Jim McKee

Goshen City Council representative. Jim was in quarantine after a positive diagnosis of the COVID-19 virus.

Published May 2020

“The mayor and I talked about it a little bit. My initial thought was that I wasn’t going to put my name out there or anything. My son said, ‘You know, dad, it probably would be good if somebody who was a little higher-profile would become the face of this thing.’ Because of the fact that I am a political figure and I know so many people in town…if this will help some of them, that’s the right thing to do. I’ve received a lot of encouragement from people.

There were really no signs of this thing coming on other than I was tired. But I’m 70 years old; you get tired.

I would just encourage everybody to follow the rules, if you will. I know it’s a pain. Believe me, I know it is.

I’ve been around a little bit. I was on the city fire department from 1971 to ’78. I also spent a couple of years on a volunteer fire department. I kind of broke off into doing entrepreneurial stuff. I’ve had any number of businesses in town.

Part of deciding to run for City Council was being in the bar businesses. There’s so much public contact there, and talking about local politics – what you like and what you don’t like. I just thought I could maybe make a difference, you know? As we speak, I’m in my ninth year. It’s been good. I enjoy it.

In Goshen, I think we’re always in the end willing to pull together and do the right thing. We have differences of opinion. On the council, if you look back over the last eight years or so, we have moved Goshen ahead regardless of how the political numbers fall. We’ve gotten a lot of projects done, between roads and bridges and highways. We’re getting it done.

I’ve been very fortunate. Goshen’s been good to me.”

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