This commission was history-making as the first majority-female board. The new commission will leave Tracey Tackett as the only female representation.
“I really enjoyed working with all of you. I’ve learned so much from you,” Tackett said Tuesday evening. “I appreciate your personalities and the individualism that you brought to this commission. Thank you as a colleague, but also just as a Springfield citizen.”
Estrop and Brown did not run for reelection, and Houston, who took the seat Rob Rue left when he became mayor, dropped out of the race earlier this year to focus on her business and family.
Dave Estrop
Estrop was elected to the commission in 2017 and won reelection four years later. He became Rue’s assistant mayor in 2024.
Early on, Estrop cemented himself as a watchdog of state and federal government and their impacts on the city. Since President Donald Trump took office in January and his administration began slashing federal programs, Estrop has led an effort to monitor local impacts, giving regular updates to the commission and attendees.
When he was elected, the city was facing significant financial issues.
He decided not to run again to spend more time with his family, including his wife, Virginia, and work on his Springfield home and the childhood home and farm he inherited from his parents in Illinois.
Prior to his commission service, Estrop served for almost 20 years as a superintendent of three Ohio school districts, including Springfield City Schools, up to his retirement in 2015. Under his tenure, he worked with the state to develop a funding model for public schools, helped the district gain financial stability by building up cash reserves and started online education programs.
He also led the district to apply and receive an $11.2 million grant which allowed for the improved South High School, new programs and a home for the Global Impact STEM Academy.
“We got a lot done, a lot more than we ever thought we could get done, frankly,” Estrop said. “We got it done with one simple model: we worked together. We pulled together to get it done and when we did that, we accomplished things that none of us individually could have accomplished.”
Krystal Brown
Brown, a special education administrator for the Springfield City School District, was elected in 2021. At the time, Brown said she wanted more representation on the commission.
Brown, who grew up in the South End of Springfield, announced in February during a contentious meeting that she would not seek reelection. Her comments followed a citizen’s comment comparing Haitian immigrants’ intelligence to that of dogs. Brown and Rue strongly pushed back against the assertion.
“The comparison to people of African descent as less than animals, again, is super racist,” Brown said at the time. “... That was one of the most despicable things I’ve ever heard having sat in this seat. So I might as well say it now as well: I will not be seeking a second term, and these are the things, there are the reasons. Because the vileness that has come from citizens as I’ve sat here ... I just can’t continue to consume that. It’s disgusting.”
Credit: Jessica Orozco
Credit: Jessica Orozco
The outgoing commissioner said she has learned a lot during her term, joking that she’d prayed for patience about four or five years ago. She thanked Sue DeVoe Allen, chairperson of the Clark County Board of Elections, for pushing her to run.
“I especially want to thank my husband and also my mom, my cousin Autumn who’s always here, and just the entire community that supported me and just everybody,” Brown said. “It was a really rough time for me especially oftentimes being the only woman for some years and happily being joined by Bridget and Tracey.”
Bridget Houston
Houston was appointed to the commission in January 2024 to fill the seat vacated when Rue was elected mayor in November 2023. She said in May that with a new baby and toddler in addition to a full-time job and small business with her husband, running a campaign became unfeasible.
Houston works in medical sales and moved to Springfield five years ago with her husband.
She said the job has been difficult at times juggling her small children and full-time job. She thanked commissioners for her appointment.
“I‘d like to thank the fellow commissioners for appointing me and taking a chance on me, having faith in me when I was 30 years old and sometimes questioned if I should be up here,” Houston said.
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