This was the text of my 11"x17" campaign piece in 1993. There were 6 candidates in the primary, after the primaryit was Richard Clay Dixon, the democratic incumbent mayor, and new-comer, republican-challenger, Mike Turner. Turner won by 400 odd votes. The campaign cost over $120,000. I spent $1,000. Looking back, I could have said some things differently, but there were a lot of ideas in this piece.

Esrati for Mayor
THE ONLY CANDIDATE WHO'S NOT FOR SALE
FIX THE PROBLEMS, ...NOT THE BLAME

THE BIG PICTURE
If you think Dayton can stand another four years of the same commission, take a drive out West Third Street. They have spent millions of dollars beautifying downtown, moving statues, and bricking sidewalks. They built us bus shelters that cost more than a house in Belmont. Meanwhile, everything West of the river has been turning into a slum of epic proportions. Building a landfill on the West Side is a joke; it's already a dump - a dump for the people who don't build office towers, or work in them; a dump for people who don't go to the theater, because they live in one... a theater of decay and hopelessness.
All the talk of the Wright-Dunbar Historic Area and the Horace Shannon housing venture is akin to putting Band- Aids on bullet wounds. What the West Side needs is jobs, and the services that residents in the rest of Dayton take for granted. Relative to Belmont or University Row, there are no hardware stores, gas stations or even fast-food restaurants. if you want to feel insignificant take a drive to the West Side.
As one person on a commission of five, I won't be able to fix it overnight, but I can shift the perception of Dayton by Daytonians from despair and frustration to optimism and action. It won't be by spending $250,000 plus on an ad campaign calling us a "City of Neighbors" or selfpromoting shows on the public-access channel.

It will change because I make things happen.
I bought a $14,000 house and turned it into a $100,000 showplace with my own two hands. My $2,200 comer grocery building is now a $75,000 office building. I work hard. My ad agency brought national attention to the Dayton Wings last year by challenging the "Dream Team" to a game. The City attempted to help the Wings by giving them the Convention Center for free; as usual, throwing money at problems doesn't fix them.
It's time to quit thinking like the Federal Government and start acting like a responsible business. Spending more doesn't make the problems go away, it just makes you go belly-up.
The economics lesson here is simple. The tax base will continue to decline until we can attract and retain residents raising children who are not on public assistance. With a declining tax base we will not be able to attract businesses to serve our residents. Because most of Dayton sits on top of an aquifer, we are not going to attract heavy industry. Our population base of retirees, city employees and welfare recipients can't supply a work force for high-tech jobs.
To bring back prosperity we need leadership that fights to change the status quo.
It's not about vision, it's about action.
We have been led by committees, panels and task forces for too long. We generate paper, instead of prosperity A 268 - page city budget is just a new way to fill a landfill. If Fortune 500 companies manage to run on one-page memos, so can we. To add insult to injury, in the Mayor's 36 page "Stop the Killing" report, they write of an "Endangered Urban Species." We, Dayton's citizens, are a Darwinian subset in our leaders eyes.
The scary part is that we have grown to believe that we can't change the system. The fact that we're having a primary for mayor is your cue to revolt against the power brokers who have controlled Dayton for way too long.
GETTING YOUR MONEYS WORTH
The Mayor's job is a part time job. When I'm elected you will have someone who works hard for your money. I will contribute half the $36,000 a year pay to return us to neighborhood schools. Then we can start getting serious about making this city great again. I will punch a clock. An hour Mon.-Fri. in the schools, 2 hours each Mon., Tue. and Thu. in the neighborhoods, 12 hours on Wed. all over, and 6 hours on Saturday. Every fifth weekend I will go to see my Grandmother in Cleveland. I will take 3 weeks off a year to relax. I won't take trips to Germany or Japan on your tab like somebody else.
IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE.
A change of leadership in Dayton.
A change in how we elect our leaders.
A change in the political process.
To do this, I need your help and support. I need you to believe. I won't accept your money; enough of it has been wasted by the City already.
But I can't change things by myself. I can only lead the change. It can only come from the people of Dayton. You have to step up to the ballot box and say you've had enough. You can vote for David Esrati, or one of the other mayoral candidates, just end the rule of the incumbent puppets.
HOW TO MAKE A CAMPAIGN SIGN
This flyer is the only campaign item I am producing. I wrote it, designed it, and paid for it. It's what I believe, and it's what I will do if elected. It is David Esrati
So read this flyer. Pass it on. Call me at 228-4433, especially if you want to help. Together the citizens can take back what is theirs. Dayton, for all of us.
You can cut the middle of this side out for a window sticker for your car, or you can color in the big "E" on the back and hang it in your window, or just make an "E" out of anything; we'll know what it means. Government shouldn't cost the candidate's soul, or your paycheck.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF CANDIDATE,
o DIFFERENT KIND OF CAMPAIGN.
The most noticeable thing about my candidacy has nothing to do with my qualifications, just my ethical beliefs. I believe political parties, political action committees (PACs) and long campaigns have corrupted the system.
Being Mayor is no longer. based on character or qualifications, just who you know, and how much money you can raise. In the last mayoral race, Abner Orick spent $60,000 to lose a $36,000 a year, part-time job (See above right about my mayors pay).
I will not accept any campaign contributions. I'm spending $1,000 of my money, and campaigning for 30 days before each election.
My business is marketing and advertising. I know how to advertise on radio, TV, and in the paper, but if I did I would have to accept contributions to pay for it. If I accepted contributions, then I would owe favors to contributors.
The only people I will owe anything to is the voters who elect me.
Once elected, I will not sit on any outside boards or committees as a member. I believe it to be a conflict of interest. I will work for you and represent you, not profit by you.
MY RESPONSIBILITIES AS MAYOR
The city should be clean and safe. Businesses should feel welcome and appreciated. Infrastructure should be in good repair. Citizens of all ages and races should be able to live, work, and play together.
In plain English: The trash gets picked up; the police and fire departments do their jobs; roads, sewers, street lights, bridges and recreation centers are in good repair. Our water is safe and businesses feel welcome.
WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
We need a leader. Someone who will tackle the problems and deal with them. We need to spend our energies fixing the problems instead of fixing the blame. Stop studying it; fix it. Try a solution, fail, try again. If you aren't failing, you're not trying. Try for a lot of little improvements each day, instead of one big project a year. The Japanese call it Kaizen.
I call it persistence.

