Karen-Marie Cohen: Peabody City Council Candidate Profile

PEABODY, MA — Karen-Marie Cohen is seeking her first term representing Ward 2 on the Peabody City Council.

The 55-year-old mother of eight, grandmother of four and proud Irish Wolfhound owner is a former court reporter in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and a small business owner in Peabody.

She told Patch her priorities will be keeping Peabody affordable through streamlining goverment and being responsive to constituents.

The citywide election is on Nov. 2.

Campaign website

Karen-Marie Cohen for Peabody Ward 2 Councilor

Why are you seeking elective office?

To serve in the public square.

The single most pressing issue facing our city is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Reduce spending and waste in government so that Peabody can truly be an affordable place for people to live. Hold all levels of city government accountable, whether elected or appointed, for waste and abuse.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am a business owner, and I have the time availability and flexibility to respond quickly to any individual or a business owner. Someone should not have to wait a week or more for a response to their inquiry. Timely follow-up is key. Respect for and defense of the God-given, inalienable rights of the sovereigns by the servant is of the utmost priority. Business owners looking to invest and succeed in Ward 2 will never be treated as if they need a "papal blessing" from me as the Ward 2 councilor.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

The people should never have to bear the financial burden and shame that their elected servants bring when they violate another's civil liberties or engage in tortious behavior, actions that resulted in at least two lawsuits regarding 2 Washington Street, beginning in 2015.

This example is, by far, the most egregious act against the residents of Peabody. We can't become affordable if our elected servants needlessly cost the taxpayers millions of taxpayer dollars to defend them in litigation that should never have occurred in the first place.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Businesses needed more support in regard to understanding the governor's mandates. The populace needed to be informed as to what the governor's mask mandate actually said about exemptions and discrimination. In this regard, both federal and state non-discrimination laws have been made hurt by mandates. Laws are not less than mandates or executive orders, and mandates or executive orders are not laws. Unfortunately, this damage is continuing, and the effects have been more than a little concerning.

As for how well or poorly the city handled all of this, it's far too soon to tell. Opioid overdoses and deaths dramatically increased, suicides have increased, untreated mental illness issues have increased, addiction issues have reemerged for many recovering addicts/alcoholics and new cases of addiction/alcoholism have arisen — the list goes on. It will be years before we know fully what impact our handling of this situation has had — positive and negative.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I will oppose any and all new taxes or increased taxes, new "fees" or increased "fees", any new "fines" or increased "fines." We need to look at redundancies in government, delve into what roles government is actually supposed to fill according to our founders, and stick to just that. Corruption or abuse in government must be dealt with expeditiously and with complete transparency before the sovereigns to whom we are accountable.

I will always strive to operate with high morals and ethics. I am and have been mentored by some truly tremendous people in all areas of life. I am a religious person, and all that I do must begin with acknowledging that I am only here because of Adonai Elohim. I am a Messianic believer, and I strongly support and defend people's natural right to worship as their conscience dictates, not man.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have served in the public, private and religious squares for well over half my life, in a variety of capacities. I tend to prefer to help and service as privately as possible because it is not about me whenever I do. I do not look for or want accolades or promotion from anyone on earth. Let the glory be His, and let me open to opportunities to bless and lift up.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

"What you do speaks so loudly that what you say, I cannot hear."

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am rather introverted. I listen and observe far more than many people may realize. I am a liberty lover. I will not vote in favor of anything before me if it impacts the liberty of even one person. Freedom + Morality = Liberty.

"Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual." - Thomas Jefferson