Comment given on Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremonies in Keene.

I had the honor to introduce Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries at our Keene MLK recognition events. His work emphasizes rehabilitation and reentry for those living at the margins of the Los Angelos area. His message is to plant yourself at the margins because it’s the only way to erase them, for people living at the margins to become one of us.

On this day, 95 years ago, Martin Luther King was born and he died at the age of 39 on April 4, 1968.  In that short time his impact was immense.  His message for racial equity and justice went beyond it’s impact on black people in the US.  It had a global reach which is why he received the Nobel Peace Prize.  His message applied to all people who witnessed and experienced inequity and injustice.  As a person whose parents fled Nazi Germany, MLK was a voice for justice and equity in my country and I needed that hope and promise.

In 1999, I felt the joy of New Hampshire becoming the last state in the country to embrace Martin Luther King’s birthday as a state holiday.

I won’t deny that racial inequity and injustice exists today.  But because of King’s efforts, and that of many others including Keene’s martyred freedom rider, Jonathon Daniels, I believe progress has been made.  We must nonetheless keep race as a form of inequity in our present consciousness, least we slip back to where we were not that long ago during my generation. 

King’s message went beyond achieving racial equity and justice. It included economic equity and justice.  In the months before his death, King announced the Poor People’s Campaign on November 29, 1967.  Seeking a “middle ground between riots on the one hand and timid requests for justice on the other, King planned for an initial group of 2,000 poor people to descend on Washington, D.C., southern states and northern cities to meet with government officials to demand jobs, unemployment insurance, a fair minimum wage, and education for poor adults and children, designed to improve their self-image and self-esteem.”

“After King’s assassination in April 1968, SCLC decided to go on with the campaign.  On Mother’s Day, May 12, 1968, thousands of women, led by Coretta Scott King, formed the first wave of demonstrators. The following day, Resurrection City, a temporary settlement of tents and shacks, was built on the Mall in Washington, D.C.  For the following 6 weeks, demonstrators made visits to federal agencies to protest and demand economic justice.”

Today, as we recognize the work of MLK, it is economic inequity and injustice that I believe is the most serious issue we face.  Intergenerational poverty undermines hope, motivation and achievement.   Economic inequity shows up in financial insecurity, educational disparities, workforce participation rates, adaptability to change and self-determination of life-time goals.  There is a lot of work ahead of us to minimize the impacts of economic inequity. 

National policies guide the extent to which people can expect minimum income guarantees, educational access, healthcare coverage.  But it’s communities that are the builders of supports that secure opportunity. 

In Keene we have many among us that are builders of opportunity.  Here we work together to get big things done. Housing those in need of shelter at 100 Nights Shelter and the UCC.  Feeding those who face hunger and food security at the Community Kitchen, Feeding Tiny Tummies, Meals on Wheels and the Keene Senior Center.  KSC providing the Granite Guarantee, financial aid for no cost tuition towards a college education for all New Hampshire students who are Pell eligible and enrolling at KSC for the first time.  The KHKC assure children from low-income families have access to after-school and summer enrichment programs.  The Keene Housing Authority and Southwestern Community Services provide low-income families affordable rental housing opportunities.  Health, dental and mental healthcare services are provided to those who can’t afford the cost of health insurance.  We honor our civil rights heroes, like the Jonathon Daniels documentary films by Richard and Sandra Wallace and by Larry Benaquist.

Today is a day for us to recommit to the values of equity and justice and to build a better community here in Keene and in NH and to model what we can achieve as a nation.

Father Boyle, today it is an honor to welcome you to our Greater Keene community.  I’m not quite comfortable referring to you as G-dog, Father Greg.  But I am glad you are here in Keene today to witness our community and to impart ideas on how we can achieve more equitable and just outcomes through our work together.

Keene Sentinel Coverage of Inaugural Ceremony

The Keene Sentinel’s coverage tells a good story of the inauguration ceremony. You can link to it from here:

https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/keene-gives-an-official-welcome-to-new-mayor-jay-kahn/article_cb36a810-06de-5e1b-8905-005d687abd9e.html

Post-Election Thank You Keene Voters

Thank you, Keene voters, for electing me to serve as Keene’s next mayor.  It is an honor to serve my community, on which I’ve been reflecting how to thank you.   

To Keene voters, thank you for reading up on the candidates, answering our door knocking, and taking our pre-election day phone calls.  Prior to the election, the City Clerk estimated voter turnout to be 17%, comparable to 2021.  Our campaign goal was to turnout more voters, and we reached 20% in this 2023 election.  Increasing voter participation is a goal for my term in office. 

