Kim Ecklund<\/strong> said, “It takes a village” as she formally announced her candidacy for mayor of Jamestown.<\/p>\nThe Republican endorsed candidate, speaking before a packed room of supporters and elected officials, said this is about doing what’s right, “It’s not really hard to take and do the right thing. It’s not hard to be honest. And know that we’re going to meet with some opposition. People are going to agree to disagree. We’re not going to make everybody happy. But at the end of the day, if you do what’s right we’ll succeed.”<\/p>\n
Ecklund has served as a City Council<\/strong> member at Large since 2004, also serving on the City Council\u2019s Public Works and Finance committees and has been the Chair of the Finance Committee for over three years.<\/p>\nShe will face Democratic incumbent Mayor Eddie Sundquist<\/strong> in the November Elections<\/strong>.<\/p>\nEcklund said as she’s gone door to door for petitions, she’s hearing that Jamestown residents are looking for a change in leadership, “But I think people have been receptive to my leadership on the finance team and concern for this city’s future, fiscally. And, I think they’re ready to see some changes. There’s a lot of things going on in this city, some of which we can and cannot control. Drugs is a huge issue. Problems with the youth. I do a lot with youth and I’ve mentored youth for 20 years.”<\/p>\n
Ecklund said whoever is mayor next will have a tough task as the over $28 million in federal American Rescue Plan<\/strong> funds are closed to being used up. She said that’s why hard conversations about the $1.8 million in SAFER<\/strong> funding to hire eight firefighters are being had, “It’s great for three years but at the end of the three years, who wants to lay them off? I don’t. If we can’t afford it, they’re going to get laid off. So, those are financial tough decisions and, like I said, when I had the conversation with the firefighter today, his answer was, ‘Let’s just do this and worry about it later.’ My answer from a financial background is, ‘That’s not how I work,’ I gotta know up front. You hear me all the time at council, give me the numbers. Give me the numbers, show me how it’s going to work.”<\/p>\nEcklund added that she will be releasing her platform once the petition process is completed. Petitions are due to the Board of Elections by April 6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kim Ecklund said, “It takes a village” as she formally announced her candidacy for mayor of Jamestown. The Republican endorsed candidate, speaking before a packed room of supporters and elected officials, said this is about doing what’s right, “It’s not really hard to take and do the right thing. It’s not hard to be honest. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":50910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4],"tags":[12710,10348,7652,1122,1365,12902,12901],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Kim-Ecklund-Campaign-Kick-Off.jpg?fit=415%2C269&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3YlJ4-df7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50152,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/kim-ecklund-receives-republican-nomination-to-run-for-mayor\/","url_meta":{"origin":50909,"position":0},"title":"Kim Ecklund Receives Republican Nomination to Run for Mayor","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"February 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Local News"","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Kim-Ecklund-feature.jpg?fit=479%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":55537,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/kim-ecklund-defeats-eddie-sundquist-to-become-mayor-of-jamestown\/","url_meta":{"origin":50909,"position":1},"title":"Kim Ecklund Defeats Eddie Sundquist To Become Mayor of Jamestown","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"November 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jamestown will have a new mayor in 2024 as Republican Kim Ecklund has defeated Democratic incumbent Mayor Eddie Sundquist in a vote of 2,413 to 2,204. Ecklund said it has been a long nine months of campaigning, \"You come into it with a lot of emotions and building up to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Local News"","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56426,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/kim-ecklund-sworn-in-as-jamestowns-26th-mayor\/","url_meta":{"origin":50909,"position":2},"title":"Kim Ecklund Sworn In As Jamestown’s 26th Mayor","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"January 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Kim Ecklund has been sworn in as the City of Jamestown's 26th Mayor. The ceremony was held on Monday in City Council Chambers in City Hall. Ecklund is the first Republican woman to serve as the city's top executive. The late Carolyn Seymour, a Democrat, served as mayor from 1992\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Local News"","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Kim-Ecklund-Swearing-In-1-1-24.jpg?fit=810%2C748&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Kim-Ecklund-Swearing-In-1-1-24.jpg?fit=810%2C748&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Kim-Ecklund-Swearing-In-1-1-24.jpg?fit=810%2C748&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Kim-Ecklund-Swearing-In-1-1-24.jpg?fit=810%2C748&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55012,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/listen-2023-jamestown-mayoral-debate-october-12-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":50909,"position":3},"title":"[LISTEN] 2023 Jamestown Mayoral Debate – October 12, 2023","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"October 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A debate for the candidates for Mayor of Jamestown featuring incumbent Democrat Eddie Sundquist and Republican and City Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund. The event took place October 12, 2023.","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2023-Jamestown-Mayoral-Debate-cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2023-Jamestown-Mayoral-Debate-cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2023-Jamestown-Mayoral-Debate-cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C580&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2023-Jamestown-Mayoral-Debate-cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C580&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2023-Jamestown-Mayoral-Debate-cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C580&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54968,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wrfa-hosts-jamestown-mayoral-candidate-debate-tonight\/","url_meta":{"origin":50909,"position":4},"title":"WRFA Hosts Jamestown Mayoral Candidate Debate Tonight","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"October 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"WRFA will host a debate tonight for the candidates running to be Mayor of Jamestown. The debate will feature incumbent Democratic Mayor Eddie Sundquist and Republican Candidate and current City Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund. The debate will air live at 6:00 p.m. on 107.9 FM and can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Local News"","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/mayoral-debate-2023-image-wrfa-slider.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/mayoral-debate-2023-image-wrfa-slider.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/mayoral-debate-2023-image-wrfa-slider.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/mayoral-debate-2023-image-wrfa-slider.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/mayoral-debate-2023-image-wrfa-slider.jpg?fit=1200%2C554&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54937,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/listen-community-matters-council-member-mayoral-candidate-kim-ecklunds-reaction-to-proposed-2024-city-budget-october-9-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":50909,"position":5},"title":"[LISTEN] Community Matters – Council Member, Mayoral Candidate Kim Ecklund’s Reaction To Proposed 2024 City Budget – October 9, 2023","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"October 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"WRFA's Julia Ciesla-Hanley gets Jamestown City Council Finance Committee Chair and Republican Candidate for Mayor Kim Ecklund's reaction to Mayor Eddie Sundquist's proposed 2024 City Budget.","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kim-Ecklund-Mayor-feat.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50909"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50909"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50911,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50909\/revisions\/50911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}