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An endorsement from the Central Labor Body in Duluth to vote for the candidates representing the Labor Party
Kelly Durick Eder has a strong passion for her community—both here at the college and in Duluth. She talked with such love about the positions she's held at the college, starting as a Biology faculty member in 2014 and eventually transitioning to her current position as Title IX coordinator. While she no longer teaches Anatomy and Physiology, she still has a deep connection to Biology and the courses she taught here.
As the Title IX coordinator, it may seem strange to be so passionate, but not for Eder. “I love my job. [It can be weird to] say you love a job that involves other people's trauma, but what I love about my job is the opportunity I have to serve students in a time of great need—and doing it through our Benedictine values of respect, hospitality, and stewardship. To watch the resilience and the beauty of students moving through that trauma and still getting their college degree and still thriving is really inspiring,” she said.
Jaylyn Elioza shops for groceries at Storm’s Cupboard, the food pantry on campus. Students can make a 15 minute appointment as often as they need to, no questions asked.
The Benedictine values clearly shape not only her work at the College, but also in her duties as a member of the school board, a position she's held since 2019. An opportunity came right before the pandemic to run for a seat on the Duluth school board. Someone had stepped down, and they were conducting interviews to find a temporary replacement. Eder won the replacement seat.
After COVID, no one wanted to run, so Eder ran for reelection unopposed the following year. School board positions are only appointed for one year at a time.
“I had two elections in two years. In the second election, I was elected for four years, and I was just recently elected for another four years,” said Eder. She has now held the position of Chair of the School Board for the past year.
Jaylyn Elioza shops for groceries at Storm’s Cupboard, the food pantry on campus. Students can make a 15 minute appointment as often as they need to, no questions asked.
At the next election in four years, Eder will have served on the school board for 10 years. Because of this, she is unsure whether she will run for reelection.
“I think it's important to serve your time, and then it’s somebody else's turn to come in with fresh ideas.”
Eder always had big dreams of running for public office. In college, she started as a political science major, hoping to become a lawyer, but eventually switched to Biology. The school board was not necessarily on her radar of public office positions she would hold, but she is now incredibly grateful that this opportunity came her way.
In this position, she gets to combine her passion for teaching and education with her love of Duluth and serving her community. With a son at Denfeld High School, she gets to work firsthand on improving and strengthening the school district that directly impacts her family. As chair, she works directly with the school district's superintendent on budgeting and ensures the district has the resources it needs to support its students.
Running for office is no easy task, especially in local elections. Many towns and cities are seeing an increase in the influence of larger national political action committees in some school board and county commissioner races, making it harder for people to get into those races. It's tough to raise enough money and get enough publicity when you're running against someone who has big national committees behind them.
One of the first steps in running for election is getting the word out. Doorknocking is essential for connecting with your community, and that's precisely what Eder and her fellow incumbents did. Alongside her were Rosie Loeffler-Kemp, Amber Sadowski and Jill Lofald.
“We’ve all been serving together [for] quite awhile, and we coordinated our campaigns together. We all split up, and we each took our different areas, and we door-knocked and talked to constituents.”
You have to be innovative and targeted with the doors you're knocking on. It’s imperative to talk to the people whom you know are likely to vote in off-year elections, but it's also important to speak to the people who may not have in the past.
“It’s a lot of work because Duluthians want to talk to the people. They want to meet their school board members, they want to meet their city councilors, they want to have conversations with them.”
At the end of the day, Eder believes it's essential to identify the why of it all. Why do you do the things you do?
“For me, I just believe so strongly in the power of public education to transform people's lives. I believe that every kid deserves to go to schools that are safe and welcoming, so that they have an opportunity to blossom, to explore, and to grow into an adult who can serve the community around them. My time at Scholastica has helped me clarify that why, because of our mission and our values, and it's taught me to be grounded in those as I make really difficult decisions,” said Eder.
By: Merete Nelson
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