His primary focus is on infrastructure, quality of life and getting the city "into the electronic age."
Editor's note: This is one of 10 candidate profiles The News Herald has written for Municipal Super Tuesday races. Election Day is April 17.
SPRINGFIELD — There was a time Jack Kennington thought all politicians were “liars and cheats.” Ralph Hammond, the mayor of Springfield, helped change his mind.
“The mayor in Springfield has made me see there are people out there who want to help people, and that’s why I want to be a part of it,” said Kennington, who is running for re-election to the Springfield City Commission. “That’s what got my attention.”
Kennington, a 12-year resident of Springfield, joined the commission in June 2014 after another member's resignation. Voters in April 2015 opted to keep him in the seat. In that time, he said he has been happy with the progress the city is making in its finances, infrastructure and quality of life.
“When I came on board, the city was trying to get away from being bankrupt," he said. “I don’t wanna see the city back up. I wanna see the city keep moving forward.”
In the next term, Kennington said his primary focus will be continuing to fix the city’s infrastructure.
“We’ve got sewer and water problems that have been neglected for 20-30 years,” he said. “And we’re in Florida — our ocean is our life. The last thing I want to see is the ocean contaminated by infrastructure that hasn’t been maintained.”
City crews have been working on a massive sewer and road upgrade along Transmitter Road, a primary thoroughfare, since February 2017.
Kennington said he also hopes to get the city “into the electronic age” and continue basic quality of life improvements.
“The main thing is just making our city look like it ought to,” he said. “Roads being paved, things being paved up. We’ve got a program going on now where we tear down dilapidated houses. That’s made a big difference in our city.”
He also touted upcoming work for emergency personnel.
“We’re actually about to replace equipment now that was falling apart for the fire department and police,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of government grants that are helping us. We’re getting a lot more done than has been done in many years.”
Outside City Hall, Kennington is the director of plant operations for Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center, a position in which he oversees equipment, security and safety at the hospital.
“Between that and being a commissioner, it’s a challenge,” he said. “But I love a challenge.”