It began with a discussion about the new Trump executive order on air taxis and exploring how West Chester, Ohio, could become part of this exciting new trend. But halfway through our conversation, it became apparent to me that Mark Welch was up for re-election, and it would be a good idea to continue the discussion on camera so that people could see how the spaghetti is made politically, because West Chester is at a critical time. It has been very prosperous, and Mark, as a trustee, has been exceptionally effective in contributing to that success. He is what remains of a long-standing government relationship that balanced power and innovation in just the right way over an extended period, resulting in great success. I don’t think he will have a difficult time re-winning his seat. However, there are challengers, and quite a few of them lean toward Democratic politics, and we all know what that means. It’s a second-generation kind of thing, where the governing we do ends up being second-generation concerns. They know they like the success, but they don’t know how to earn more of it for themselves. And under the traditional campaign platform approach, there isn’t much opportunity for someone with extensive experience and success, like Mark Welch, to demonstrate why he is so much better than everyone else. During our conversation, I suggested to Mark that we record the rest of our talk on camera so people could listen in and see what goes into being a good trustee. These kinds of races cost a lot of money, because you have to buy print media, do the yard signs in a big district, and do radio and television to maintain a brand expectation that the public has for a front-running political figure. However, the best thing Mark Welch has in his favor, campaign-wise, is his own experience, allowing people to hear it for themselves without interruption.
One thing that Mark has always been good at is understanding the passions that business owners have and embracing a go-forward path toward fulfillment, which is why we were discussing flying cars and a vertiport in West Chester. Over the last 14 years or so, there were numerous decisions made, including Mark’s election as a trustee, that contributed to West Chester, Ohio, becoming one of the best places to live in the world. Welch knows his stuff. Every time I speak with him, he rattles off an enormous amount of detailed information about the subjects we’re discussing, and he finds a way to get along with just about everyone. So he was undoubtedly the right guy to talk about an abandoned property that I had been thinking about that could use a repurpose to be a vertiport for the new Joby Air Taxi service which would take visitors to and from the local airports, CVG to the south, and Dayton International to the north, to avoid the heavy traffic that is typically associated with both routes. Joby Aviation has relationships with Uber, Toyota, and Delta Airlines to advance personal transportation along these frontiers. All they needed was a presidential administration like Trump’s to sign an executive order allowing them to proceed, and FAA certification to advance. Mark and I were talking about what a shame it was that Saudi Arabia and, specifically, Dubai, were going to be the first to market for this exciting new transportation system. This is no longer science fiction, like the Jetsons cartoon or Back to the Future. These vertical takeoff vehicles are real, very efficient, and can safely transport up to four passengers right now. All they need at this point is the FAA certification, which they are expected to receive later in 2025. Now was the time to discuss how West Chester, Ohio, could become part of this exciting new trend.
The reason West Chester would be a great place to start an American hub is that Joby Aviation has a manufacturing facility where it will build thousands of these sky cars in the Dayton area for many years. And as it stands, Toyota has invested over $500 million in a partnership with Joby, which means that Japan will be using these sky cars soon, as will China. It would be a real shame to have all these far-away places using something that was being built right down the road from West Chester. I have people who come from all over the world to see me often, and their number one complaint is that it takes too long to get to the area airports from West Chester. They’d rather not worry about renting a car once they get to Cincinnati to visit a business associate in West Chester. They’d like to fly in on Delta, catch their direct shuttle service to the Joby air taxi at the Delta hub, and fly directly to West Chester, so they can walk to their hotel without worrying about traffic. West Chester has a lot of hotels, but the other complaint is that they are always booked, so there is a genuine business need to solve this transportation problem. It’s great to have such excellent highway access as West Chester does. But the hour spent either to the north or the south getting to the airport could be used in a much better way, and these Joby Air Taxis are just the right thing.
Air taxis will play a significant role in the future American economy. The best way to deal with traffic is to fly over it; as a result, many parts of America will likely utilize air taxis after just visiting Washington D.C. I can say that they will be instrumental in flying people in and out of the city from many directions, as the traffic on the highways is always so thick. People don’t travel long distances for business meetings only to sit in traffic. And it happens all the time in West Chester: people from out of town want to go to a Reds game, but everyone has worked all day at their business and doesn’t have time to drive down to the stadium to sit in traffic for an hour and a half during rush hour. If they could take a Joby air taxi to the stadium, they would do it without hesitation. Mark and I were discussing that old building in West Chester that would make a great skyport for the southern Ohio region. Because establishing those would be the very next problem that Joby Aviation would have to overcome, they had the technical parts worked out. Now they had the political support. Now, all they needed were vertiports to create a network of use that these flying cars could be a part of, so that commercial travel could begin. But that was new information. Mark has been down this kind of road before, with many thousands of similar enterprises that just needed a friendly place to set up shop, which is why West Chester became one of the best places in the world to live. Mark Welch embodies the perfect politician, and if we want to protect what is so good about West Chester, Ohio, re-electing Mark Welch to his trustee position is crucial and a wise decision. There is a lot of fun coming on the horizon for those bold enough to put their arm around innovation. And when it comes to government leadership, Mark Welch excels at doing just that.
Rich Hoffman
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