Shenise Turner-Sloss | |
|---|---|
 Turner-Sloss in 2021 | |
| 58thMayor of Dayton | |
| Assumed office January 5, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Jeff Mims |
| Dayton City Commissioner | |
| In office January 2022 – January 5, 2026 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1981-11-20)November 20, 1981 (age 44) Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Fisk University (BA) Central Michigan University (MS) |
Shenise Turner-Sloss (born November 20, 1981) is an American politician who has served as themayor of Dayton, Ohio since 2026. She previously served on theDayton City Commission from 2022 to 2026.[1] Turner-Sloss is the second Black woman to serve as the mayor of Dayton and the third Black woman to serve on the Dayton City Commission.[1] She is also a logistics management specialist atWright-Patterson Air Force Base.[2][3][1] Although the office of mayor is non-partisan, Turner-Sloss is a member of theDemocratic Party.
Tuner-Sloss is a graduate ofDayton Public Schools. She graduated in 2004 fromFisk University, ahistorically black university, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. In 2009, she graduated fromCentral Michigan University with a Master of Science in administration.[1] She is a member ofDelta Sigma Theta.[1]
Turner-Sloss started her career after graduation as a city of Dayton employee in the Planning & Community Development Department, where she was a Senior Community Development Specialist and was responsible for allocating federal and state grants to the city.[4]
In 2013, Turner-Sloss began work atWright-Patterson Air Force Base as a logistics management specialist in the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center,[5] where she joined theAFGE union.[2] In 2024 she was selected to participate in the LEADership Wright-Patt program, a five-month program designed to develop current and prospective leaders at the base.[5]
In 2015, Turner-Sloss co-founded the non-profit Neighborhoods Over Politics[6] and led efforts to direct over $7.6 million in local investments into projects that "uplift communities, generate economic opportunity and improve housing conditions for Daytonians."[7]
As city commissioner, Turner-Sloss advocated for increased funding for affordable housing, youth programming, and the fire department.[8]
During the 2023 budget negotiations which threatened to result in a city government shutdown,[9] Turner-Sloss and fellow commissioner Darryl Fairchild secured an additional $1 million in funding for youth programming.[10]
In the eventually successful 2025 income tax levy renewal, Turner-Sloss advocated for allocating $650,000 per year for housing programming.[11] She was also responsible for "getting the city to approve its first-ever housing policy framework, which will be a roadmap to addressing the city's growing housing crisis."[12]
Turner-Sloss ran against incumbent mayorJeff Mims in the2025 Dayton mayoral election on a platform to "increase the median income, improve housing conditions, support more programs that assist with homeownership and build more affordable housing."[12] Turner-Sloss was elected mayor with almost 52% of the vote.[13] She was sworn in as mayor on January 5, 2026.[14]
Turner-Sloss was first elected to the city commission in 2021, garnering about 29% of the votes in the four-way general election.[12][15][16] She campaigned alongside incumbent commissioner Darryl Fairchild,[17] who finished in second and was re-elected to another term. In that election Turner-Sloss was endorsed by the OhioWorking Families Party,[18]Our Revolution Ohio, the Dayton chapter of theSunrise Movement,[19] and otherprogressive organizations and labor unions including her own, theAmerican Federation of Government Employees local 1138.[2]
Though a member of the Democratic Party, she has been considered "outside the establishment".[20] She was not endorsed by the Montgomery County Democratic Party during any of her campaigns, including the successful one in 2021 for Commissioner or 2025 for Mayor. In fact, in 2021 the Montgomery County Democratic Party released attack ads against Turner-Sloss and Fairchild, for which theOhio Democratic Party issued an apology, stating that the ads "violated several of their mailer policies.".[21] The controversy resulted in the resignation of the county party's Executive Director,[22] the retirement of the county party Chair,[23] and an official apology of the county party Central Committee which stated that "Commissioner Fairchild and candidate Turner-Sloss – and all their supporters – are valued members of the county party."[22]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Shenise Turner-Sloss | 8,541 | 51.87 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jeff Mims (incumbent) | 7,926 | 48.13 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Shenise Turner-Sloss | 7,488 | 28.87 | |
| Nonpartisan | Darryl Fairchild (incumbent) | 7,442 | 28.69 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stacey D. Benson-Taylor | 6,076 | 23.43 | |
| Nonpartisan | Scott Sliver | 4,930 | 19.01 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Matt Joseph (incumbent) | 7,488 | 28.87 | |
| Nonpartisan | Christopher Shaw (incumbent) | 6,845 | 30.09 | |
| Nonpartisan | Shenise Turner-Sloss | 5,910 | 25.98 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Esrati | 3,027 | 13.31 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Joey D. Williams (incumbent) | 9,022 | 30.14 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jeff Mims (incumbent) | 7,950 | 26.56 | |
| Nonpartisan | Darryl Fairchild | 6,783 | 22.66 | |
| Nonpartisan | Shenise Turner-Sloss | 6,174 | 20.63 | |
Turner-Sloss lives with her husband Chad, an Assistant Professor who teaches atAntioch University[28] andWittenberg University,[29] along with their three children in Dayton's Southern View neighborhood.[30][31]
She is a member of theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP),Delta Sigma Theta, theAmerican Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) - Local 1138,Our Revolution, Higher Heights, Matriots, and theWorking Families Party.[1][32]