Hello!

My name is Brooke King, and I am asking for your vote for Berea City Council.

Over the last several months, I have been asked many times why I decided to run. The simplest answer is that I love this community. I also believe that when we see a need, we should be willing to step forward to help fill it.

I am not running because I believe I have all the answers. I am running because I am willing to ask questions, listen, do research, work hard, and represent the people of Berea.

Through my years of serving as the PTO President at Silver Creek Elementary, I have seen how much can be accomplished when volunteers, fundraisers and others take responsibility for their community and work together.

Our children deserve safe, well maintained, accessible places to play and grow. Our families love and want more recreational opportunities. Our older citizens deserve to remain connected and valued. Our veterans deserve to have community with each other, and to have fellowship, and to know they are not alone in their daily lives after their uniforms are hung up.

People of every ability deserve to be considered when our community plans its future. I want Berea to be a place where generations are connected in relational and recreational ways. Our young people have energy, ideas, and God-given talents that should be encouraged. Our older citizens possess wisdom and experience that should never be overlooked. I believe a healthy community makes room for both.

I also believe Berea should be thoughtful about growth. Economic development is important, and I want businesses to choose Berea. I want our existing small businesses to thrive, entrepreneurs to feel welcome, and good jobs to be available to our citizens. But growth should serve the community—the community should not simply accommodate growth at any cost.

That is why I have serious concerns about hyperscale data centers and other developments that could place significant demands on our land, water, electricity and infrastructure without providing benefits proportionate to what our community gives up. Development decisions made today may affect Berea for generations, and they deserve careful study, public transparency and meaningful citizen input.

I believe the same principle should guide how we spend taxpayer dollars. Berea has been blessed with resources, and I believe we should be good stewards of them. Fiscal responsibility includes saving and planning for the future, and it also means recognizing when responsible investment can improve people's lives today.

I am interested in conversations about our parks, ballfields, recreational facilities, handicap accessibility for playgrounds at our parks and our elementary schools, youth opportunities and community gathering spaces. I want families to be able to use the public spaces their tax dollars help support. I want us to explore investments that serve children, families, seniors and people with disabilities—not simply because those things are nice to have, but because they contribute to a healthy, connected community.

Transparency matters to me as well. Citizens should be able to understand where their money comes from, where it goes and how decisions are being made. Whether we are discussing tourism and restaurant-tax revenues, economic-development agreements, public-safety technology such as Flock cameras, or major capital projects, people appreciate straightforward information and an opportunity to be heard.

Berea is unique in that we are a Trail Town, we are known for the arts, we have beautiful natural resources and wonderful walking, hiking and biking opportunities. We have locally owned businesses and people who genuinely care for one another. At the heart of our town is Berea College, founded on the revolutionary idea that people who were once intentionally separated could now learn together.

I would love to see the relationship between the City of Berea, Berea College, our schools, our businesses, our churches and our citizens continue to grow stronger. We do not all have to think alike to work together. We can disagree respectfully, recognize one another's strengths and still pursue what is good for our community.

My faith shapes the way I see service. I believe God gives each of us different gifts, abilities and opportunities, and we are responsible for how we use them. Public service, to me, is not about having a title. It is about being willing to listen and being accountable to the people who entrust us with that responsibility. That is the kind of council member I hope to be.

I am a wife, a mother, a veteran, a volunteer in my church, a PTO president and a neighbor. I have spent over half of my life in this community. My husband and I worship here, raise our children here, shop here, coach here, volunteer here and care deeply about what Berea will look like when our children are raising families of their own.

I believe Berea's best days are yet ahead of us. We can preserve what makes our town special while preparing wisely for the future. We can support economic growth while protecting our resources. We can be fiscally responsible while investing in our citizens. We can listen to our seniors while giving our young people a voice. We can strengthen the relationship between the town and College. And we can make sure that the decisions made at City Hall reflect the people who live beyond its walls.

Most importantly, we can do it together. That has been the message of my campaign from the beginning, and it remains my commitment: Together, WE can.

I would be honored to earn your vote on November 3rd.