Candidate Profile: Sarah Kepple For Lakewood City Council

Sarah Kepple

Age (as of Election Day)

42

Position Sought

Lakewood City Council At Large

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

My husband Andrew Harant and I rented in Lakewood for several years before purchasing our home on Summit Avenue in 2007. Our seventeen-year old graduated from Lakewood High School last year and is beginning her freshman year of college.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

I come from a family of public servants, teachers and librarians, but no one else in my immediate family works in politics or for the City of Lakewood.

Education

Treu-Mart Youth Development Fellow- Case Western Reserve University |
Master’s Degree in Library & Information Science- Drexel University |
Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art- Kent State University

Occupation

Owner & Educator- Gigalearn, LLC I founded Gigalearn in 2014 to help kids, teens, and adults engage in the digital age by providing technology education classes and coaching including coding, robotics, web development, and social media. Prior to launching my small business I worked for and with diverse populations for about 12 years in school and public libraries.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Lakewood City Council Member at Large (current)-unanimously appointed February 2020

Campaign website

https://keppleforcouncil.com/

Why are you seeking elective office?

I’m running to continue to make local government accessible and responsive to my neighbors throughout the city. I was honored to be unanimously appointed to complete the term vacated by then newly elected Mayor George. I felt called to serve then as I am now because my experience and expertise as a small business owner, volunteer community organizer, and longtime public servant working for and with diverse populations make me uniquely suited to unite our community to take on the challenges facing our city together.
The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing our community is helping our residents and small businesses recover and respond to challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.
I have proposed the formation of an Intersectional Safety Committee comprised of community members with a diverse combination of experience to work with the City’s public safety, human services, and planning teams to consider safety from a holistic lens, including mental health and financial trauma, use research based approaches to buck the national trend of rising gun violence, and work towards a safe, sustainable future. Serving on the Americans with Disabilities Act Task Force and on the Housing, Planning, & Development Committee, I see the potential for our new development projects to provide affordable and accessible housing, pay prevailing wage to create good local jobs, utilize women & minority enterprises, and implement sustainability measures like reducing water runoff and adding to our tree canopy. Our recent allotment of ARP Funds provides an opportunity to strengthen sustainable and technological infrastructure. I will advocate for investments such as universal high-speed internet, transition of city vehicles to a smart fleet on a smarter, more stable grid, and a digital marketplace and delivery system to keep local dollars in our community.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

When I was sworn-in, Council President O’Malley noted that though many qualified candidates applied for the appointment, “Sarah's business, nonprofit, and community experience really stood out. She has a special ability to bring people together to work for the common good.” My unique background as a technology entrepreneur, community organizer, and information professional has been and will continue to be critical in helping our community stay informed. I’ve worked to expand public comment options, proactively invite community members to council meetings, and communicate through video updates and tutorials. We’ve seen our public participation increase during my time on council.

As an entrepreneur, I bring an unmatched perspective to council and have been working diligently to help transition Lakewood’s economy and technology to respond to changing conditions and consumer behavior. I serve on the Small Business Task Force and work closely with LakewoodAlive, the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, and the Merchant Associations. I established Curbside Express Parking, a convenience to both businesses and busy families that not only helped us weather the pandemic, but also responds to nation-wide consumer trends to keep our local shops competitive and make their services and goods more accessible.

Like our shops and restaurants, our government must be more than just available--it must be accessible. In both my career in public service and my work as a lead organizer of Action Together Lakewood Area, I’ve seen first hand how critical it is for the people affected by decisions to have a voice in making them. That is why I work tirelessly to proactively invite everyone in our community to the table and welcome and encourage public comment and participation.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

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How do you think local officials are performing in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

I was unanimously appointed to council in February of 2020, and less than a month later I wrote my first ordinance to allow council to meet remotely. We were one of the first municipalities to do so, which meant we were more quickly able to apply for and allocate federal funding to help our residents and small businesses. In our most uncertain times, I worked to reassure and inform residents through regular video updates and communications about the latest data, where to get help, and how to participate in their local government. As a small business owner and council liaison to the Small Business Task Force, I’ve worked tirelessly to help keep our local economy thriving by working closely with our local merchant associations, establishing Curbside Express Parking, and organizing Restaurant Roundtables. I voted to allocate funds to advance the homelessness prevention work of the Lakewood Community Services Center. We have more work to do to help our community recover from the mental, physical, and financial trauma of the pandemic, and transition to adapt to changing realities. Our recent allotment of ARP Funds provides an opportunity to strengthen sustainable and technological infrastructure. I will advocate for investments such as universal high-speed internet, transition of city vehicles to a smart fleet on a smarter, more stable grid, and a digital marketplace and delivery system to keep local dollars in our community.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

One of the reasons that my coalition of support is so broad is because I have worked diligently to engage with neighbors and build community to find holistic solutions together. I serve as the Council representative on the Americans with Disabilities Act Task Force, work closely with the AntiRacism Task Force, and engage with community members on social media, at block meetings, neighborhood events, in their businesses, and through calls, texts, and emails. The challenges we face are intrinsically entwined, and so must the solutions be. We need to ensure that each resident, visitor, & business owner feels safe and fully supported in our community, equitably develop properties and infrastructure to make our city more ecologically sustainable and accessible, and implement technology solutions for better communication, entrepreneurship, and education.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Almost all of my time serving as a Council Member at Large has been during a global pandemic, and rather than using the emergency as an excuse to do less, I have seized every opportunity to respond to the urgency of the moment. When the people couldn’t come to City Hall, I brought their government to them, sharing regular video updates, recruiting volunteers to help distribute meals to seniors, pushing out rent relief information, helping our small businesses, and working with IT to make our meetings more accessible through eComment and live-streaming with closed captioning. Our public participation in council meetings actually went up, I believe in large part due to these outreach efforts. I am a fierce advocate for making government accessible, and residents know that I proactively engage with and respond to them. Almost 20 years ago I began my lifelong career in public service at Lakewood Public Library, and as I’ve worked for and with diverse populations throughout the county, as the lead organizer of Action Together Lakewood Area, and as a small business owner I have always put the people first and worked to build a better community together.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” -The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Since being unanimously appointed to council in 2020, I’ve been an effective communicator and leader. I’m asking voters to keep me on council so I can continue to work hard to make our community more accessible, equitable and sustainable and strengthen our technology solutions and infrastructure. There’s so much more that we can do together.