Anybody who has talked with Keenan Cortez knows that his calendar is always full. On top of being Joplin’s mayor, he’s Crothall Healthcare’s Patient Experience Manager and an associate pastor at St. Paul's Methodist Church. He jokes that he doesn’t sleep because of his busy schedule. KRPS Rachel Schnelle spoke with Cortez about the highs and lows of the past two years as Mayor.
SCHNELLE: Around this time last year, I interviewed you, and you said you had about 7 or 8 goals for the city. Do you think you've accomplished a lot of those?
CORTEZ: "Yeah, I do. Some of the things that we were working on at the time. Getting a bike track put in Joplin, which has secured an international rate and hasn't even been open for six months yet. So, finish getting and seeing through the whole Menards, that expansion out there, which brought us a new movie theater, some new retail, and apartments. That's all up and going. Another thing that's near and dear to my heart is the homeless coalition that we've put together in trying to pull all of our resources as a result, with people that are underserved, under-housed, to where they can get the resources that they need to correct their living situations. But we've made tremendous stride in pulling that all together."
SCHNELLE: What are some low points of the last year as mayor?
CORTEZ: "We found an individual that was going to be our homeless coordinator. That was a critical piece, I think, that we needed a community to really springboard into what we needed to get this whole homeless coalition project off the ground. That individual didn't end up working out."
SCHNELLE: So, are you running for mayor or city council again?
CORTEZ: "My term on the city council actually runs through the year 2028. I would like another two years as mayor to see through some of the projects that we've gotten started, and I would like for that to run through April of 2028. So, I will be seeking re-election to the mayorship amongst the city council."
SCHNELLE: This year is pretty monumental for a couple of reasons. One, it's the 15th anniversary of the Joplin tornado. It's the 250th anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence, and the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Do you have any specific goals for these upcoming anniversaries?
CORTEZ: "I want to make sure that we are celebrating our 250th birthday. You know, Route 66 is huge in our community, and I want to make sure that our 100th year anniversary and celebration for that is good. These are things that we have been planning for some time now, and I want to watch our community celebrate some historical things that are happening, but also have some priorities that things that we haven't been able to accomplish in my first two years that I think are really monumental that we get done."
SCHNELLE: Anything in the past two years that has surprised you?
CORTEZ: "I knew the job was big. I just didn't know how big it was, I guess. It's 24/7, 365. The other thing is the level of non-trust, the level of just angst amongst people has really been surprising to me. We've had some issues come before the council that has brought some anger into the chambers, some to be viewed as someone who doesn't care about the community, doesn't have the citizens' best interests at heart has been very surprising for me because I love this community. It's also what you sign up for when you put your name on the ballot."
SCHNELLE: How do you keep everything sorted between your mayoral duties, your job, and then you're also a preacher?
CORTEZ: "It can be trying at times, but I live off of a couple different mantras in my life.One of them is scripture out of Matthew 20: 28: 'Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and offer his life as a ransom for many.'
And how I interpret that is Christ came to our world to serve us and to make our lives better. And he gave his entire life for that.I wanna follow that example, I want to give itback. It's those little things that people say to you in the line at the grocery store, see you at church and they say things to you saying “man, I really appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Those are evidence that you're making a difference in people's lives."
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