Kim Ecklund

The City Republican Committee has unanimously nominated Kim Ecklund to run for Mayor of Jamestown.

Ecklund will face Democrat and current Mayor Eddie Sundquist who announced his re-election campaign in early January.

Ecklund, who has served as a City Council Member at Large since 2004, said “it’s time,” “There are some things I feel I can make a difference in that I feel it’s time for me to step forward and at least try to do that.”

Ecklund said she plans to stay true to who she is, “Obviously, very important to me is fiduciary responsibility and obviously keeping the city in a fiscally responsible place. I’ve been on every avenue of City Council but some things obviously, public safety is very important, homeowners, and tax base, and businesses along with the quality of life issues that we have here.”

Ecklund has a multi-decade career in finance at eSolutions Furniture, formerly known as Bush Industries, in addition to her nearly 20 years in city government.

She has served on the City Council’s Public Works and Finance committees and has been the Chair of the Finance Committee for over three years. Ecklund currently serves on the Jamestown Local Development Corporation and the Parks and Recreation Commission and previously served on the Riverfront Management Commission, the Joint Task Force on Efficiency and Cost Reduction, as well as other ad hoc committees.

She is married to Keith Ecklund, a former Jamestown Firefighter. She has been a mentor through Chautauqua Striders for 18 years and also is the Vice President of the Jamestown Babe Ruth World Series Board of Directors.

She thanked the Republican Committee for their support and said she expects to make a more formal announcement about her campaign in the coming weeks.