'The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man," George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman.

(back of piece)

THE ISSUES & THE ANSWERS

"FORT FIVE OAKS"
The boundaries of our neighborhood schools used to define a neighborhood. Now we use a fence. We used to know our neighbors, we watched out for kids who played with our kids. Busing stopped that. Fences are an expensive way of bringing it back. Return to neighborhood schools and our neighborhoods will blossom, without gates. But, if neighborhoods want gates, it has to be done by popular vote, instead of the way it was done in Five Oaks. It also must be done more affordably Five Oaks has cost in excess of half a million dollars, we can't continue like this.
GUN CONTROL
The Dayton Gun law is a knee-jerk reaction to crime. They voted in a law that they didn't understand, and now won't enforce. Gun control is a national issue, not a local one. As your mayor I will represent you on state and federal levels to ask the basic question: Why is it easier to buy a gun in this country than it is to drive a car? I don't think any law-abiding citizen will disagree with this reasoning.
I have gone to the commission meetings and asked how they can have a law on the books that they don't enforce. If they have one meaningless law that is not enforced, what does that make the other laws? To quote Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge William MacMillan, " I can't take any responsibility for their inability to read the English language." (DDN 2/25/93) Are these the people you want writing your laws?
WASTE
While all politicians talk about cutting waste, Mayor Dixon can do little about it because he depends on contributions to pay his campaign costs so he can retain his two jobs on our tax dollars (that's where most of your paycheck goes). I wouldn't be able to sleep nights knowing that I am destroying our children's future by sticking them with the bills. Some examples of questionable spending:
o The City of Dayton gave the developers of The Landing $100,000 to study the feasibility of building homes in the Horace Shannon area on the near West Side.
oThe city is paying a Cincinnati firm $27,000 to study the best way to plan the 1996 bicentennial of Dayton and the centennial of powered flight in 2003.
Why do we have a director of housing and all those city planners if we are going to spend money on consultants to study this and study that?
o We paid $3,200,000 for the office building at the corner of Second and Jefferson which we now are talking of trading for the Arcade which Mr. Danis paid $36,000
oWe build $65,000 bus shelters on Main Street that don't protect bus riders from the weather, then we want to remove the park benches from Cooper Park so the homeless won't sleep on them. This makes me sick. Somewhere we ought to be able to find the money to build a public bath.
PAY FOR PERFORMANCE
The City Manager currently makes more than the Governor of the State of Ohio ($106,000 vs. $103,000). I will link the city manager's pay to the average annual household income figure. His/her salary would be five times this figure, and would never exceed the governor's salary.
If the City Manager does the job and increases the tax base, then he/she deserves a raise; this makes him/her accountable.
LANDFILLS AND WELL FIELDS
If we are expected to take on the area's trash and to provide the area's water as well (no pun intended), where are we supposed to locate the businesses to support our tax base? We can do one or the other without changing the system. I say we charge our neighboring communities more for our water.
HOUSING
Habitat for Humanity works, government intervention costs. The City wouldn't have to be a housing developer if demand for housing exceeded the supply. Create a place people want to live, they will build houses. I won't make the citizens pay for any more private neighborhoods like Commissioner Capizzi's private plat on Wilmington across from 10 Wilmington Place.
SAFETY IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS
The Russians aren't shooting at us, a bunch of drug-running punks are. The U.S. military is being sent to far ends of the earth to provide urban security for Somalians. I want urban security for our Dayton residents. I want the Ohio National Guard to train on weekends providing security in DMHA hot spots. This is war, right here in Dayton.
THE CONSENT DECREE.
Would you sue yourself? The City has tried. Instead of dealing with the real issue, "are we safe", they fret about the racial balance o the police force. I think it's time we worry about whether or not they can do the job. I say we get rid of the fat: No fat cops or firefighters. Make the safety department fit: No consent decree needed.
