With the Oxford City Council elections fast approaching in November, Kate Currie, city resident and mother, has been actively campaigning to the Oxford community.
To prepare for the election, she has been putting up signs, going door-to-door and attending city meetings in order to meet the public of the Oxford community.
Currie is not at all unfamiliar with public office, as it was something she grew up around.
"My dad was a judge for my whole life so I've always had the ideas of public service instilled in me," Currie said.
She said that when she was younger, she was pleased with people's appreciation of all the time her father spent helping them and for Currie, it just confirmed the fact that people need to help out their communities in any way that they can.
On a professional level, Currie herself has owned and operated a number of small businesses. In the mid-90s, Currie owned an art gallery in Sanibel Island, Fla. and then she owned a bakery for a few years in Cincinnati up until her son's birth in 2004.
Since Currie lives within the Mile Square and her son is beginning school this year, her top concerns for the town are predominantly geared toward family oriented issues. She said she hopes to grow the permanent resident population in town, consequently increasing the number of people who work in Oxford. She also said she wants to make Oxford a more attractive place to live and would really like to see the university working with the city in trying to save some of the few remaining Mile Square homes and turn them into single-family residencies.
"I'd really like to improve the town's schools, continue to build parks and recreational facilities, and increase the pedestrian and bicycle accessibility in neighborhoods," Currie said.
She said she hopes that this would not only support existing businesses, but in turn would bring in more business to the Oxford.
"We have a great demographic of people here already and I believe that the university can work together with the city to make this improvement happen," Currie said.
This improvement, she said, would be easier accomplished if the relationship between Miami University students and the Oxford residents were better. She said she feels that a number of animosities continue to remain unaddressed and that many people would never consider living in the Mile Square because of perceived conflicts with students.
"I think the university is a great resource to have in town and I want people to start taking advantage of what this implies," Currie said.
This strained relationship could be affecting Oxford's ability to attract new families and businesses to the community. Currie said that although this relationship is a work in progress, the bulk of the issues stem from personal concerns that can be rectified merely by people adjusting their own mindsets. Currie said she feels that people can better help their community with an attitude of benevolence rather than going forth setting different agendas. This would be beneficial for the inhabitants of Oxford as well as for the town's economy itself, Currie said.
City Councilor Doug Ross said Currie has a youthful, positive outlook that can contribute to the city and would make a nice addition to the council.
"Kate has a forward-thinking and positive point of view," Ross said.
Currie graduated from the Western College program in 1993 at Miami and has lived off and on in Oxford for 15 years, so she is no newcomer to the town. She said that once she realized that Oxford would become a permanent home for her and her family, she knew that she wanted to get involved, help out the city, and be a part of making necessary improvements.
Although several individuals are campaigning to become Oxford city councilors, Vice Mayor Prue Dana said all the candidates are eligible.
"I think that all of the candidates are quite well qualified and very capable of being good city council members," Dana said.
Whether this can be attributed to work experience or family life growing up, Dana said that she does not doubt the candidates' awareness of important issues.
