Kelly Purvis, a resident of Coronado for the past 38 years, city contractor for five years and city employee for six years, will retire from her job as the city’s senior management analyst in the next week to fill the position as the fifth City Council member.
Purvis, 64, said it’s taken her almost four decades to get here, but she believes being a council member is the best thing someone can do for their community, and she’ll start when she’s sworn in at the Feb. 4 City Council meeting.
Purvis was voted into office through a unanimous decision in the fourth round of voting at the Jan. 21 council meeting, where eight other applicants interviewed for the position.
When I hit that submit button to apply for it, there was no doubt that I wanted to do this.
Kelly Purvis
“If you watched (the interview) you knew how nervous I was at the podium, which is unusual. But it’s because I really take it serious,” Purvis said about the vetting process at the Jan. 21 meeting. “I wanted to make sure I was prepared and ready to go. When I hit that submit button to apply for it, there was no doubt that I wanted to do this.”
And because she’s been with the city for so long, she believes she brings a unique experience that the two new council members, Amy Steward and Mark Fleming, don’t have.
“The two new members are still getting to know who the department heads are, what the different departments do,” Purvis said. “I think my preparation has been the fact that I know the employees; I know the projects; I know what issues we face.”
Q: Tell me a little bit about your background.
Purvis: My husband and I bought our first and our current home in Coronado in 1987. We met at USC (University of Southern California), where we both graduated from. My husband got his MBA there and I got my degree in political science. We raised our three kids here – they went through K-12 here. Before I had children I did political fundraising in San Diego County, mainly event planning and major donors for political campaigns.
I had my first child, a son, and I stopped working, but I got very involved in the Coronado Schools Foundation and I also got involved in city politics. Initially, I was involved in historic preservation and concerned about density and FAR (Floor Area Ratio.) I was the first president of the Coronado Middle School PTO. I was appointed by the City Council to serve on the Residential Standards Improvement Project committee. I had a job briefly for about a year and a half, almost two years, with our historical association. I was our first development director.
About 11 years ago, I volunteered for the first year for the cultural arts commission. Then they advertised for a part time contract arts administrator and I applied. After five years, they hired me as an analyst in the city manager’s office.
Q: Why didn’t you choose to run in the regular election last November and what caused you to apply for this appointment instead?
Purvis: Timing is everything. I was in the midst of several major projects for the Arts Commission and a new transition was coming. I had told the city manager that I was prepared to retire after the election. I had some major life changes. I lost my husband during the pandemic, very suddenly and shockingly – he was young. So it was kind of figuring out what I wanted to do for my next chapter.
After losing Jim, I found solace in having service to my community and being surrounded by friends. I got calls from quite a few people when the process opened. I had been asked to run for council before, but I felt committed to the arts and I felt this was an area that I really wasn’t done with at the time. I think life is about timing when it’s appropriate. The timing in November just wasn’t right for me.
Q: Why do you think you would make a good council member?
Purvis: I think I bring municipal experience. I’ve read agendas for 11 years. I know all the Capital Improvement projects (CIP), I’ve seen them go through the budget process now for 11 years. I’ve done all the public art in town, so I’ve worked with public services. I’ve worked with the library, so I know the department head there and most of the librarians. The Spreckels Center, I’ve done programming there; I’ve worked with their gallery there that the Cultural Arts Commission established and so I’ve collaborated with them. I’ve worked with all the non-profits in town. I’ve done emergency operations center trainings. I have been active with the four major hotels that are part of Discover Coronado and their general managers. I’m excited that I can bring that experience and be up to speed pretty quickly. I really have a nice base of information to bring to the table
Q: What are you most eager about with this position?
Purvis: I’m excited about some projects that are coming up. I’m excited to see the remodel of our Winn room. I’m excited that we’re really focusing on our infrastructure at the Parker Pump Station. I’m looking forward to working on some challenges. Obviously the sewage is a major issue, and I think there’s a short term fix and a long term fix. We need to fix the plants and we need to get them running. But on a long term basis, Tijuana is going to continue to grow, and that infrastructure is not going to be able to handle the future. So what we’re fixing now is great, but we’re going to have to start working with everyone.
The other thing I’m concerned about is, I think we need to really address what the state is going to mandate for future housing requirements for us. Our city manager did a masterful job working with SANDAG and reducing the numbers, even though it’s very high, in my opinion. I see the council continuing to make better relationships with the members at SANDAG. It’s already happening under our new mayor. He’s served on SANDAG for two years now, and a lot has changed.
Q: How would you see your role in working with the development of Tijuana?
Purvis: I think like anything that we’ve ever done successfully, it’s all about relationships. It not only benefits us that Tijuana looks at the future, because it’s their sewage that is coming up and polluting the ocean and our beaches.
We have a problem now that we’ve got to fix and I know this current path has been very effective, and I have confidence that we’re going to solve the short term problem, but I’m also looking long term.