THE RETURN TO NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS AND INTEGRATION
The population has shifted, as has our useable school inventory we are less able to integrate our schools now than we were in 1970. We can't return to neighborhood schools overnight. It will have to be gradually implemented. We spend more money per student than ever, and the schools keep getting worse. Put the parents back in the schools and they will improve. Parents will be able to request their children attend any school in the district. Any school not retaining its local students would be put under scrutiny for it's weaknesses and forced to improve. It's called accountability. Former principal Brenda Lee at Edison understood it, now let's brings it back.
HOW WE BRING JOBS AND TAXPAYERS BACK TO THE WEST SIDE
Instead of building new homes in the Horace Shannon area (near West Side) we build our first year round school. Local residents would get first choice on attending this school. Since the housing stock is limited in the area, builders would have an incentive to build around it. In addition to the school, would be a state of the art, year round recreation center and a 24-hour day care center. Instead of tax abatements we would encourage new construction with childcare credits to be used by new residents and employees. This complex would draw investment by providing jobs at the Rec Center and the Day Care facility, and draw employers who need workers who have affordable childcare.
HOW SUBSIDIZED DAY CARE WILL CREATE TAX REVENUE
Jobs aren't coming here because our effective tax rate is one of the highest in the state. We don't offer any thing that makes it more affordable to do business in the City. What we have is a surplus of single parent workers, ready to work if they had great affordable childcare. Besides health care costs, day care is the second toughest obstacle for many employers. We can fix that, and create a win-win situation in Dayton.
The subsidy would be based on a formula of your income level, residency and where you worked. If you live and work in the city and make less than $25,000 a year you would pay less than an hour's pay per week per child. If you only lived or worked in the city, you would pay twice the above.
High quality, available, subsidized day care will be an incentive for new business to locate here, and for dual wage earner families to return to the city. This means more tax dollars, and more jobs.
Building projects like Horace Shannon gives us short-term construction jobs, and we end up with more subsidized rental units, not tax revenue.
THE YEAR ROUND SCHOOL
Year round schools are the future. Our students are not needed in the fields in the summers, and their parents work year round. They would be phased in over the next 12 years. Our current school buildings are old; to be ready for the next century and the new prosperity, we need to invest in new buildings.
HARD TIME FOR CRIME
Crime pays in Dayton. Criminals have a higher standard of living than most citizens do. They have health care, three square meals a day and a roof over their head. This is wrong.
Our commission just spent $100,000 to pay for vacant lot care. I would hire more prison guards to supervise convicts maintaining our lots. That's at least four jobs for Daytonians, and criminals paying us back instead of living off us.
Sen. John Glenn asked: If quonset huts were good enough for him as a Marine, how come criminals are being kept in country clubs? I agree with Glenn. We will build a new low cost/low frills jail, and run it like Marine boot camp. You may go there once, but you sure won't want to go back. Repeat offenders will become a thing of the past.
THE PROPOSED PORT AUTHORITY
Giving away the store. They have to think we're dolts. The Aviation Hall of Fame is another boondoggle we can do without.
THE CANDIDATE
Resides and works in the South Park Historic District. He was introduced to the City by being taken to court for installing the wrong kind of garage doors in a historic district. Seven years later, he has two renovated buildings on Bonner Street and runs his own small advertising agency, The Next Wave.
Graduate of Wright State, and a former US Army Paratrooper, he enjoys SCUBA diving, playing hockey, running and reading. He can also play the sax.
The only significant others in his life are: his dog of nine years, Cato; his 93 year old grandmother Ruth Meyer, and his parents Steve and Nina who live in Cleveland. He will be 31 when elected.
ENDORSEMENTS
Since I'm not accepting contributions, I don't need endorsements. With the primary most groups are hedging to see who emerges May 5th. Here are my endorsements: Anyone but Dixon in the Mayor's race. Lovelace and Donelson the Commission race. Thanks for reading all this.