To the hundreds of Kahn for Mayor supporters who hosted lawn signs, and hosted and attended house parties, thank you for showing your support.  People noticed.

To the many Kahn for Mayor volunteers who helped me illustrate one of my priorities -- civic engagement -- through canvassing door-to-door, pre-election phone calls and greeting voters at polling places.  Our volunteers demonstrated that civic engagement is more than words, it’s a process including open dialogue, transparency and participation in community activities.   We all benefit from civic engagement and it costs so little.

To the public generally, this past Tuesday, Keene elected a new mayor and 10 city councilors.  Please keep in touch, don’t go silent or let our processes become a barrier to your participation.  Keep reinforcing your appreciation for people who serve in city government, sometimes year after year.  And also recognize the contributions of volunteers contributing locally to governmental and nonprofit organizations that improve our quality of life. 

Acts of recognition produce another benefit, community pride.  Pride that we live in a wonderful part of the world, with talented people doing important and interesting things that distinguish Keene.  I pledge to amplify the good work of students, volunteers, businesses, employees, educational, governmental and healthcare organizations.  Pride also that here we face up to issues important to Keene residents, employers and city employees, and they become city priorities.

This was the 5th time in 7 years that I’ve been on Keene’s general election ballot.  Each time I’ve been elected by large margins, for which I’m very grateful.  The honor of representing my community motivates me to accomplish important things.  They don’t happen overnight, however, we can work together to move a variety of things forward simultaneously.  

I look forward to continue working with you and serving our City.  

Thank you.

Jay Kahn

Mayor-elect

Keene Municipal Election - Tuesday, November 7

Dear Friends,

With the municipal election just days away, I want to take this moment to thank all of our volunteers and to update you on how you can contribute to a strong finish.

Canvassing

Thanks to volunteer coordinators JoAnn Fenton and Jennifer Friedman, we have knocked on doors of over 1500 Keene voters. This weekend will be our largest canvassing effort yet, and we want to double this figure, focusing on densely populated and easily canvassed neighborhoods.  All canvasses will launch from Jennifer Friedman’s home at 7 Allen Court at 10 a.m., both Saturday and Sunday. We have 11 canvassers signed up and could use another 11. 

I hold civic engagement as one of my top five priorities. Personal voter contact shows this is more than just words on a flier.  We want voters to go out and vote on Nov. 7.

If you can help us this weekend, please contact me, or Jennifer Friedman at Jennifer@friedman.org.

Phone Banking for Kahn for Mayor

Can't canvass?  Can you make phone calls?  Through our canvassing we have identified hundreds of Keene voters who are strong supporters. We plan to contact these voters by phone from Saturday through Monday evening to encourage them to vote.  

Our whole volunteer effort has been designed not simply to win, but to boost voter participation to 25%.  That may not sound great, but in 2021 municipal elections, voter participation was at 17.5%.  

We will send voter contact lists to you via email and you can make calls from your home at your convenience. Please volunteer to help in a way that works for you. If you can help us this weekend, please contact me, or Jennifer Friedman at Jennifer@friedman.org .

Pop-up on Central Square
Can you hold a sign on Central Square on Monday evening from 4 to 5:15?  Come for 30 minutes or an hour. We‘ll have signs for supporters to hold. Our goal is simply to remind people to vote. And it’s fun to join with other volunteers in a campaign event. 

Covering Polling Places
Carl Stewart has one volunteer for each Ward polling place for every hour on Nov. 7. Our goal is to have 2 volunteers each hour. A shift is two hours, but we can accept volunteers that have an hour to contribute. Sign posts will be at the polling place. Visibility at the polls is important and thanking voters for their participation is important as well. You can contact Carl at carl1billion@yahoo.com

Facebook Posts
Encourage your contacts to vote on Nov. 7, by posting on Facebook this weekend. Posts can read like; “This Tuesday, I’m voting for Jay Kahn for Mayor of Keene and I hope you will as well”; “He’s the Mayor we need to lead Keene”; “Jay will provide the advocacy, integrity and leadership Keene deserves in its Mayor’; “Jay has a track record of accomplishments that demonstrate he will provide the leadership Keene needs.” 

Thank you for your support both in person and online. I can be tagged on Facebook at Jay Kahn.

Thank You

I hope you can feel my gratitude for your support over the past five months. This is an all-volunteer campaign. You’ve responded by hosting lawn signs, attending and hosting house parties, canvassing, letters to the editor, and just buoying my spirits with messages. This is the return on public service that keeps people like me, who believe in its value, continuing to do the work.  

