Tanner Salyers first came to Mount Vernon from the small Ohio River community of Franklin Furnace, Ohio in Scioto County to attend Mount Vernon Nazarene University, where he received an undergraduate degree in integrated social studies education. Tanner also holds a master’s degree in public administration from Kent State University. He taught high school government and economics in Mount Vernon and Newark through digital charter schools, specifically working with at-risk, credit-deficient youth. Tanner has also served Knox County as a director of the summer Youth Works program and the co-founder of the Knox Summer Manufacturing Camp. He was an at-large member of Mount Vernon’s City Council from October 2019 to June 2021, when he was appointed as Knox County Recorder, where he served until October 2023, when he accepted the position of Safety Service Director with the City of Mount Vernon.