Obviously, some things weren't the best things to say. Like the part about getting rid of fat cops or firefighters. But- look at the part about the stainless steel building under "Waste"- we sold the building for $150,000 in 1998! A three million dollar loss.
I was also way ahead of my time calling for the end of busing for integration. The moment we had a school crisis- there was the whole city commission saying end busing- after I had been told for the last 9 years ­ that this wasn't a commission issue!
My Grandmother died in 1995 at 95 ­ I miss her. The dog is now 15 and comes to work with me everyday. I'll be 37 when elected.

This was the text of my 2nd 11"x17" campaign piece in 1993. There were 6 candidates in the special election to replace Mark Henry, who resigned. Dean Lovelace got in after switching races to run. The parties had endorsed Mary Sue KEssler and Judy Orick - I came in 4th - even though I was outspent 20/1 by the three front runners. Again-looking back, I could have said some things differently, but there were a lot of ideas in this piece too - and more interesting facts.

Things to look for : The Arcade, when the Mayor beats up a candidate, when the Mayor gets caught stealing, when a commissioner invests in a sports club.

The Only Candidate Who's Not For Sale Fix The Problems, Not The Blame
On November 2nd 1993 you can change Dayton by electing four new people to lead our city. Make sure you know the issues and the candidates. Before you vote, learn the facts. Stand up and tell the good ol' boys that your tax dollars ain't their pocket money. Call 228-4433 to help.
WHY YOU NEED TO READ THIS
The Nov. 2 election is your chance to say "Enough!" You can put up to four new faces in City Hall. With so many decisions to make, you need to know as much as you can about the issues and the people who will represent you for the next few years.
The Mayor blames the Reagan/Bush years for the decline in urban centers like Dayton. Reagan took office in January 1981, Clay Dixon joined the commission in November 1979. Hmmmm.
Joe Shump, Tom Danis and the Downtown Dayton Partnership are spending our tax dollars like it's their allowance. Why the rush to finish Route 35 West? So the garbage trucks can get to the dump quickly The Miami West project, election year talk. The Dynamo? There is no excuse.
Even if after reading this, I am not your choice, please consider these words of John Quincy Adams: "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.
IS THIS TOO MUCH TO READ?
Has democracy stumbled to the 10 second sound bite and the slick commercial? If you can't take the time to investigate all candidates and their positions, maybe you shouldn't vote.
WHY I'M AT MORE COMMISSION
MEETINGS THAN THE COMMISSION
Since I announced my candidacy in February, I have only missed one Commission meeting. I don't go to hear myself talk. I don't go to grandstand. I go because I won't stand on the sidelines and watch. Poor examples from our current team:
Mayor Dixon is the only person I know who gets an option to pay back illicit funds in order to avoid charges being filed against him
Tony Capizzi is the only elected person I know who owns part of a business that the City has given over half a million dollars to, and claim it's not a conflict of interest. (Dynamo)
Their political boss, Joe Shump, was paid over $330,000 to step down from Community Mutual's Board of Directors. No wonder health care costs so much.
Somebody has to keep an eye on these guys, so they keep our money out of their pockets. I've been there for you, without a paycheck or the power; the other candidates don't appear to have the time.
HAVE I GOT YOUR ATTENTION?
The Dayton Daily News continues to say I'm out to get attention. I've been a commission regular, and all the commissioners can say is that I do it for attention. Well, when you have a problem and call a commissioner, aren't you asking to focus attention on the problem.
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FIGHT
