Voters won’t see Tom Kennis? name anywhere on the Nov. 4 ballot, but he is running for a seat on the Oxford Village Council.
Kennis, who’s lived in the village for 20-plus years, is one of five write-in candidates in the council race.
He hopes to apply all the knowledge and experience he accumulated while running his own companies for 25 years to municipal government.
‘I just want to run the village like a business, instead of a political entity,? said the 55-year-old, who currently works as a sales engineer dealing in machine components.
All five council seats are up for grabs in next week’s general election and nine candidates are vying for them.
Incumbents Sue Bossardet, Bryan Cloutier and Maureen Helmuth all appear on the ballot along with challenger Rose Bejma, a retired village clerk.
Write-in candidates are Bonnie Staley, Dave Bailey (current village president), Denise Kabalka-Chesney, Tanya Heuser and Kennis. A story on the other four write-in candidates appeared in the Oct. 15 Leader.
If elected, Kennis, who’s served on the village planning commission for about four years, said he would work to ensure his decisions benefitted everyone, not just certain interests.
‘I care so much about Oxford and the village,? said Kennis, who resides in the Oxford Lakes subdivision. ‘I love living here.?
One of his main concerns is the village water system.
‘It’s one of the best things that we have in our community,? Kennis said.
He believes issues such as maintenance and the rates paid by system users need to be adequately and regularly addressed to avoid future problems.
‘I just want to make sure we have a long-term plan for handling our water system, not just a three-to-five-year (one), but a 10-year plan,? Kennis said.
Kennis has been married to his wife Lynn for 30 years and they have two grown children.