Shenise Turner-Sloss (born November 20, 1981) is a logistics management specialist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,[1][2][3] and an American politician who has served since 2022 on the Dayton City Commission.[3] Turner-Sloss is the third African American woman to serve on the Dayton City Commission.[3] A member of the Democratic Party, she is a candidate for mayor of Dayton, Ohio in the non-partisan 2025 election after having advanced through the spring primary.[4]
Shenise 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.[5]
In 2013, Turner-Sloss began work at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a logistics management specialist in the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center[6] where she joined the local AFGE union. 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.[6]
In 2015, Turner-Sloss co-founded the non-profit Neighborhoods Over Politics[7] 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."[8]
City Commission
As City Commissioner, Turner-Sloss has advocated for increased funding for affordable housing, youth programming, and the fire department,[9] and also a more transparent and accountable city government."[8]
During the 2023 budget negotiations which threatened to result in a city government shutdown,[10] Turner-Sloss and Fairchild secured an additional $1 million in funding for youth programming.[11]
In the eventually successful 2025 income tax levy renewal, Turner-Sloss advocated for allocating $650,000 per year for housing programming.[12] 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."[13]
Electoral History
Turner-Sloss was elected in 2021 during her third attempt,.[14] garnering about 29% of the votes in the general election, the most in the 4-way race.[15][13] She campaigned alongside incumbent Commissioner Darryl Fairchild, who finished in second and was re-elected to another term. Turner-Sloss was endorsed by the Ohio Working Families Party and other progressive organizations and labor unions including her own, the American Federation of Government Employees local 1138[1]
Though a member of the Democratic Party, she has been considered "outside the establishment".[16] She was not endorsed by the Montgomery County Democratic Party during any of her campaigns, including the successful one in 2021. In fact, the Montgomery County Democratic Party released attack ads against Turner-Sloss and Fairchild, for which the Ohio Democratic Party issued an apology, stating that the ads "violated several of their mailer policies.".[17] The controversy resulted in the resignation of the county party's Executive Director,[18] the retirement of the county party Chair,[19] 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"[18]
November 2, 2021 general - City of Dayton - Commission[20]
Turner-Sloss is running against incumbent mayor Jeff Mims in the 2025 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."[13]
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