It was all about money. The fight between the mayor and me had nothing to do with his or his wife's school jobs. We all know now he was handling his inappropriately. The fight was about where he was raising the $23,000 he had already spent on his mayoral primary. I suggested the money wasn't coming from taxpayers, but from special interests... "maybe, for example, from people who want to build a landfill on the West Side." The mayor didn't like that, and tried to interrupt. After the meeting he took me aside to... well, that's old news.
Dixon ended up spending $70,000 on his campaign and will probably spend twice that for the upcoming election on Nov. 2. All this for a $36,000-a-year part-time job.
WHY CAMMY & SLEDGEHAMMER?
To beat a $70,000 campaign you need to make an impact. You need to be seen, heard and listened to. If you know where I stand on issues, and who I am, and still don't vote for me, that's fine. But, if you don't vote for me because you didn't know, then I haven't done my job.
I don't want to be a slave to contributions and telling people what they want to hear. I want to represent the people of Dayton.
MAY: COMMISSION CANDIDATES
Augman, Capizzi, Donelson, Lovelace and Zimmer ran to be the four Commission candidates on the November ballot. Donelson was eliminated.
SEPT: HENRY QUITS
Mark Henry quit Sept. 1 to go work for a big law firm. His unexpired term is to be filled in a special election also on Nov. 2. This is the race I am in. The winner takes office two weeks after the election.
LOVELACE SWITCHES RACES
We know politicians tend to ignore us once elected, By switching races Dean Lovelace is ignoring us before he's even elected. He believes people want him in office at any cost. If he can't handle this battle, how well will he fight for you if elected? This switch returned Donelson to the general ballot.
WHERE WERE THEY IN MAY?
Notice that Louis Butler, Mary Sue Kessler, Derek Folley and Judy Orick didn't want a seat on the City Commission in May Why now?
BRAND-NAME CANDIDATES
The political parties expect you to vote for the names you know: Kessler and Orick. Are the same old tired politicians (or their wives) OK with you?
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
This campaign flyer, plus one small ad in the Dayton Daily News on Oct. 3 is all the advertising I can afford. If you want a bumper sticker fold this flyer in thirds and display the middle in your car window. if you want to do more, call five friends and tell them what you read. Or, call me and volunteer to distribute these flyers.
$1,000 BREAKFAST?.
Only Mary Sue would have the nerve to have a $1,000-a-plate breakfast. She invited all her rich friends who want to help her keep the poor people of Dayton in Dayton. Her first words as the endorsed Democrat were "I think the mayor is a man for the entire city"
My whole campaign for mayor in May cost only one "Mary Sue Kessler Breakfast," and it was my money
MONEY AND POLITICS
All men are created equal. Political candidates are more equal than others by how much money they raise. We all have one vote. Should it be bought by the richest campaign? In the mayoral primary the votes won ranked by dollars spent. This means my $1,000 campaigns should be hopeless. Vote David Esrati Nov. 2 and put an end to big-money politicians.
People ask me for yard signs... they cost up to $3 each and say nothing. During the primary Mr. Zimmer was handing out combs and nail files with his name on them... I told voters that the next time someone wants to buy their vote ask for more than a 7¢ nail file or a 10¢ comb. Mr. Capizzi is handing out sponges with his name on them... isn't that nice? After sponging off of us for eight years he wants to give us something to clean up the mess.
My favorite is campaign literature. What you typically get is a picture of the family, a brief biography and a request for money. Buzzwords too: Change, Action, Leadership, Vision. Yeah Right.
Next time you see a politician, ask them to tell you where they stand on the issues... in writing.
PATRIOTS NEEDED
SPEND 2 HOURS, PASS 50 FLYERS
I WON'T TAKE YOUR MONEY
I WILL ACCEPT YOUR HELP
CALL 228-4433

