Kennedy to run for CdA council seat

Local businessman Mike Kennedy says Coeur d’Alene needs a representative to speak for young, working families and that’s why he is running for the City Council.

“No one will work harder than I will to listen, to learn and to educate myself on how to improve the city of Coeur d’Alene,” Kennedy told about 60 supporters gathered Tuesday at Bluegrass Park to launch his campaign.

Kennedy, 36, said his top priorities are protecting children, managing the town’s skyrocketing growth and preserving access to open and public spaces such as Sanders Beach and Canfield Mountain.

Kennedy, flanked by his five children and wife, said the council can get involved in youth issues that range from providing safe routes to local schools to strengthening city laws to protecting children from registered sex offenders.

A member of the city’s ad-hoc Open Space Committee, Kennedy said Coeur d’Alene needs to move aggressively protect open space. He admitted he doesn’t have all the solutions for funding these projects but believes the city can find creative and innovative solutions. But, he said, time is running out.

Because the city is growing so rapidly—13,665 new people in the last four years — Kennedy thinks developers should pay larger impact fees to ensure growth pays for itself and that current residents don’t have to foot the bill. He added that annexation fees, which developers pay to have property included in the city limits, are long overdue for an increase.

Kennedy has lived in Kootenai County since 1991 and been active on numerous local boards including the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theater. He has worked behind-the-scenes on several political campaigns including the recent Coeur d’Alene Library Bond election and Democrat Walt Minnick’s 1996 bid for the U.S. Senate. He works for the software company XDimensional Technologies.

Until last month, Kennedy was living in Hayden. He recently started renting a house in Coeur d’Alene so he could meet the residency requirements for the city council. Kennedy is in the process of building a Coeur d’Alene home, but it wasn’t finished in time to satisfy the residency laws. His family will remain in the Hayden home until the Coeur d’Alene house is finished, he said.

Kennedy is the first candidate to officially announce his intention to run for the seat held by Councilman Ben Wolfinger, who doesn’t plan to see re-election in November.

Council members Deanna Goodlander and Woody McEvers are also up for re-election, as is Mayor Sandi Bloem.