Dayton Mayor and newly-announced candidate for Ohio Governor Nan Whaley today released her first campaign video. In the video, Nan starts a conversation with Ohio voters, pledging to get Ohio back to work, focus on universal pre-k and hold the big drug companies accountable for their role in the heroin crisis.

You can view the video here: https://youtu.be/tbU1akcXJC4.

“When you’re a mayor, you don’t have the luxury of looking away saying, ‘It’s not my problem,’” says Whaley in the video. “You may be invisible to this Governor and politicians in Columbus, but you’re not invisible to me.”

The video will be accompanied by a significant online ad buy across the state.

“If we work together, we can build a bright future for ourselves and for our children, so don’t let them tell you Ohio’s best days are behind us. Our time isn’t passed. Our time is now,” Whaley says.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley today announced that she is running for Ohio Governor, promising to put Ohioans back to work and to get things done for the Buckeye State.

“I’m announcing my candidacy for Governor of Ohio because too many Ohioans feel invisible to this Governor and politicians in Columbus,” said Whaley. “I’m running for Governor because I believe Ohio’s best days are ahead of us. We have to put Ohioans back to work by creating good paying jobs people can raise a family on and hold the drug companies that caused the heroin crisis accountable. When you’re a mayor, you don’t have the luxury of looking the other way. You take the world as it is and have to deliver results for your community. That’s exactly what I’ve done as Mayor of Dayton and what I’ll do as Governor of Ohio.”

As a relentless advocate for working people, Nan is bringing high-quality jobs back to Dayton, building on Ohio’s manufacturing base, garnering national recognition as one of the best regions in the country for new businesses.

“It’s clear that Ohioans are angry, convinced the system has failed them and rightly so. The people of Ohio have been deceived and misled for years,” continued Whaley. “Republicans have run things in Columbus for 25 years, and they’ve run this state into the ground. The Ohio Miracle is the Ohio Mirage. Ohio jobs have disappeared and the state has walked away from our local communities under Republican Statehouse rule. Even Gov. Kasich now admits Ohio has fallen into recession. We made things better in Dayton; we got it done. I’m confident we can get it done in Ohio.”

Nan noted that, as Governor, she would work tirelessly to curb and end Ohio’s heroin epidemic. Under Nan’s leadership, Dayton was one of the first cities in Ohio to declare a state of emergency that allowed the City to institute a needle exchange program. She worked to ensure that all of Dayton’s first responders are equipped with life-saving Naloxone. And at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, she led an effort to pass a resolution to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for the damage they’ve done.

“Politicians have been standing idle on the sidelines for too long, watching the heroin epidemic ravage our communities and destroy lives, families and loved ones,” said Whaley. “The big drug companies that claimed opioids weren’t addictive and created this crisis must be held responsible and pay their fair share to clean it up. We need to treat this epidemic like the statewide emergency that it is.”

Mayor of Dayton since 2014, Nan has pioneered high quality universal pre-K for all Dayton children and made Dayton the first Ohio city to implement paid family leave. Under Nan’s leadership, the city passed a Dayton Chamber of Commerce and Labor-backed ballot initiative to fund much-needed city improvements. Her work improving the Dayton community stands in stark contrast to Statehouse Republicans, who have turned their back on local communities, children, families and workers.

“As Mayor of Dayton, when the lights go out or our streets need plowed, I take the call,” continued Whaley. “As Governor, I’ll be on the job day and night because I get it and I’ll get things done. We need to put Ohio back to work. There’s a better way. We can and must rebuild our state – community by community.”

From a working-class neighborhood in Indiana, Nan moved to Dayton for college at the University of Dayton. Since then, she’s called Dayton home. Nan served two terms on the Dayton City Commission before she was elected the second female Mayor of Dayton.

Nan and her husband, Sam, live in the Five Oaks neighborhood of Dayton.