I am running for Mayor of Dayton, Ohio in 2009

[bedpanartist]

And here is my mayoral announcement video:

http://www.bedpanart.com/video/drexeldave4mayorin2009.W...

Spread the word, thunderbirds!

Love and gravey,

drexel dave sparks

[Heidi]

1. Bums?

I've never been to Dayton. Who are these "bums" to whom you refer in your campaign announcement?

[bedpanartist]

3. come to dayton

and you will see methheads and gangsters, and bums everywhere you go. My neighbor's car has been stolen three times this year. There is a huge problem with property crime. People who steal and victimize our hard working law-abiding citizens are bums.

[Heidi]

7. You live there, Dave, so I believe you

when you say how bad it is. I wonder what percentage of the people committing those property crimes were raised in poverty?

[bedpanartist]

12. Photographs Do Not Lie

Check out the photoblog I produced of the city last year during my constant travels around our once grand city:

http://realdaytonohio.blogspot.com

[LaurenG]

2. I have a question about the art fair this weekend

Where is it? I realize it's in Northside on Hamilton Ave but is it in a park or a building? Did I miss something as I saw no address.

[bedpanartist]

4. Northside Art Sale Location

The next art sale is March 11, 2005 at Off the Avenue Studios
1546 Knowlton Avenue
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

[cleofus1]

5. so....

what is your strategy to lower the property crime rate

[bedpanartist]

6. my strategy

would be to build a jail specifically for property crime offenders, with a minimum six month sentence. It is the same group of people causing the problem over, and over and over and over. Our police and citizens need to be familiar with them, their faces, names, addresses.

I would also push for the creation of a "sin zone," taking the drug and prostitution business out of our neighborhoods where families reside and into an area where it can be controlled.

I will also push for GIVING away some of the more than 3,000 abandoned properties in our town to returning, honorably discharged or retired military folk, provided that they committ to setting down roots in our community and helping us rebuild from the devastation wrought upon us by the power structure over the last 30 years of decline and degradation.

[cleofus1]

9. how would you pay for all that

certainly building a new prison and stocking it with hundred of potential inmates with mandatory sentancing will be dauntingly expensive...

and you consider drug addicts and prostitutes as prime candidates for prison...what type of drug rehabilitation will the city provide...and what type of out reach will you provide for women that are trapped in the sex trade?

and does the mayor have carte blanche to give away private property? or is an assembly or city council involved?

[bedpanartist]

11. Don't put words in my mouth now...

you are extrapolating that I consider drug addicts and prostitutes as prime candidates for prison. WRONG. That was either misinformed or dishonest.

First off, I said jail for six months. We will have street patrolmen working in said jail. This will help with identifying who the problems are (it's actually the same people committing the same crimes over, and over and over in the revolving door of injustice). Secondly, I consider people who break into homes, cars and rob others on the streets prime candidates for prison. Whatever drug they are on is inconsequential to me. Their wrong actions are what I am concerned about. Poor people are tired of being constantly victimized.

People will again begin to move into the city once the crime issue is tackled in a serious manner. It is the prime reason that revenues are already down. We have no choice. It's either this, or total death. We've lost 50 percent of our population over the last 30 years. The current system is bringing us all down.

I will reach out to other communities in the county to help pay for it to begin with. The atmosphere is good for this now, because people around the county and region are beginning to realize that their property values are going down the toilet because the core inner-city in this region is going down the toilet.

The reach out I will provide for women who willingly participate in the sex trade is a legal and safe area to ply their oldest trade in the world, combined with medical checkups, counseling and job training (which is all already available) for those who do not want to participate in the prostitution game. We will also use monies from said sin district to pay for our petty crimes jail.

Dayton has a weak mayor, strong city manager system, so yes, others will be have to be involved and vote. But you've got to start somewhere, and being a loud advocate for radical change away from our current state of crumble is the first step to getting people involved.

As for the properties, many are owned by the city. These will be the first given away to our qualifying troops. Many others have been in the house flipping false economy for years, causing entire neighborhoods to crumble. I will move to stop this by enacting eminent domain to these properties that are little more than flypaper for crackheads.

[cleofus1]

14. my apologies

i am not misinformed nor dishonest...if you intend to run for public office you need to learn to answer tough questions in an open and affable way...

i'm still not clear on how you are going to pay for all this...reaching out to other communities does not sound based in reality...most people would get their pitchforks and torches out of the closet if the leaders of their community decided to give local tax dollars away...to another municipality...

perhaps i am misinterpreting your answer...could you be more clear...

[bedpanartist]

15. if you are really interested

move to Dayton and get involved. Take care now.

David

PS = Like my artwork and music, this will be a campaign like none other before it.

[cleofus1]

16. well that is a well reasoned response

i'll be courious to see how many votes you get with that type of reply...

[bedpanartist]

18. since

you won't be voting, its really not of much consequence. If folks don't like what I'm for doing, I wholeheartedly encourage them to vote for someone else.

Personally, I'm going after the voter that never votes. That frees me up from a lot of the usual BS that is involved.

I also plan on refusing to take questions from the media, unless they've taken a number and waited in line to question me like the rest of the citizenry.

Like I said, this ain't ya' mama's campaign.

[crispini]

20. Going after the voter that never votes....

that's an interesting campaign strategy--- keep an eye on our governor's race her in Texas in the fall, that's what Kinky Friedman is doing. I like the concept of going for the non-voter but I have not yet decided if the "quirky, interesting" candidate is the way to get people more involved.

[bedpanartist]

21. about 10 percent of Dayton votes

while the other 90 percent of the citizenry suffers from Oppositional Defiance Disorder as a result of being locked out of the game for so long.

It certainly worked for Jessee Ventura, although I largely consider him to be a dolt.

Like Kinky, I too am an outsider artist. We desperately need creativity in our governance.

Thank you very much,

David

[crispini]

24. Wow, really, I thought that our 55% voter turnout sucked.

Although that's the general. We only got like 3% on the primaries.

I think the trick with outsider campaigns is to combine style AND substance. Good luck.

[cleofus1]

25. well then

good luck

[bedpanartist]

26. thank you

so much, and have a blessed day.

[Heidi]

8. Link to the Ohio state forum on DU.

Here's a good place to cross-post the announcement of your candidacy.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[underpants]

10. GREAT!

I was born in Xenia. Green County Hospital. We lived in Yellow Springs until I was 6 or 7.

Anyone ever told you that you look a bit like Mellencamp??? MAybe it is just the video.

[bedpanartist]

13. I have been told a thousand times that

I look like John Mellencamp. I'm 6-0 and 210 lbs though. He's a little bittle feller!

[In_The_Wind]

17. Best wishes to you, bedpanartist !

[bedpanartist]

19. thank you very much

stay tuned to the latest developments here and there. I hope this will be a campaign that will bring people back into politics that have been aced out of the system.

[Skidmore]

22. Good luck and remember that we here at DU knew you back

when your handle was bedpanartist......

[bedpanartist]

23. I don't plan on changing the handle

and I plan on using my bedpan art as an essential ingredient in my campaign promotional materials.

[Skidmore]

27. But you might graduate to whole new more snazzy media....

[realisticphish]

28. Good luck

from Columbus... and may god have mercy on your soul. That's a LOT of work, man, but kudos for going at it

What do you intend to do about the school system?

[noonwitch]

29. My SIL's family is from Dayton-what a nice city it is, too

My brother and her got married in a beautiful downtown UMC church, and had an informal reception at that big park under the I-70 overpass. It was October, too, and all the leaves were in color.