Candidate Interviews: Highland Park City Council (3 for 1 seat) (Audio)

Three candidates are vying for one, two-year term on the Highland Park City Council.

Kim Stone (FriendsofKimStone.com), who spent more than 20 years in nonprofit management, has served on the council since 2013, while Kevin Cullather and Jonathan Center are in search of a first term.

Cullather (Kevin4HP.com), a communications professional, has served on the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals for eight years. Center (JC4HP2025.com) is a financial professional and CPA who lives in downtown Highland Park. Click to view profiles of the candidates collected and published by The Record.

Each candidate was interviewed by The Record Editor in Chief Joe Coughlin and their responses were recorded and timed. Questions are listed in the order they were asked, and the candidates are listed in the order they will appear on the ballot. You can use the navigation tools below to skip to specific questions. You can listen to the audio recordings grouped by candidate at these links: Kevin Cullather | Jon Center | Kim Stone.

JUMP TO: Opening Statements | Post-trauma needs | Liquor license change | Liquor vote-time response (Kim Stone) | Economic growth | Campaign contributions | Closing Statements

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Opening statements

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Where is the community on its path following the 2022 shooting? And what do residents need from the council?

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After a year of discussion, the council voted to allow liquor-license holders as elected officials. Do you believe the process was handled appropriately? What could have been done differently?

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(Kim Stone, incumbent, in response to allegation) Was consideration of the liquor-law change influenced in any way by the 2025 election?

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The council has touted recent economic development. How has that development impacted the community? And where does the city go from here to enable economic growth?

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Have you accepted financial contributions to your campaign? How are those funds being spent? Are you or have you accepted money from contributors pushing special interests?

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Closing statements