Educator and longtime Hilliard resident Kathy Parker-Jones joined the Hilliard Beacon for a sharp conversation in the waning days of campaign season (Thursday October 16th), outlining her bid for City Council as an extension of a career spent working on solutions and building consensus. A 30-year teacher and now district administrator in Dublin Schools, she said the leap into politics came from wanting to counter national divisiveness with local action. “I’m a doer,” she said.
Parker-Jones says she’s knocked on more than a thousand doors since the primary. Most residents seem to express broad satisfaction with life in Hilliard but recurring concerns include property-tax burdens, traffic, and data-center development. Her economic priority, she said, is “smart, strategic growth” that attracts employers to the I-270 corridor and offsets resident tax pressure through income-tax revenue from commuters.
On planning and growth
The candidate called the 2023 Comprehensive Plan “a first step in the right direction” after years of uncoordinated development. She favors measured infill that preserves Old Hilliard’s small-town character while encouraging mixed-use projects near the highway to draw younger residents. Parker-Jones also voiced strong support for protecting the Big Darby Creek corridor and maintaining a green beltway to limit encroachment.
Administrative direction
With a new city manager on the horizon Parker-Jones compares council’s role to a school board guiding a superintendent, saying council must set vision while the city manager executes it. She thinks ongoing refinement of the comprehensive plan should be shaped by community feedback as well as administration. Her approach would stress transparency and consistent dialogue between residents and staff.
Community engagement
While she prefers the city’s at-large election system over Jordan’s proposed wards, Parker-Jones suggested quarterly meetings linking city staff, council members, HOA leaders, and civic or cultural groups to encourage more ongoing, two-way conversations.
Diversity and cohesion
Reflecting on her family’s 30 years in Hilliard, she said the community’s growing diversity “makes us better.” A focus in this area would be connecting with cultural centers, HOAs, and civic groups to foster understanding and relationship mending following recent tensions around the former BMW building and the Noor Islamic Cultural Center.
Data centers and energy
Parker-Jones took a clear stance on data-center saturation: “We’re full.” She questioned promised economic benefits, citing minimal employment and resident complaints of constant noise from the Amazon facilities. She also raised ecological worries over water use and the proposed fuel-cell power plant and saying Hilliard shouldn’t serve as “the testing zone” for such technology.
Approach to major corporations
Her guiding principle in negotiations with these high power corporations going forward? Weigh the overall community impact via noise, density, traffic, environmental footprint and seek compromises that preserve residents’ quality of life. “How can we work with those folks who want to come here and do business while also making sure our residents’ needs are met?”
The Hilliard Beacon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
