Gary Leitzell is notable for having won as an independent on a highly limited budget, as well as bringing business ideas to politics and advocating limited campaign spending.
23 Facts About Gary Leitzell
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Gary Leitzell's father was a former member of the US Air Force who worked in a steel mill; his mother was a British overseas bride.
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Gary Leitzell graduated from the University of London with a bachelor's degree in geology in 1982 and returned to the United States to reacquaint himself with a father whom he had not seen in twelve years.
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Gary Leitzell then worked in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in several sales and sales management positions until 1994.
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In Dayton Gary Leitzell became involved with the Southeast Priority board in 1999.
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Gary Leitzell was elected to chair the board in 2008 and 2009 and was the president of his neighborhood association for six terms.
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Gary Leitzell ran for mayor of Dayton, Ohio as an independent candidate in 2009 and upset Rhine McLin, the incumbent Democrat.
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On September 28,2012, Gary Leitzell announced his intention to seek re-election for a second term as Dayton mayor in 2013.
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Gary Leitzell encouraged potential opposing candidates to limit spending and welcomed the introduction of newcomers, stating that he would not spend more than $10,000 and $10,000 "in kind" to get re-elected.
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Gary Leitzell challenged opposing candidates to meet that figure, but upped the cap to $20,000 and $10,000 "in kind" for any unknown candidate that did not already have established name recognition.
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Gary Leitzell declared that he would not seek any political endorsements, feeling that if he could not win on his own merit, then the job was not suited for him.
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On January 17,2013, Gary Leitzell was interviewed at the US Conference of Mayors in Washington DC where he was asked about how he felt about the proposal on gun control measures by US president Barack Obama.
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In February 2013, it was reported that neither Whaley nor Wagner had chosen to follow Gary Leitzell's suggestion regarding campaign spending.
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On February 27,2013, Gary Leitzell participated in a candidates night presentation with five other candidates for mayor, including Whaley and Wagner, as well as three other new names: Derek Foley, Eric Lamont Gregory and Darshawn Romine.
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Gary Leitzell was interviewed by Dayton, Ohio radio station WYSO as part of a series of interviews with the candidates in the 2013 primary.
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Gary Leitzell reiterated his promise regarding campaign spending, discussed those issues which are important to him, and challenges faced by the city.
17.
In July 2013, Gary Leitzell pulled petitions to run as an independent for a position on the Montgomery County, Ohio commission.
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Gary Leitzell submitted some 2900 signatures by the required date, May 5,2014.
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Gary Leitzell was certified by the Board of Elections as a candidate on May 19,2014.
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In 2015, Gary Leitzell pulled petitions to run for Montgomery County Commission again but this time as a Republican candidate.
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Gary Leitzell turned in petitions to run against incumbent Judy Dodge as did Don Birdsall, Robert Matthews and Charlotte Mcquire.
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In March 2016 Gary Leitzell won the contested primary with 31444 votes over Birdsall's 29986 votes.
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Gary Leitzell was the Republican party nominee for Montgomery County Commissioner but was not endorsed by Montgomery County GOP, and did not win this election.