Joseph Kiernan Candidate Biography:
Joseph Kiernan grew up in historic Lexington, Massachusetts. He received his
Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania in 2013 and moved to Montpelier shortly after graduating to begin a job as
a Field Engineer working for Courtland Construction Corporation. During his time at
Courtland, he worked on several infrastructure projects in Montpelier including the River
Street Sewer Main replacement. Joe transitioned into the environmental consulting field
in 2015 and worked for KAS Consulting in Williston as an Engineering Consultant,
where he specialized in site designs, permitting, and environmental compliance. Joe
recently started a job with the Vermont Agency of Transportation in the Highway Safety
and Design Division as a Civil Engineer.
Joe lives in Montpelier with his wife Stephanie
Hunt, an Environmental Scientist, and his dog
Marigold and two cats Socks and Nimbus. Joe and
Stephanie purchased a home in 2014 with the
intention of starting a family in this wonderful
community. In his spare time, Joe enjoys hiking
with his wife and dog, playing guitar, doing home
improvement projects, and fly-fishing.
Candidate Statement:
I want to be a City Councilor because I intend on
raising a family here and I have fallen in love with
the City and its community. I feel that my
experience in infrastructure development and
environmental concerns are not well represented
on the current council and that I could immediately Joseph Kiernan and wife Stephanie Hunt
contribute meaningful advice to the other
members. Public Works currently accounts for approximately a third of the total city
budget and my experience would be able to greatly assist the council and help it make
informed decisions. While there are many issues that the city is facing, there are none
which I feel is more important than the stagnated population growth. Montpelier is in a
unique situation when compared to the rest of Vermont. We have many commuters who
travel here for work yet a lack of affordable housing and significant property taxes are
currently deterring people from moving here. With so much of Montpelier's taxable
property occupied by government and non-profit entities I feel that expansion of the
grand list is the most important issue facing the city today. As a city councilor I would do
everything in my power to expand Montpelier's housing options and provide the city with
much needed tax revenue. It would then be my ultimate goal to bring the City's property
tax down so that it is more competitive with the surrounding communities.