RESOURCES:
Washtenaw County Official List of Candidates: November 4 2025 General Election
TRANSCRIPTION:
Caroline MacGregor: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Caroline MacGregor, your host of All Things Considered. And my guest today is Kate Henson. She currently serves on the City Council in Chelsea, and she's a candidate for mayor. Thanks for joining us today, Kate!
Kate Henson: Thank you for having me, Caroline!
Caroline MacGregor: Tell me, Kate, a little bit about your background first of all. How long have you lived in Chelsea?
Kate Henson: This August, we celebrated 30 years in Chelsea. Some people would say that that is not long enough to be considered a Chelseaite, but I'm pretty proud of it!
Caroline MacGregor: Okay. So, why are you running for mayor?
Kate Henson: That is a big question! I ran for school board three or four years ago now. And that was not something that I had necessarily planned to do. It was not on my bingo card. But at the time, I felt like a calling to do this. I really wanted to serve my community in a way where I could impact and affect change. And I asked a couple of teachers that I trusted at the time because I was subbing for the district during COVID. I said, "Hey guys! I don't necessarily totally understand what the school board does, but is this something that would be helpful? Would I be able to really impact the daily life of teachers and students if I did this?" And they said, "Absolutely!" So, I tried it. That was quite an experience. That's something that I will hold dear forever and ever. The experience of being in a campaign is something that you can't explain to somebody unless they've done it before. The relationships that I gained there are gonna be lifelong. And it was then something I never expected when I got on there. The people that I met, the things that we were able to accomplish were just absolutely mind-blowing and something I never would have imagined in a million years that I would get to do. I was happy being there. I planned on staying for my whole term and running for a second term until I heard that Mayor Pacheco was not going to run again. And we're a small town. So, through conversation, I also learned that nobody else on council was going to run for mayor. And it was, at that point, that my spidey-sense started tingling. And I'm very passionate about the environment that we have here--the community and the culture. And I don't want to see that loss. So, I decided to run for mayor in order to not only celebrate the people that have come before me to create what we have now, but also serve the people of today and then focus on preserving and growing what we have, so that, when my girls are older, Chelsea will still resemble what we have today and be a wonderful place to live.
Caroline MacGregor: Tell me why you think you're the best candidate for the job.
Kate Henson: To be a mayor, the job of mayor is not to do the work of the city employees. A mayor is a leader. You're responsible for running the meetings. You, along with the rest of council, are in charge of overseeing the budget and then managing your one employee, which is the city manager. Those are things that I've been doing on the school board. I'm very comfortable and confident in that. In addition, my time on the school board and the relationships that I have created simply transfer over very nicely. So, I'm already working with the Chief of Police and the superintendent and local businesses, the DDA, from my time on the school board and my time on council. When I knew that I was going to run for mayor, it just happened to be that we had somebody step down. So, I took the opportunity to apply for appointment to city council. So, I've only been on city council for like five or six months at this point, but it's been a great learning experience. And all of that combined is going to help me just hit the ground running on day one as mayor.
Caroline MacGregor: You talked about maintaining the quality of life or keeping Chelsea the way it is. What are the top issues that you would like to address as mayor or changes that you foresee being necessary?
Kate Henson: Affordability is frankly going to be the biggest challenge that we have. I think when I say I want to keep Chelsea the way it is, it's the environment, it's the citizens, the way we come together and we manage challenges and celebrate victories together. Nobody likes change, and nobody thinks it's easy. But I also think it's better to be able to manage it, so that it fits what our values are in this city. And so, looking forward--affordable housing, affordable utilities, right? And then, those things bring, if we're growing our citizens, right, we're putting in more houses, we're going to need to pay attention to infrastructure. We're going to need to upgrade facilities. Definitely, traffic is another issue. Those get thorny because we don't necessarily control all the roads in Chelsea. Then again, that's where collaboration and thoughtful leadership comes in, working with our partners to see what the best outcome is that we can get and then making decisions based on that information. You know, what's going to be the best for Chelsea?
Caroline MacGregor: If you're just tuning in, I'm speaking with Kate Henson. She's one of the candidates for Mayor of Chelsea. She's up against Julianne Chard, and voters will decide this race on November 4th. What strengths do you think are especially important to serve in this role as Mayor of Chelsea?