Back
"FORT FIVE OAKS"
We can't afford to fence in every neighborhood in the city at a cost of over a half a million a pop. Why are Community-Based Police Officers a good idea and Community-Based Schools a no-no? I Say bring back neighborhood schools. Save the fences for prisons for criminals.
NEIGHBORHOOD BASED SCHOOLS
"It takes an entire village to raise a child"
African saying
An entire VILLAGE, people, not an entire City. If we return to neighborhood schools the parents can get involved again. The chief reason for Dayton's decline is busing, it is The Problem. As your commissioner I will spend at least an hour a day in one of our public schools.
SCHOOL SEGREGATION
We were segregated by race 25 years ago, now we are segregated by economic level as well. You tell me which is worse.
The kids in the Dayton Public Schools share the knowledge of poverty. We are spending more money per student, and scores are still terrible.
Equality means the freedom to choose. The choice was made when busing began, the people with money moved (Mary Sue Kessler to Oakwood for 25 years), or sent their children to private schools. Return to neighborhood schools with vouchers and get parents involved. Then if a school can't attract and keep students based on the quality of its education, we fix IT, we don't shuffle the children. Fix the Problems, Not the Blame!
NO, NO, NO, NO AND AGAIN NO
The Port Authority, buying the Arcade, local gun control, the Dynamo, three-man fire crews, a downtown sports arena, Helwig's salary, tax increase, the Downtown Dayton Partnership, all things that we can skip or not fund with tax dollars.
SOLUTIONS
Nothing will happen as long as you vote for the "brand-name candidates" who spend big dollars to get elected. if candidates have to worry about where their campaign dollars come from, then they won't worry about where your tax dollars are going.
We have to make this city as attractive to live in as the suburbs. To do this we need to be competitive. We need to treat the neighborhoods with equal or more attention than downtown. We need new and exciting things happening to make people want to move to Dayton. And, you need someone who can communicate this excitement clearly.
THE YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL
To combat the suburbs, and to keep our kids out of trouble, I recommend we move to year-round schools over the next 12 years. We aren't farmers, our kids don't work the fields in the summer. Learning is a lifelong experience, we need to reinforce that with a year-round learning environment.
SUBSIDIZED DAY CARE
An innovative day-care program is needed to attract new business and new citizens to the city, as well as to put our high percentage of single parents back into the work force as productive taxpayers. This would be a high-quality, 24-hour service, that would provide long-term benefits to our citizens, and make your investment in Dayton grow.
DO WE HAVE A RACE PROBLEM?
Yes.
I believe when you start distributing the money equally, people will feel equal. When they bus all kids in the Miami Valley (not just Dayton's kids), we will have integration and equality.
So far, neither is happening, and as long as the power brokers run this town, nothing will.
FREE RENT FOR CAPIZZI'S DYNAMO
DAYTON DAILY COMES UP LATE
On April 23, 10 days before the primary election, I provided internal documents to the Dayton Daily News showing how much "the Dynamo deal" was going to set us back. The story ran on May 3, the day after the election!
In the "deal," Dixon along with Helwig and the Downtown Dayton Partnership gave away the store to the Dynamo, of which Commissioner Capizzi is an owner. Our cost, well over half a million dollars.
The most notable quote from the "Confidential, via hand delivery" contract between the Dynamo, the Partnership and the City: "In addition, the Downtown Dayton Partnership will arrange to have articles published in The Dayton Daily News." So much for a free and unbiased press. So much for accountability in government. Tony Capizzi says he transferred his Dynamo stock to his wife, and he abstains from all votes on the matter. As a lawyer, he ought to know that transferring to his wife is the same as moving his wallet from one pocket to another. No wonder he couldn't write a gun law that was legal.
IF DANIS IS SELLING THE ARCADE,
WHERE'S THE "FOR SALE" SIGN?
If I could have bought the Arcade for what Danis paid, I'd own it. It would still be open! But, no one got to bid for it, did they? Was this the payback for giving our last police chief $100,000 to quit? Should the city buy it back? Not if I'm elected. In fact I would sell the stainless steel building at the comer of 2nd and Jefferson to the highest bidder, instead of holding it for someone's future needs. (Bet most of you didn't know the City paid $3.2 million for it).
PROTECTING YOUR INVESTMENT
The bottom line: it's the City Commission's job to make your investment in the community grow in value. All it has done is make the real estate downtown drop, in value, with one notable exception, The Cit Fed building owned by... Tom Danis. In fact we even subsidized the Gallery Shops through "some help from CityWide Development." The rich get richer...
WHAT WE REALLY NEED
We need a leader on the Commission who knows what work is, and how a business is run. I am the only small businessman running in the special election. I am the only one who has turned distressed buildings into gems. I won't have a city car, I'll have an old city pickup, so I can bring my tools out to the neighborhoods and fix buildings with my hands instead of with my mouth.
I'll also work to get a home improvement store to open on the West side. So, when we finally decide to fix the housing problem, we won't have to drive to Trotwood to buy the lumber.
HARD TIME FOR CRIME
We have the laws, we just do a poor job of enforcing them. We have a system that provides criminals with a higher standard of living than law-abiding citizens. Criminals get three square meals a day, health care, cable TV, and a roof over their heads. The rioting Lucasville convicts even got reimbursed for their loss of property with our tax dollars!
Sen. John Glenn asked: If quonset huts were good enough for him as a Marine, how come criminals are being kept in country clubs? I agree with Glenn. We build a new low-cost/low-frills jail, and run it like Marine boot camp. You may go there once, but you sure won't want to go back. Repeat offenders will be a thing of the past.
I CAN BACK EVERYTHING UP
If there is anything on this flyer that seems unbelievable, call me... I'll tell you the rest of the story.
STILL CAN'T DECIDE?
Watch League of Women Voters Roundtable Interview taped on September 23rd, It will be rebroadcast on DATV (Viacom Channel 20) on each of these dates:
(It was in1993 sorry -)
Judy Orick couldn't attend because her government job required her to be in Seoul, Korea.
If she's elected I guess you'll just have to call her long distance.
TOP 10 REASONS TO VOTE FOR DAVID ESRATI
November 2nd For Dayton City' Commission
10. Joe Shump and Jeff Jacobsen didn't endorse him
9. He has a better commission meeting attendance record than anyone on the current commission
8. He didn't live in Oakwood for 25 years
7. He won't accept financial campaign contributions and won't owe any favors
6. Employees at City Hall making over $50,000 a year dislike him
5. He isn't a lawyer
4. He won't take a full-time salary for a part-time job
3. He knows how to build and renovate housing instead of talking about it
2. He won't buy stock in a private soccer team and subsidize it with tax dollars
1. He's not afraid to fight for you
I Need Your Help - Not Your Money
CALL 228-4433
The only Candidate who's not for Sale says Fix the Problems, Not the Blame
(above: the copy) from the only campaign ad I will run.
One time,
Sunday, Oct 3, 1993 Dayton Daily News.
$316.45 Running for office Shouldn't cost your soul.

