Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley gave her farewell address on Friday.
Introduced to the crowd by Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith at the downtown Dayton Metro Library, Whaley reflected on the trials, tragedies and successes of her tenure.
Those trials and tragedies include the opioid crisis, destructive tornadoes, a KKK affiliated group rally, and the Oregon District Mass shooting.
"After what we faced in 2019, it became a joke at City Hall that we couldn’t wait for 2020," she said. "But little did we know what kind of global crisis we would face. The pandemic has been a period of incredible challenge. It has laid bare some of the starkest divisions in our city."
Whaley noted she was delivering her speech on the 108th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight in 1903.
"As my time in this role comes to an end, I have absolute confidence in this community after what I have seen you all do, I know anything is possible," she said in her closing remarks.
"Remember, just 66 years after two brothers from Dayton did the impossible, we landed on the Moon. Everything we've done so far, it's just the first step, and I can't wait to see what comes next. Thank you."
What’s next for Whaley is run for the governorship of Ohio. She faces fellow Democratic Mayor John Cranley of Cincinnati in a primary for the party nomination.
