There are two open seats for the Kenyon city council and three people have filed for the general election on November 5th. We have interviewed Mary Bailey and Elana Brunner but the third candidate, Aaron Meyer, did not respond to be interviewed.
Mary Bailey has served on the city council for four years. Mary has a business and lives in Kenyon and her children attend the Kenyon-Wanamingo School. She believes it is a great place to raise a family. Mary has served on other boards in the past and is currently on the EDA as well.
She recalls that the first few years of being on City Council are a learning experience. Government works slower than most organizations and is structured in a very unique way. It took me some time to get used to and to understand how things operate. Now that I understand this a bit better, it is easier to work through some of the issues we have. Like upgrading our downtown area, and making decisions about repairing our roads and other infrastructure in town. I am also working with the city departments to hopefully implement some sort of trail system while fixing and expanding our parks.
Along with continual care for the city and it's infrastructure, her goal is to get a trail and park system started that could be expanded in the future.
Mary believes that the strength of our community is that we have almost everything we need in our little town and most of it comes in the form of small businesses that care for the rest of the community. “It would be nice to fill our downtown with a few more small businesses and that is happening right now. We are getting a new salon and a new restaurant and hopefully that will continue to grow. We need more businesses and residential living space. We are really working on filling the industrial park and filling the empty spaces downtown. There are many obstacles in doing this. Most of them financial but we are really trying to be creative in making them come to fruition”.
Elana Brunner and her husband Matthew moved to Kenyon in April of 2015. They have a 2-year old daughter. Elana works for the state of Minnesota and Matt is a locomotive mechanic and a volunteer firefighter on the Kenyon Fire Department. They love the city parks and being outside and is willing to meet others to listen, learn and grow.
She is running for city council because since her and her husband moved here ten years ago they have appreciated the support and all the people they have met. She wants to ensure the community remains a great place to live and raise a family. Elana has worked for local government and has seen how effective policies can positively transform lives and communities. She believes it is important that a city leadership team is responsive and transparent; actively engages residents; and effectively translates the visions, aspirations and concerns of the community into plans and actions.
She would like to continue to promote transparency, fiscal responsibility, equitable programs and policies that are in the best interest of all. She looks forward to meaningful conversations, building relationships and learning more about the city and how to continue to improve our community. Elana believes that by listening and remaining curious in disagreement, we can acknowledge that there are differences, but be open and honest, learn and grow from those variances.
