Kathleen Bennett

AGE: 78

OCCUPATION: retired EMT, telecommunications professional EDUCATION: University of Lowell, Harper College, Wang Laboratories, Hesser College, New Mexico Municipal Officials Leadership Institute

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: board member, Twining Water and Sanitation District; town councilor, Village of Taos Ski Valley; commissioner, Village of Taos Ski Valley Planning and Zoning Commission POLITICAL PARTY: Democrat

CHARGED WITH A CRIME (MORE SERIOUS THAN A TRAFFIC TICKET): no

SOCIAL MEDIA: none

After more than 20 years as a telecommunications professional in Massachusetts, Kathleen Bennett moved to Taos Ski Valley and obtained her certification from University of New Mexico to become an EMT, which she used to serve the village for 23 years as a volunteer.

She has been heavily involved in both village politics and public safety management for more than two decades. Her bid this year for a spot on the ski valley’s village council isn’t her first; she held a seat on the council previously from 1998 to 2018 and served on the village planning and zoning commission for two years.

“I am running for village council because I am a ‘doer.’ I get things done,” Bennett said. “I won’t go to a Zoom meeting once a month and then disappear. Transparency, communications and collaboration head up my list.”

As a public safety professional, Bennett is the founder of the village’s Firewise Community, a designation that certifies the area’s adherence to wildfire safety standards. Bennett said fire danger remains a serious concern for the village, as is ensuring village residents are properly informed about the council and mayoral activities. She also sits on the Taos Valley Watershed Committee and Nature Conservancy Committee.

Bennett supports the latest draft of the Kachina Area Master Plan. “There is only a certain amount of land available for any kind of development, and I feel the newest Kachina Master Plan is well thought out,” she said. “It will increase our gross receipts taxes and make the area really attractive ...”

She added, however, that the village is still recovering from the Dec. 15, 2021 windstorm that brought 100-mile-per-hour-plus winds and caused major tree damage.

Bennett said she would “absolutely support a government vaccine mandate for COVID-19. It is the only way that we can eliminate this pandemic,” she said. “I cannot comprehend why people are opposed to receiving the vaccine and boosters.”