October 19 Issue - Newspaper - Page 7
EDITION 8
October 19 2023
Page 7
PROFILE
Mark Kennison
Candidate for Mayor – City of Washington
Mark Kennison of Washington is currently running for
the office of The Mayor in the City of Washington. In
an effort to learn about the candidate, The Weekly
Recorder sat down with him to understand his
qualifications and learn about his plans for the city.
Mark Kennison is a lifetime resident of Washington. He
is an alumnus of Washington and Jefferson College
majoring in Business Administration. He is a
successful entrepreneur. He began his professional
career as a founder along with his father of an
international franchise, Just Dogs! Gourmet, with stores
operational in some of the most prominent cities
throughout the United States and Canada while gaining
notoriety being featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and
on Good Morning America.
With his business savvy and passion for the restoration
of his hometown of Washington, Mark brought his
focus back to Main Street Washington opening his first
business in the city, The Upper Crust, in 2010. Since
then, he has opened six other businesses downtown
ranging from retail and residential development to
dining and entertainment with The Presidents Pub and
venue Nineteen North.
While his business goals include the revitalization of
downtown, Mark’s philanthropic mission is restoring
Washington as a secure and prosperous home for all
residents. His work can be followed as board member
of The Dreamers Company, a local nonprofit that aims
to make renaissance a reality by offering emergency
relief for homeowners, fresh landscapes to
neighborhoods, new renovations to the parks and
playgrounds, and pioneering culturally diverse
expressions to breathe new life and inspiration
throughout the city. Through his many years of service
to Washington, Mark has gained a true understanding
of what is possible if the community rallies together to
take hold of the future it deserves. This has inspired
him to take the next step into the mayoral bid for
Washington in which he aspires to lead the local
government as the catalyst for reaching the city’s full
potential in partnership with our residents, business
owners, and charitable organizations.
Question
What strategies do you propose for promoting
economic growth and job creation within the city?
How will you support local businesses?
Answer
I will actively seek developers with ready to present
opportunities in the city of Washington. I will also
work in conjunction with the county officials and
Redevelopment Authority to showcase project support
and all supplementary funding sources, grants, tax
abatement, and potential anchor tenants.
Mark Kennison - Candidate for Mayor - City of Washington
along with proper supporting organizations and county/state officials.
We need to regain balance in the ratio of renters to homeowners. Increased home
ownership should be a community goal in partnership with the city. Not only does it
instill pride back into our neighborhoods, but it also provides the opportunity for
generational wealth within the family structure.
As member of The Dreamer Company, we have partnered with local government and
businesses, Redevelopment Authority, and organizations such as Blueprints to create
opportunities for families who may have not qualified for home ownership but
through funding sourced from the state, financial counseling, and equity creation
through the hard work our volunteers we are able to make this dream a reality. This
blessing is twofold as we are also rehabilitating homes that are blighted to the
surrounding neighbors and transforming them into something to be proud of. You can
see our first successful project on the 500 block of Jefferson Avenue. The city needs to
put more effort into initiatives such as this.
Question
One of the mayor's responsibilities is managing the city's budget. How will you
ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency in managing public finances?
Answer
We will create a Welcome to Washington package for
new businesses with all the resources they need to find
a location and to include an organized opening check
list, while highlighting what we have to offer with
recent growth and development. It’s a competitive
market and we need to ensure we are doing everything
can to increase the desire for business owners to
choose a Washington location.
Fiscal Responsibility is key.
We also need to analyze public housing. Consolidate
current residents and create development opportunities
to sell back unoccupied space to the private sector and
onto the tax role. We can use this opportunity for an
upgrade to the landscape of our public grounds so that
the residents can enjoy an enhanced living environment
from this restructuring as well as further improving the
curb appeal to the potential developers we hope to
attract.
It is important that we engage with the public to gather the appropriate input to
ensure the primary needs of the community are met.
I would like to hire a consultant to look at the
possibilities of reorganizing the tax base of Washington
“15301” to offset the amount of tax-free entities
located within city limits. Our churches, hospital, and
college are all tremendous assets that provide value to
not just the city of Washington but also to the
surrounding municipalities that should share in the
responsibility of housing these entities.
We need a focus on grant writing to get the money we
need to improve our infrastructure and grow the city. I
would like to hire a dedicated person for this position.
We should connect with lobbyists to get our application
to the top of the pile, work with our strategic partners
and neighboring municipalities for cowriting grants
Managing a budget has been my responsibility as a business owner for the last 20
years and will lead to my success in doing so as Mayor of Washington. The city needs
to maintain fiscal responsibility to ensure we can provide top tier essential services,
invest in infrastructure and growth, and be prepared for the unexpected.
We need a transparent budget that outlines our priorities, while focusing on both the
reduction of our debt and increasing a diverse set of revenue streams.
Financial reports need to be thorough and easily accessible for review and
accountability; we must be committed to transparency.
Question
How will you combat blight and make Washington a more desirable and livable
city.
Answer
We can empower volunteers and charitable organizations, such as the Dreamers
Company, Washington Rotary, and Clean and Tidy our County, that are willing to
work alongside the city. Many hours are spent by these groups making improvements
but too often year after year the same work is being redone instead of improved upon.
A closer working relationship and followed up maintenance needs provided by the
city so we can ensure annual growth.
We also need to hold utility companies accountable. It is understood repairs and
maintenance are necessary, but we cannot allow them to leave our city roads and
sidewalks worse than they were found. In fact, we should insist on an overall visual
improvement to offset the inconveniences our residents must endure throughout the
process. Our residents deserve an ascetically attractive city. Accurate timelines and
