Mayoral Candidate Profile: Scott Sessions
Sessions was previously mayor from 2013-2017.
City of Hillsdale—Four candidates—Cathy Kelemen, Scott Sessions, Rob Socha, and Matthew Bentley—will run in the city of Hillsdale’s 2025 special mayoral election this August to fill the vacancy left by former Mayor Adam Stockford when he resigned last fall.
In a conversation covering some of the biggest issues before Hillsdale’s city council, the Hillsdalian spoke with Scott Sessions, the second in a series of interviews covering the platforms and positions of the four candidates vying for the one-year mayoral term.
Previous Campaigns and Mayoral Achievements
In 2013, Sessions ran against and defeated opponent Brian Watkins. He then served as mayor until 2017.
The former mayor told the Hillsdalian that his achievements include helping the city through difficult financial times in the wake of the 2008 crash while hiring good staff members.
In 2017, he lost to then-councilman Adam Stockford, who Sessions said “had a lot of backing from people in the community.”
Public Camping and Public Safety
When asked about vagrancy and law enforcement in the city, Sessions said that the amount of trash that has accumulated has been extreme. The Hillsdale Department of Public Services recently collected over 4,000 pounds of trash from abandoned campsites along the Baw Beese Trail.
With respect to Camp Hope—a homeless encampment located at Hillsdale Community Thrift—Sessions said that “you have to set a time limit” for the proprietors to bring the camp into compliance with local ordinances.
Downtown Hillsdale
In the coming months, the city council will likely vote on transforming Broad Street to slow traffic through downtown Hillsdale. In order to attain state funding, this would require the addition of bicycle lanes on either side of the road.
Sessions told the Hillsdalian that he’s “not so sure if it’s safe” for cycling in particular. Sessions said he was skeptical of the project on the whole, noting that his “problem” with it “is the bike path.”
On the Keefer House Hotel project, Sessions said that he is “not confident,” but thinks it “needs to get done.” The way forward with CL RED, he said, is to “give them a final date.” The former mayor said that he would not be inclined to vote for an extension if he were to be elected.
Hillsdale Community Library
Sessions said that he would nominate the “best” and most qualified candidates for library board positions and would consider letting the Operations and Governance standing committee make a recommendation to council.
According to Sessions, “adult books and all that should not be in the children’s section.” He added that LGBT materials are “more of an adult issue.”
Special Assessments and Roads
The mayoral candidate told the Hillsdalian that special assessments will have to continue for the foreseeable future, because “if you change them, it would be discrimination.”
In order to avoid such discrimination, Sessions argued, all possible roads need to be assessed, though that would not include major thoroughfares that receive state funding.
When asked if he envisioned special assessments ever coming to an end, he said, “I don’t know if you really can.”
Hillsdale Community Airport
Sessions told the Hillsdalian that many of the airport improvements started during his tenure on the council and as mayor, including the new fuel depot.
According to Sessions, it is important to continue the projects that are already underway, though “in the long term, the airport needs to be self-sufficient.”
Staff Resignations
In the past three months, three city staffers have resigned, each of whom cited “negative culture” as a reason for leaving.
When asked about the culture on the city council, Sessions said that he finds it concerning.
“There’s a negative atmosphere, and that has to be dealt with,” he told the Hillsdalian, emphasizing that the city “didn’t have turnover like that when I was mayor.”
According to the former mayor, the “competitive mindset” that he sees “needs to stop,” which will be possible by introducing a “chain of command,” similar to what he experienced in his time in the military.
Still, Sessions wasn’t entirely sure about the specifics behind each resignation.
“I don’t know what the negative culture is,” he added.
Jacob Bruns
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Related Links:
Mayoral Candidate Profile: Cathy Kelemen
Kelemen, Socha Enter Hillsdale Mayoral Race
Former Mayor Scott Sessions Announces Candidacy for Mayor of Hillsdale
Mayor Sessions is putting down a good ground game. I see a bunch of his signs.