Thank you for your support and your vote on November 7. Feel free to contact me at kahnjay03@gmail.com.

Sincerely, 

Jay Kahn

Keene Sentinel Questionnaire responses from Jay Kahn

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Name: Jay Kahn

Age:  73

How long have you lived in Keene? 35 years

Family: married to Cheryl. We have two children and two grandchildren

Education: Ph.D in Public Policy Analysis, University of Illinois-Chicago

Occupation: Retired from Keene State College where I served for 28 years as Vice President for Finance and Planning, Interim President and Adjunct Faculty.  

Organizations to which you belong/have belonged:  past Chairman of the boards of Cheshire Medical Center, Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce, and Monadnock Economic Development Corporation. Currently serving on NH Civics as Treasurer, and Board member on National Alliance for Mental Health-NH, Southwestern Community Services, Southwest Regional Planning Commission

Public/government service: City Councilor 2016, State Senator 2016 to 2022

QUESTIONS (Limit is 200 words per answer)*

1). Why are you running for mayor?  

I can bring experience and relationships that add value to the mayor’s position.  I’ve effectively led Keene State College, local organizations and in the State Senate.  I can leverage local, state and national relationships to advocate for and benefit the lives of Keene residents.  As my Senate record demonstrates, I’m an effective advocate on workforce, infrastructure, education, and health and mental health care.  

I love our city and want Keene to sustain a reputation as a great place to live, visit, work, raise a family, and retire.  That will take a communitywide effort.  I believe I can bring groups together to face our challenges, identify opportunities and work in partnerships to accomplish big goals. 

2). What is the mayor’s greatest responsibility, and how would you meet it? 

Leading the City to thrive in the next decade, the 2030’s, is what I see as the big goal for Keene’s next mayor.  That takes a number of strategies to retain Keene residents and businesses by controlling taxes and maintaining high-quality services and quality of life. Keene must be a city that’s attractive and welcoming to new people: a college town; locally accessible health care; good schools; recreational, arts and multicultural activities; and a vibrant downtown.  Housing needs to be affordable and available. Our population needs to grow enough to have the workforce to sustain and attract local businesses and services.  The mayor needs to sustain citizen, business and organization engagement in planning and decisions, so we’re all in this together.  This is how I’ve worked in leadership roles at Keene State College and in the City. 

The mayor also needs to be a consistent advocate for the City’s needs.  That requires strong communications with state and federal leaders.  My successes advocating for our region as its state senator will carry over to my ability to work with other mayors, state and federal officials. 

3). Amid a statewide housing crisis, what can the city do to alleviate housing insecurity and better serve those who have either lost their housing or are on the brink of doing so? 

Supply and demand for housing are out of balance and unsustainable, and it’s driving people away.  A sustainable solution is to make better use of vacant and underutilized properties, including city-owned land, to increase the availability and diversity of housing.  When the city has an inventory of potential building sites, we’ll market those opportunities for development.   

Access to services needs to be maximized with case work support that meets people where they are and helps them advance to self-sufficiency.  We need systems that provide rapid workforce training; direct people to income, food, shelter and childcare supports; accessible mental health and substance use recovery services; and transportation services. 

Housing shelter spaces should be prioritized for local residents.  We need to work with the state legislature to prioritize policies to alleviate homelessness.  I’ve proposed means by which communities hosting services can recover costs from towns sending their homeless.  Everyone should have skin in solving this problem.  We need a means for community action programs to provide short-term income assistance for people in need to avoid eviction and cover rent deposits. I will organize action among NH mayors and legislators to act on these proposals. 

4). What should the city do to minimize the disruption the three-year infrastructure project slated to start in 2025 will have on downtown businesses?

We can’t let the downtown infrastructure project take all the energy from other important issues.  Let’s agree to our objectives and manage the project’s scope to minimize the cost and time for completion.  Apply project management techniques, including engaging citizen and business stakeholders, to shrink the schedule and minimize disruption.  Safety and access need to be given priority during the project. Let’s secure property use rights to provide alternative parking arrangements to increase access to downtown and alleviate conflicts that complicate and delay project completion.  Just as during the pandemic, the City can help downtown businesses thrive by mobilizing buy-local initiatives and continuing to promote downtown events. 

The City has additional infrastructure needs like renovating Robin Hood Park, sidewalk replacement, roadway improvements and complete streets, improving infrastructure to support new housing, and additional wastewater treatment systems that provide cost savings. These need to move onto city priority lists so we don’t lose momentum for other city improvements that provide visible returns for taxpayers.

*Note: Word limits do not include the text of the questions or biographical prompts; numbers and abbreviations will be counted as individual words.