If Doug Kerr has a pet peeve, it’s hearing people complain, but never offer to help.
There are those who want to do little more than argue, perhaps make snide comments or two on social media, and call it a day.
“What are you going to do?” Kerr wondered. “Why don’t you help out? Let’s explore ideas.”
Such an outlook prompted Kerr, a teacher and adviser at Iola High School, to offer up his candidacy to fill a soon-to-be-vacant seat on the Iola City Council.
Kerr announced last week he is running as a write-in candidate to represent Iola’s First Ward, which encompasses the northwest quadrant of town.
Josiah D’Albini, incumbent, did not file for re-election, nor did anyone else file for his seat in next week’s elections.
Kerr’s interest stemmed from recent conversations with friends and others in the community.
“It was probably about three weeks ago that I really started thinking about it,” Kerr said. “I just threw it out there and said, let’s figure out how this process works, and then started letting people know I’d be interested in doing it, and it all came together.
“If somebody else comes along, and they have great ideas, I’ll fully support that person,” he continued. “It’s just that there’s been nobody” to file.
Kerr, 51, and his family came to Iola in 2012, where he was the high school’s head football coach. The family moved to Baldwin in 2016, where Kerr took on another coaching position, before the family eventually realized their hearts remained in Iola.
“We enjoyed it here, and we’d put down some good roots before,” Kerr said. “We were looking at a different situation, and the kids and I liked a small town atmosphere.”
Rather than start anew, the Kerrs returned to Iola in 2022, where he teaches special education and Career Technical Education classes at Iola High School.
Wife Camille administers ANW Special Education Cooperative programs within USD 257, including the Hope Day School.
They have three children.
Daughter Olivia attends Wichita State University’s masters program for speech pathology. Son Ben is a sophomore at Baker University, where he’s also on the football team. Their youngest son, Franklin, is a junior at IHS.
“We’ve been blessed to have made that decision to return,” Kerr said. “Ben thrived here academically and athletically. Franklin is thriving at school. It’s great to be back.”
On top of teaching, Kerr serves as an assistant football and wrestling coach at IHS.
