Augusta Tax Commissioner Steven Kendrick said he didn’t plan to make a formal announcement this week but has settled rumors that have swirled for months. He is indeed going to run for Mayor of Augusta in 2022.
Kendrick ran for the post in 2006 in a crowded field and ultimately lost to Deke Copenhaver. He then ran for Tax Commissioner in 2008 and has served in that post unopposed since then. Should Kendrick win the race, he would be taking a major pay cut. The mayor’s current salary is $84,983, which is almost half what Kendrick makes as Tax Commissioner.
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“I don’t think about that,” Kendrick said. “I have never been in public service for the paycheck. To be honest, now is the time for me to do this. I don’t want to look back 25 years from now and see a real missed opportunity.”
Kendrick said he has a passion to help form a team to take Augusta past just being a city of potential, but a city that people want to move to and make their home.
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“I feel that the government should be more collaborative,” he said. “That means the government agencies collaborating together along with businesses and nonprofits. I see the gaps and I know how to fill those gaps and make the government more proactive.”
According to Kendrick, his father, James Kendrick Jr., is his inspiration for his public service. While the elder Kendrick has never run for office, he has been known throughout his 50-year business career at Augusta Blueprint as a highly respected civic leader.
“Both my mom and my dad impressed that on me,” Kendrick said. “Even when I was a little kid growing up in Augusta and attending public school, my parents taught me by example to always work to make my community better.”
After graduating from Florida A & M with an MBA, Kendrick joined the family business before officially getting into public service. Long before his career as tax commissioner, Kendrick has been associated with numerous local boards and nonprofits.
Kendrick is the current chairman of the Augusta Economic Development Authority and is a board member for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the CSRA. He has served Youth Leadership Augusta for 15 years and has volunteered his time and service to the Greater Augusta Arts Council and Downtown Development Authority.
In 2007, Kendrick created the E3 Leadership Foundation which is directed at kids and young adults. The foundation started with “Project Impact” which continues to work with students in the Richmond County alternative school transitioning back into good standing with their neighborhood schools.
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The E3 Leadership Foundation also reaches out to young adults through its 12-18 week Talented Tenth program whose mission is to provide “opportunities for our area’s brightest and most thoughtful leaders to meet, learn and grow together following a scripted plan for development.”
The only blip on Kendrick’s public career came in 2010 when over $25,000 was stolen from the Tax Commissioner’s vault which was mistakenly left open. Even though a janitor noticed the vault and reported it, the vault was left open overnight.
Kendrick immediately took responsibility for the oversight which led to the theft. “I always say in my office that the buck stops with me,” Kendrick said at the time and since then, there have been no further issues with the security of taxpayers’ money.
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Only one other person has publicly announced a campaign for mayor in 2022. District 2 Commissioner Dennis Williams announced his candidacy earlier this year. Kendrick said he welcomes even more qualified people to enter the race.
“I hope that more people who have a leadership vision will join the race. I welcome that,” Kendrick said.
Qualifying for the race does not begin until March of 2022, and Kendrick said he will make a formal announcement later this year once he forms a committee and begins campaign planning.
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
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