Candidate Previews - City Of Grant
Grant City Council seeks to fill two board positions
1. Terms Served?
Kimberly Bishop: I have been on City Council for 6 years and am seeking re-election for another term.
Samuel Sims: I am incumbent for this election, my first term started in 2020.
Jennifer Tatum: Requesting no votes.
2. What qualifications do you bring to the position?
Jennifer Tatum: Requesting no votes.
Samuel Sims: To start, 4 years on Grant City Council.
Furthermore, I have 5 degrees and am committed to life long learning. I have two Associates, a Bachelors, Masters, and a Doctorate degree.
I value hard work and I understand what is like to be an employee and an employer. I was 8 years old when I started delivering newspapers. In high school I worked at a movie theater.
I joined the National Guard when I was 17 with my parents permission and served for 6 years as an M1A1 tank armor crewman. I do miss shooting that big gun.
In healthcare I have worked mainly as a Nurse in an open heart ICU and as a Nurse Anesthesiologist (CRNA). I have worked in all hospital levels. From 800 bed towers, down to 10 bed rural facilities. In my career I have looked into the eyes of the newly born, closed the eyes of the recently departed, and cared for everyone else in between.
I am now self employed and manage an Anesthesia business with a group of CRNA’s that covers 12 hospitals in 3 states.
This all gives me a unique perspective on how to think outside the box and how to get things done.
Kimberly Bishop: I was born and raised outside of Grant, which gives me a different perspective on our way of life in this community. It offers me the opportunity to envision growth, while holding on to the unique qualities that make our community what it is (and the reason we’ve chosen to raise our family here). Raising a young family in Grant also gives me a vested interest in helping the community continue to thrive. Outside of my position on the City Council I also work full-time for a large corporation, which gives me the exposure to both local and international business practices including: hiring, employee development, project management, standard HR practices, conflict resolution, global economics and world-class customer service.
3. Why do you want to serve in this position?
Kimberly Bishop: I want to continue to serve on the City Council because I am proud of the work we have done and I am excited for the plans we have to make Grant a place that people and families choose to live. I think that it is important to have a council and staff that is available to listen to its citizens and will work to serve them to the best of our ability.
Jennifer Tatum: Requesting no votes.
Samuel Sims: I have lived all over the country and I absolutely love this town. Grant is a slice of Americana that no longer exists in so much of the US anymore. Kids still ride their bikes everywhere and people still wave when you drive by. The only time you need to lock your car is when everyone’s garden is growing Zucchini.
When people visit, one of the things they are most surprised by is how clean our town is. When you live in a community that people care about visitors see it, compliment it, and want the same for their own hometown.
There isn’t a Mayor’s Mansion, or a City Council gated community. I live right along side everyone else and am subject to the same rules and regulations. I recognize the importance of being fiscally responsible and accountable to the tax payer. If the town wants something, and wants to support it, so do I.
Your current Council is small government that supports business growth, great schools, economic development, housing, and a safe place to live.
4. Specific issue interests? What do you think will be of most importance should you be elected?
Samuel Sims: We have broken ground on a new subdivision in Grant for the first time in over 50 years. Lack of housing is always listed as a top concern of the citizens of Grant. This is an extremely unique opportunity where government and a private land owner are working together. It require out of the box thinking and now its getting done.
This is one of the things I am most proud of in my first term. It was something I pushed hard for, and it happened because of the support of a like-minded Council and land owner.
There is still a lot of work to be done to get the new subdivision completed, but soon we will have new housing for 40-50 families right here in the great city of Grant.
Kimberly Bishop: Should I be re-elected to the City Council, I believe that the single most important issue will be continuing to listen to the citizens of Grant. Unlike many political candidates across the country - I don’t have an agenda! I am not hoping to be re-elected to make drastic changes, or to achieve a personal goal. I want to be re-elected because I believe that I am a good listener and a responsible steward of our tax-payers money. I truly care about what the community wants and I want to continue to work to help make that a reality.
Jennifer Tatum: Requesting no votes.