Kate Henson: Being able to see Chelsea through the lens of the whole city and not just one subset or one section of the city. We aren't that big. We're, I think, 3.68 square miles. But there's a lot of diversity within that. And when you make a change in one part of the city, it affects the rest. So, you have to be mindful and make sure that you're listening to voices from the entire city and not just focused on one aspect.
Caroline MacGregor: I know you've mentioned being collaborative. Tell me about the importance of community in Chelsea today.
Kate Henson: I'd say it's still very prevalent, and it's an important part of the fabric of our culture here. We have several, what they call, "third places," where you're not necessarily going there together on purpose, but you go to AgriCol or Zuzu's and you're getting your coffee, and you run into your neighbors and your friends and you end up sitting and chatting. And that's a lot of times, right, how information is going to get shared. So, it might even be, "Hey, I heard they're filming a commercial here tomorrow. Make sure you come get your coffee early," which did happen this week. Maybe you're talking about who's running for school board or mayor, or do you know there's a rivalry game tonight between Dexter and Chelsea? So, it's those interactions with each other where you're sharing information that is meaningful, and you're creating connections that, I think, is something that we do really well. And I don't know that we do it on purpose. It just happens. There's something special and magical here. And then, that's also how you start creating these movements. So, the DDA did bring a noise ordinance amendment to the council recently. And there was a lot of interest from the community as a whole because they felt like they weren't included for some of those downtown residents. And so, that's one way that they came together to voice their opinion to make sure that they were heard, so that the council knew which way people were leaning and we could make a better informed decision and then also help guide the DDA with some ideas about how to better engage the citizens in order to come up with something that works for everybody.
Caroline MacGregor: I know that you are the mother of two daughters. And, as a woman who's had her fair share of challenges or difficulties in the workforce, tell me about your current job and your desire to help girls avoid some of the challenges that you may have faced over the years.
Kate Henson: I work for an organizational development consulting firm, and I've been there for 23 years at this point. I mean, when I first started out, I was just out of college, and I naively assumed, "Well, I've just graduated college, and any of my peers obviously aren't going to be executive leaders yet. But I should see myself reflected in those positions soon." And those years ticked by. And then, I finally, when I had my first daughter, was really struggling with how do I do both things. And I did have a very supportive work environment. They let me bring my daughter to work and set up a nursery, but they were men. And so, there just wasn't that role model that I needed. And so, as I was trying to fill my own needs and answer these questions for myself, I discovered that basically everybody--all women--are having similar issues. And so, I thought it was super important that, as I found answers to some of my questions about work-life balance or how to be taken seriously in the workplace, that I did my best to share that far and wide. So, I did create the Assertiveness, Leadership and Influence for Women Workshop. And that was a two-day workshop, which was very successful. And then, that has spun off into its own business. So, it's strictly training and consulting for women around assertiveness, leadership and influence. And then, during COVID, I'm sure like most people, I saw some major changes in my oldest daughter who was first grade at the time, kindergarten or first grade. And so, that led me to look at that material that we use and see how can I distill it down or what can I pull out and what can I learn to be able to create workshops for girls to catch before they enter that confidence gap at about eight years old. So, we've piloted those programs a bit during COVID, and it's something that we certainly promote. And it's from the bottom of my heart. It's just the best thing that I could do is help another girl or woman see their value and then help them share it out in the world.
Caroline MacGregor: You know, just to wrap up, how's the campaign going? It's not too far off now. How are you feeling about your prospects as a candidate?
Kate Henson: I feel really wonderful! I've been embraced by the community. At this point, I know that I'm a little overwhelmed with politics, and you don't want to add to that. But I have to say the people in Chelsea are wonderful. They have gathered to support me not only in canvassing and putting up signs and offering their vote, but also like mentally and physically. People were wanting to do a meal train and help cart my girls around if I have events. So, that's just another way that Chelsea is really wonderful, and I appreciate living here. It's special!
Caroline MacGregor: I've been speaking with Kate Henson. She's a candidate for Chelsea mayor, and she's a current city council member. Once again, thanks so much for joining us today!
Kate Henson: Thank you so much, Caroline! I really appreciate it!
Caroline MacGregor: And stay tuned to hear from the other candidate at 5:48 as part of All Things Considered. This is 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti, your community NPR station.
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