Hi, I’m Justin and I’m running for a seat on the North Kingstown school committee. I know before casting their votes, the people of North Kingstown would like to know who I am, what my values are, and my general position on many of the issues facing the North Kingstown school system. So here’s a bit about me. The most important thing to know about me is that if elected, I will take my time to make informed, deliberate decisions, after considering as many points of view as possible and after analyzing as much input as is offered by the citizens of North Kingstown.

So how did I get here? If you had asked me a year ago whether I would be running for school committee my answer would have been a resounding NO. But my father became very interested in both school department and town issues once he heard about the $222 million bond last year. Since then, we’ve had many conversations about what’s going on in North Kingstown, both the good and the bad, and what some sensible solutions to those problems might be. My father works for the federal government, so he is unable to run for school committee due to the Hatch Act of 1939, which bars most federal employees from participating as a candidate in partisan political elections. So, after some long discussions I decided to step out of my comfort zone and instead of just talking about what should be done, I signed on the dotted line to declare myself as a candidate. If elected I hope to help institute changes that will make our school system better while being financially responsible to our taxpayers. I am far from an expert on every school department issue, but together with my dad and anyone else who wants to help out, we will work as a team to make the best decisions possible for our schools and our citizens.

I graduated from north Kingston high school in 2019, I believe this gives me a different perspective than most of the other candidates. Many of those memories from high school, whether positive or negative are still fresh in my mind. I hope to reinforce those positive things in my school experience, and to work hard to diminish the negative aspects of our student’s school experiences. After I graduated, I went to work at UPS for several years, this taught me the value of a hard work and the difficulty of balancing my time between family, friends and a third shift job. After a few years at UPS, I begin looking for a job with a more 9 to 5 schedule so that my free time would align more with my family and friends. I took a job with MIKEL, a defense contractor located in Middletown, where I work as an engineering technician in the infrastructure department. Shortly after I began that job I moved into an apartment in Middletown with a friend for a year. After spending a year on my own my parents invited me to move back home so long as I continue to put the same amount of money I paid for rent into an investment account. I took advantage of their offer so that at some point in the near future when I’m ready to purchase my own home, I’ll have a decent down payment. I am extremely grateful I have the opportunity to do this, as I know not every person my age has this available to them. When it comes time for me to purchase my own home, I hope I can afford one in North Kingstown. To that end, I hope to take an active part in ensuring our tax money is spent wisely. And also, should children be in my future, I want to help ensure that the schools they will attend will have the same high standards as our schools today.

I hope the information provided above can shed some insight into who I am and the decisions I might make if elected to school committee. Whether you agree with me or disagree with me, plan to vote for me or not, I hope you will share this with others so they can begin to get to know me as well. If you have any general questions on any topics of concern to you, please e-mail me at justin.fornkc@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer them for you.

Thank You
Justin Kinnes