Candidate Profile: Jennifer Kehoe, Plymouth City Commissioner

PLYMOUTH, MI — The are four open city commissioner seats in Plymouth in November's general election.

To help readers make informed choices, Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Jennifer Kehoe is running for one of the four Plymouth City Commissioner seats.

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Party Affiliation

It's a non-partisan race

Family

Patrick Kehoe - husband, son age 15 attends P-CCS, and daughter age 18 at Kalamazoo College

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Husband is on the P-CCS School Board

Education

BS - University of Oregon, MPH and MS - University of Michigan

Occupation

Worked in research and teaching but have stayed home with children for 17 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Planning Commission and Brownfield Commission

Campaign website

none

Why are you seeking elective office?

I decided to run for a seat on the City Commission because I want to be an advocate of smart growth in the City of Plymouth. For me, smart growth serves all the stakeholders in Plymouth, not just the developers who are coming in. I’d like to strike a balance between residents, businesses, and developers and strive to represent all the people of Plymouth.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

I believe that the top priority of the next city commission should be to help the entire community grow and thrive after the pandemic. Our businesses, residents, recreation programs, and city administration have all been strained and stressed by this pandemic. The pandemic has divided much of our community, and I believe that we need to return to finding common ground so that we can repair our relationships and grow as a community. As a commissioner, I will advocate for transparent decision making that listens to the voices of all the stakeholders in our community.

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

I believe that our most important job is to take all stakeholders’ voices into consideration in the decision-making process. While it’s impossible to please everyone, we need to represent the people who elect us as we work towards a better, stronger Plymouth.

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

Our current administration and commission worked quickly and effectively to make vaccines available for all city residents. They also worked with well with city businesses to quickly pivot and expand outdoor dining.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

While not on the immediate horizon, our transportation needs will be changing over the next 20 years. We’re already seeing the movement towards electric and autonomous vehicles and we as a city will need to be ready to meet these changes and address how they will impact pedestrians and bicyclists.

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

In my time on the Planning Commission, we’ve worked together to address home sizing and massing and have brought the size of new houses down by almost 25%. We've also championed building porches by giving building incentives for their inclusion. This has resulted in most new homes having front porches which greatly adds to the walkability of Plymouth. As a planning commissioner I served as the chair of the subcommittee that wrote the City’s Master Plan, which is the master document that guides all the zoning and planning in the city.