MY PAY
I still think part-time work shouldn't be rewarded with a full-time salary. In my mayoral campaign I promised to only take half my pay, this time the conditions are different:
If you vote for me because you want to see change, you have to help me out a bit: i.e., If you keep Clay "I was really sick" Dixon, I am keeping my whole salary (fixing the problems with him still around is a lot more work).
If you replace Dixon, I will donate $6,000 to local charity. If you replace Dixon and Capizzi, $9,000. Mr. Zimmer is a nice gentleman but he hasn't made a difference one way or another in 14 years. This job is public service, not a retirement plan.
ESRATI, WHO?
David Esrati, 31, lives and works in the South Park Historic District. In 1986 he was introduced to city hall by being taken to court for installing the wrong kind of garage doors in an historic district. In 1991, he opened his own business, The Next Wave, an advertising agency, in an old comer grocery store that he renovated. Renovations of his home and office were slowed considerably by city bureaucracy
A graduate of Wright State, and a former US Army paratrooper, he enjoys SCUBA, playing hockey, jazz, blues, running and reading. He can also play the sax.
The significant others in his life are his 9-year-old dog, Cato; his 94-year-old grandmother, Ruth Meyer; his parents Steve and Nina, who live in Cleveland, and his "little brother" of the last six years, 16-year-old Eric Baum.
Thanks for reading all this.
I hope it was informative.

THIS NOVEMBER 2nd PUT SOMETHING DOWNTOWN TOM DANIS CAN'T BUY
VOTE DAVID ESRATI CITY COMMISSIONER.

This entire campaign was paid for out of David Esrati's pocket . It cost less than $1,500. My dignity is non-negotiable and my integrity is not for sale Isn't that what you want in a City Commissioner, for a change?

This is for your information- where I came from. I no longer am going to give up salary, and can't commit to an hour a day in the Dayton Public Schools. Youth, and enthusiasm have been replaced with responsibilities and realizations of what can and can't be done by one person.

City Commission 1997 primary

This was a much shorter piece. I was running against Mary Wiseman, Lloyd Lewis, Mike Osgood and Pam Miller Howard. We ended up with Mary Wiseman and the least of three evils. Lloyd was a State Rep when he ran for commission, and when he won, he quit that job- kind of reassuring- elect someone to do a job- only until a better one comes around?

I was endorsed by the Dayton Firefighters, local 136.

