St. Joseph mayoral candidate Jonathan McClain aims to empower local economy, unite community if elected
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- With a natural ability to lead and willingness to listen, St. Joseph native and entrepreneur Jonathan McClain believes he has the skill set and determination needed to guide the city on the right path as its next mayor.
McClain, a local business owner, active community member and 2003 graduate of Lafayette High School, is one of four candidates running for mayor of St. Joseph, and one of two candidates seeking public office for the first time.
"I felt compelled that I could make a difference. Now is the time, I have the skill set to facilitate the conversations. I am not a career politician. I am a citizen of St. Joseph who loves the city and I am not afraid of a challenge," McClain said. "There needs to be change. There needs to be accountability."
With strengths in leadership, public speaking and business planning, McClain's campaign centers around three key areas designed to promote and grow the city and reverse years of population decline, an urgent subject he plans to address by identifying inefficiencies in city processes and boosting communications, among a wide range of goals.
"We've been on a population decline. There's a lot that needs to be addressed in order to change that and the whole mentality, to get people to want to stay here," he said. "I want to turn things around and serve the people."
Transparency and community engagement are central to his campaign, including increased efforts to highlight the city's top features to promote civic pride and attract visitors and residents, whether the trails and park system or popular events like the St. Joseph Marathon.
"We have a lot of really great things here, so I want to flip that around by being more open and speaking with the public more. I think at this point in society, you have to be good at marketing your city," he said. "I'd like to do weekly Q&As. I am very technology focused in my approach. I use that in all my different businesses."
Part of that approach, if elected, would include streamlining city services to create online portals for each resident, helping them pay bills and access city forms and documents when necessary.
McClain is a strong supporter of investing in public safety capabilities for police and fire, which he called the number one priority for any city government, along with infrastructure and city services.
"We need to do everything we can to get them what they need to do the job,. They have a tough time doing a dangerous job already. The very least we can do is support them as a city," he said.
Homelessness and sewer rates are two areas of concern he often hears about, and intends to look at further if elected, calling homelessness a complex challenge that impacts businesses and residents.
“The increase in sewer rates is not proportional. It needs to be looked at. I know it's not going to be an easy solution, but something needs to change there," he said.
He applauded the city's job growth jobs in recent years and supports partnerships with the Chamber of Commerce to facilitate economic growth and empower local businesses, small or commercial, a key pillar of his campaign.
"I'm a huge, huge proponent of supporting businesses in whatever way we can. We've had I believe a 7.8% increase in jobs, which is fantastic," he said. "It's just the population has decreased by 6% or 7% also. So it means that the jobs are coming here. There is work here. It's just the people who are doing those jobs are not living here. That's the issue that I find, we need to bridge that gap."
Organizer of the popular local Renaissance Festival, McClain called himself an avid learner who was incredibly active growing up in school, from theater and student government -- including being class president -- as well as being involved in numerous youth leadership programs.
He prides himself on not being a career politician, with no political affiliations or special interests impacting his decisions. He plans to make up a sizable gap in campaign financing by pushing his message across social media platforms, with a message of bringing new and innovative ideas to the mayor's office.
"The greatest strength that I feel the mayor could have is the ability to facilitate conversation with everyone else. And so I want to go in, listen, discuss with everyone and come up with the best course of action for every problem as it arises," he said.
Voters will have the chance to make their decision during the upcoming primary election Feb. 3. The top two vote-getters will advance to the April 7 election, unless one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, in which case they will automatically be elected to office.
