Jim Berrios will be an outstanding mayor for the city of Kent because he understands and has the skills and the experiences needed to meet the demands and needs of these times.
He understands the issues and complications of multi-million dollar budgets and he has successful experiences with such budgets. Even working with the comparatively small budget at the family owned and run restaurant in Kent he manages the budget yearly to provide a free dinner for the less fortunate in the community. However, that kind of compassion extends well beyond the restaurant budget and the holidays. Jim not only employs but mentors young people in the restaurant as well.
We know Jim served on the school board, the Kent Chamber, service clubs and serves in various other capacities around the community. However, perhaps people don’t know that his compassion is not limited to serving at those higher levels of the socioeconomic spectrum, e.g., he teamed up with Kent Parks, Kent Youth and Family Services, and the Kent School District to provide restorative justice support for students suspended from Kent-Meridian High School in full partnership with the principal, of course.
Kent is, as is South King County, a very diverse community these days. Kent-Meridian High School, in the middle of the city, is one of the most diverse high schools in the state, if not the nation. Students and families in the Kent School District speak more than 130 different languages, most of which are right there in the city. Thus, diversity and equity issues to some extent define the city presently and will continue to do so well into the future.
Having observed Jim Berrios, and in some instances worked with him, he has proven to be a person who understands and has experiences working through a variety of diversity and equity issues. His work oftentimes successfully brought people together and resolved potentially explosive matters, where in some cases less prepared individuals had already failed.
Jim Berrios’ longevity of and variety of service in the community indicates he is not some sycophant or office seeker who may alter his message to get a vote. But rather, evidence suggests that he has committed himself to the common good of the entire Kent community for decades.
It is these and other qualities and experiences that make Jim Berrios well suited and uniquely qualified to be the next mayor of the city of Kent.
– Melvin L. Tate
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