who was that masked man?
Is David Esrati a political lone ranger or is he just what Dayton needs?
READ THIS AND JUDGE FOR YOURSELF
Esrati attends the commission
meetings and speaks his mind.
He is "a nearly constant presence at commission meetings, He's bright He has his points. And he's not afraid to make them ­ week after week after week"
Mary McCarty, Dayton Daily News, 2 March 1997
YES, YES, YES
YES to neighborhood schools
YES to police and fire protection
YES to essential city services
YES to youth programs
YES to city beautification through hard work instead of big $ projects
YES to empowering grassroots neighborhood organizations instead of bureaucracy-generating systems
YES to measured performance goals for the city manager
YES to a plan to LOWER income taxes to spur development
YES to selling off the 2,100+ pieces of city-owned real estate at fair market values
YES to lobbying for capital gains breaks for developers in blighted areas
YES to neighborhood integration
YES to developers looking to work within the city with their own $
YES to new laws making it easier to develop historic properties
YES to open meetings
YES to listening to citizens and working with them - instead of talking BS
YES to honesty, courtesy and integrity in all levels of government
"RELENTLESS"
Mary McCarty, Dayton Daily News, 2 March 1997
"POLITICAL MAVERICK"
Mary McCarty, Dayton Daily News, 2 March 1997
It's time for a leader to step forward,
not just another politician
NO, NO, NO
NO to the $3 million purchase of Elder-Beermans Downtown Store
NO to the $1million gift to the Second & Main Partnership (Lazarus)
NO to the $1million re-hab of 4 homes
NO to the $750,000 subsidy of a pizza joint downtown
NO to raising taxes on downtown businesses to support the Downtown Dayton Partnership
NO to secret meetings
NO to overtime pay for trash collectors working less than 40-hour weeks
NO to raises and luxury cars for overpaid commissioners
NO to cutting fire services
NO to the firing of Bill Estabrook
NO to baseball funded with tax $
NO to hiring lobbyists with tax $
NO to "needs statements" that never get acted on
NO to buying up real estate with tax $ without a development plan
NO to stupid task forces and "blue ribbon panels" that generate plans but no results
Fix the problems, not the blame
Make your vote count
DOUBLE without SPENDING A DIME
You have two votes for Commission -
if you only vote for one candidate it
doubles the power of your vote.
I don't advocate not using both votes in the general election, but in the primary it could balance the scales a bit - giving the edge to the candidate who presents ideas instead of just a "you know my name campaign."
Volunteers always appreciated call 228-4433 to help
The Mask
The Constitution guarantees the right to peaceably protest and petition your government. That is what I was doing when Mayor Turner had me arrested.
Judge Gehres agreed and threw the contrived case against me out. The city lost, so now it is appealing. Instead of fixing real problems in this city, the current commission insists on creating more.
Now in it's second year
Read NewDayton
A FREE weekly alternative to the
Dayton Daily News ­ on the Internet
e-mail a subscription request to "[email protected]"
Published by Esrati
It's informative, it's timely,
it's the stuff they would prefer you don't know!

David Esrati
Born 1962, Celina OH
US Army paratrooper
BS in Business - Wright State University
Past president - Historic South Park Inc.
Owner of The Next Wave, cutting edge ad agency
Publisher of NewDayton
4 Dayton Rehab projects over last 11 years

The other candidates want the shirt off your back - me, I'll sell you a high quality t-shirt for $10 to help finance my campaign.
any money raised over my campaign costs will be donated to charity.
No Yard Signs - Just Cool T-shirts

Should David Esrati be sent to
charm school?
YES.
Mary McCarty, Dayton Daily News, 2 March 1997
O.K. ­ so I'm not charming.
But I have to ask ­ is charm school where they teach you to give away money that isn't yours?
Or where they teach you how to ignore the Constitution which you swore an oath to uphold?
Is charm school where Mayor Mike Turner went to learn how to stand up the President of the United States during his visit last summer?
There is nothing charming about giving away millions of your tax dollars to the rich while our residents live in poverty.
Is charm school where Lloyd Lewis Jr. learned to run for commission 2 months after he raised his right hand and swore he would be a state senator for 2 years?
I prefer the Charles Barkley school of charm. Charles said "I tell the truth and there are times when you aren't supposed to tell the truth."
I am not some sugar coated politician. If that's what you want ­ vote for one of the "charming" alternatives.
27% ­ more than 1 in 4 Daytonians live at or below the poverty line.
It's time to simplify
I have a basic philosophy that I want to take to City Hall.
Your tax dollars should benefit you.
Your children should go to a neighborhood school.
First priority goes to public safety ­ police, fire, water, sanitation.
Next comes infrastructure ­ streets, sewers, code enforcement.
Then come the special things government can do for us. Parks, recreation facilities and youth programs.
Dayton has spent millions of dollars on "white elephant" projects in the name of economic development while forgetting governments basic duties.
If we had just got the basics right, the private sector would have invested without our help.
People and businesses invest when they feel confident about the direction things are going.
If you want to see real results ­ drive down the 100 block of Bonner Street, my block.
Eleven years ago, I bought my house for $14,500. Now we have houses worth ten times that!
I didn't do it all by myself, but my 4 rehabs sure helped build the confidence for three other couples to invest at least $110,000 each on homes that used to be dumps when I moved in.
I make things happen.
I want to make things happen for the whole city - and unlike any other candidate ­ I have put my money where my mouth is.
If you elect me ­ you will be taking the benefit to the bank.
Esrati equals a return to neighborhood schools.

There were a lot of cool graphics in this one. I didn't have an organization, or volunteers to distribute the flyers- I need your help this time.

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