Welcome back to season 3 of My Mayor, the Catalyst series that helps you get to know the person behind the policy. We sat down with each candidate and asked them each the same five questions, with a few follow up questions sprinkled in. For Episode 3, we asked:
- What do you collect?
- What’s something you’ve changed your mind about because of a conversation with someone who disagreed with you?
- How do you express your creativity?
- What’s a small moment in your life that ended up having a much bigger impact than you ever expected?
- What’s something that never fails to make you smile?
JOE HAMILTON
We are back, episode three, “My Mayor,” and joining me is the current mayor, Ken Welch. Welcome, sir.
KEN WELCH
Good to be back. Thank you.
JOE HAMILTON
So we have five more questions for you to help the voters continue to get to know you. First one is—
KEN WELCH
Five questions on a Monday morning. I don’t know if that’s…
JOE HAMILTON
Five questions on a Monday morning. And there are a couple easy ones, a couple thinkers.
KEN WELCH
Okay.
JOE HAMILTON
Easy one — what do you collect?
KEN WELCH
I collect music. That was a tough question, Joe — but music is the consistent thing that I collect. And will continue to.
JOE HAMILTON
So is it a music library for listening, or are you into rare records or memorabilia?
KEN WELCH
Just music. So I’m still holding onto CDs and albums. I don’t know why. But I’ve got albums going back to the ’70s — all different genres, you name it. Holding on to those for some reason. I’m not going to sell them. And then a whole CD collection. Of course, everything in those two collections is replicated on my Apple Music easily. But just holding onto that because, as you probably know, the album art and all the album notes are part of it — that you really don’t get today unless you dig for it. So I’m a lover of music. I started really at the Historic Gas Plant, playing in choirs, playing bongos, and eventually drums and guitar. And then through Bay Point Middle School — we just had a reunion — started with band, with Roger Green and Bill Fendison at Lakewood, playing saxophone. And it’s just always been a part of me, and always will be.
JOE HAMILTON
What’s something you’ve changed your mind about because of a conversation with someone who disagreed with you?
KEN WELCH
So you may have heard of something called the Science Center. I’m not sure if you’re—
JOE HAMILTON
I’ve heard of it, yeah — familiar with that.
KEN WELCH
Yeah. That was a great example of an issue where I had an opinion about just the importance of resiliency, having gone through those storms. And obviously the community and council and your group had a different view — not that resiliency wasn’t important, but that we could do more in terms of preserving the Science Center and being resilient. And that was a conversation that I think we got to a place that’s a good place for the city going forward. We recognize it might cost us more to go the route we’re going, but council signed off on that. The community wanted that. And I’m feeling good about where we are on both fronts. So I think that’s a good example of how you work through issues. And certainly, if you can’t learn and move forward, then you’re really not representing the entire community.
JOE HAMILTON
Yeah, agreed. I think that was a nice example of local government in action, and obviously I was happy with that outcome. Less happy with the Mahaffey outcome, but also understood that as well. And there are a lot of decisions that are just tough. They’re 51/49, and that’s just the nature of the beast.
KEN WELCH
They’re all very complex. Absolutely.
JOE HAMILTON
Beautiful. Question number three — how do you express your creativity?
KEN WELCH
Just hit on that — playing guitar. Still play that. I don’t play saxophone anymore, although my wife still wants me to get another saxophone and play it. You never forget it, because we just practiced so much as a kid. But playing guitar — I play at a local church, Friendship Missionary Baptist, a couple of times a month. Always love getting out on the bike or on the Harley — two different reasons for doing that. And playing with my rescue, Sonny, who just runs the whole house. So that’s how I unwind and relax.
JOE HAMILTON
Nice.
KEN WELCH
And football season is coming, so that’s another major way that I relax. That’s about a month away, so we’re ready.
JOE HAMILTON
Any fantasy football leagues?
KEN WELCH
No, I haven’t gone down that. I have a cousin who did, and it’s all-encompassing. I don’t want to—
JOE HAMILTON
Yes.
KEN WELCH
Yeah. So I’m not doing that.
JOE HAMILTON
Yeah. It’s better for the city that you don’t.
KEN WELCH
Yeah, I’m not doing that.
JOE HAMILTON
What’s a small moment in your life that ended up having a much bigger impact than you expected?
KEN WELCH
It’s not a small moment by any means, but I’ll just say — the most impactful moments, obviously, besides my faith, which is always going to be number one, and certainly getting married, number two — but becoming a father, becoming a parent, with my two daughters. That’s just life-changing in ways. I always wanted to be a parent. I always wanted to have a huge family. Didn’t work out that way. But just being a parent changes you in ways that you can’t anticipate. It’s not about you anymore. It’s about your children and what you’re going to do to make sure they’re successful and protected and all those things. So I’d say that’d be the most impactful.
JOE HAMILTON
There are some interesting shifts you have to make when you’re at work — obviously you have some very serious things coming across your desk. And then you walk in that front door and little footsteps come running up to you. What were your strategies for being able to shift gears and get back into dad mode after a stressful day?
KEN WELCH
All you’ve got to do is see them. All you’ve got to do is see them and hear them, and that automatically gets you into dad mode. And obviously the work is vitally important, but there’s no bigger responsibility than that life you helped bring into the world. So it’s an automatic shift.
JOE HAMILTON
Nice. Probably helps with keeping perspective on things as well.
KEN WELCH
Absolutely.
JOE HAMILTON
All right. What’s something that never fails to make you smile?
KEN WELCH
Man, all this is connected today — it’s interesting. So, kids and dogs. Just the transparency — they’re going to let you know if they like you or not. There’s nothing fake there. But it’s really the essence of love and the human spirit. And dogs just have something, if you’re a dog person, that is spiritual and soulful as well. And so those two things always make me smile. And Harley Davidsons, too — they make me smile as well.
JOE HAMILTON
Can we get a kind word and a shout-out for cat people, too?
KEN WELCH
I was never a cat person until my oldest daughter—
JOE HAMILTON
Okay.
KEN WELCH
…got a rescue cat, Sophie. And Sophie would just follow me around, and I became a cat guy. At least a Sophie guy. She passed away last year, but — yeah. Shout-out to the cat folks as well.
JOE HAMILTON
Nice. All right. Well, as always, I appreciate you taking a few minutes out of your busy schedule to join us. I think we’ve got one more of these before the primary, so until then, enjoy the campaign trail and all the other things.
KEN WELCH
All right. Appreciate it. Have a good one.
JOE HAMILTON
Mayor Ken Welch.
KEN WELCH
All right. Thanks.