration in accounting. Real estate courses at Hondros College.
Profession: Co-owner of Collins Real Estate Services in Miamisburg. Licensed real estate agent for about 25 years and licensed real estate broker for about 15 years.
Affiliations: Charter member of the Miamisburg Optimists; Current - Board of the Baum Opera House; children's program docent for the Miamisburg Historical Society; former Wee Vikes board member.
Ryan Colvin
Age: 37
Education: Miamisburg High School graduate; The Ohio State University, bachelor's degree, political science.
Profession: Bailiff, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Katherine Huffman, since 2005.
Affiliations: Current Miamisburg vice mayor; city council member since 2008; 2002 Montgomery County Young Republican of the Year, 2002; Montgomery County Republican Party Man of the Year, 2003; Current - Montgomery County Republican Party Miamisburg 3-B precinct captain; Miamisburg Wee Vikes Volunteer; Miamisburg Basketball Association volunteer; Past - son of the American Legion Post 165; and Miamisburg Minerva Lodge.
Bob Davis
Age: 57
Education: Stebbins High School graduate, Miami Valley Hospital School of Respiratory Therapy, California College of Health Sciences. Certified cardio-pulmonary technician, certified pulmonary function technician, assistive technology professional.
Profession: Territory business manager for Invacare for 13 years; 35 years in profession.
Affiliations: Current - member of: Miami Valley Fire District Board of Trustees; Miamisburg Board of Housing, Building and Zoning Appeals; Eagles; American Legion; Miamisburg Rotary; Past - member of: Miamisburg Parks and Recreation Board; Urban Forestry Advisory Board; Cystic Fibrosis, Miami Valley Chapter Board of Directors.
Greg Thompson
Age: 35
Education: Miamisburg High School graduate; University of Dayton, bachelor's degree; Regis University, MBA.
Profession: Vaccine territory manager, Pfizer Pharmaceutical. Employed with Pfizer since 2004.
Experience: Current - Miamisburg City Councilman; member of the Miami Valley Communications Council executive board; member, BOGG Ministries executive board, volunteer, Blessings in a Bag; and past member, Miamisburg Board of Zoning Appeals.
Four Republicans are vying for three at-large seats on the Miamisburg City Council in next month’s primary election.
Michelle Collins, Bob Davis, and incumbents Ryan Colvin and Greg Thompson will be on the May 5 ballot for the 2015 election. The three who win the most votes will face incumbent Democrat Charles Case in November for four-year terms that pay $10,640 annually.
This is the first Republican primary for at-large seats since 2007. Collins, a 48-year-old real estate broker, is running for council for the first time while the 57-year-old Davis, a health care manager, is seeking a council seat for the second time, having lost to Ward 2 incumbent Sarah Clark two years ago, according to the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
Colvin, 37, is the city’s vice mayor. The Montgomery County court bailiff was first elected to council in 2007 and faced no opposition four years ago. That’s when Thompson, a 35-year-old health care manager, was elected after losing in 2009 to incumbent Ward 4 Councilman Michael McCabe.
Miamisburg in the past few years has worked to attract jobs to Interstate 75’s Austin interchange area, where it has a tax-sharing agreement with Miami Twp. and Springboro. It has also focused efforts to lure more commerce to the Mound Business Park, a 300-acre site and former nuclear research facility, while working jointly with Miami Twp. and forming a consolidated fire district.
More recently, the council approved five-year water and sewer rate hikes to finance $69 million in upgrades to those systems. Meanwhile, it has revamped Miamisburg’s strategic plan, highlights of which include more emphasis on city services, infrastructure and downtown redevelopment amid actions in the state legislature that have cut local tax dollars.
Heading into 2015, Miamisburg froze wages for non-union employees while projecting an operating budget with a deficit of about $600,000, City Manager Keith Johnson said. Last week council approved a scaled down master plan for Riverfront Park, passing a $10 million proposal that slashed more than $7 million from the initial concept adopted in 2008.
The Dayton Daily News asked each of the four candidates what are the two most significant issues facing the city in the next four years as voters head into the 2015 election.
Michelle Collins
Avoiding budget deficits while focusing on downtown development and attracting jobs
“Careful thought out spending cuts need to be considered,” she noted. “Miamisburg has come a long way in revitalizing our downtown and that needs to continue. Attracting new business owners is key to attracting visitors and employing people here. With potential revenue losses, we need to find a way to keep the revitalization moving forward and finding ways to help fund that.”
Ryan Colvin
Maintaining city services and focusing on a strong local economy
“It’s important that we continue to provide services to our residents as cost effectively as possible, even in the face of potential further revenue cuts from the state,” he stated. “It’s also critical that we sustain our aggressive economic development program to keep bringing in the jobs of the 21st century to our city and also make sure that we retain all of our current companies within our city limits.”
Bob Davis
The water and sewer project, and city budget concerns
“The transparency of those expenditures,” Davis noted about the water and sewer work, “the communication of progress and features of each phase will be important for the community to understand. As the state continues to realign the financial support to Ohio communities like Miamisburg, the association of revenues to services will become increasingly important.”
Greg Thompson
Upgrading the current infrastructure and bringing new businesses
“Plans to replace and upgrade water and waste water facilities have already begun and there will also be significant dollars spent on roadway improvements,” he noted. “As more businesses move to Miamisburg the city’s tax revenue increases and allows us to provide the same great service to residents without increasing their tax burden.”
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