Bowling Green businessman Kelly Wicks is throwing his hat into the ring in the city’s 2015 mayoral race.

“We started this process over a year ago,” he said in an interview Friday, “and so we have been talking
about this and made the decision last November that we would move toward 2015, so this isn’t a recent
decision for us.”
Wicks, who owns Grounds for Thought on South Main Street in the downtown, said that he has filed his
Declaration of Treasurer form with the Wood County Board of Elections, essentially setting up his
committee to begin the campaign process and collect signatures.
“The cat had gotten out of the bag” about his plans, said Wicks, “and people had begun to ask if that was
indeed my intention.”
“We really wanted to spend the rest of this year with our families” before beginning the campaign in
earnest, he said, “and making sure that Grounds is taken care of.”
An official announcement, and the filing of his declaration of candidacy with signatures, is planned for
after the holidays.
“We’ll have an event, and get people together at the shop and lay out a broader vision of what I’d like
to accomplish next year.”
Wicks said that he would be considering his candidacy and, if elected, the position of mayor, to be his
full-time job, and that his wife Laura would take over the operation of Grounds.
“Laura is more than capable and has been primarily running the company for quite some time.”
“Right now we’re wanting people to know that I’m tremendously excited about running, that I plan on
dedicating all my time and energy and work as hard as I ever have in my life to convince the citizens of
this community that I’m the right person for the job.”
“My history as a business owner and my involvement with the downtown and the (Black Swamp Arts) Festival
have always been about bringing people and the community together,” Wicks said, “and that will be my
same attitude heading into this position.”