After 125 years, Kenmore Village Board Reaches Diversity Milestone

Brittany A. Jones

“I hope that I serve all members of our community, whether they are Black, brown or white,” says Brittany A. Jones, the first minority appointed to the Kenmore Village Board.

‘I’m happy to serve’

Jones, 34, serves as prin cipal law clerk to Justice E. Jeannette Ogden of the State Appellate Division’s Fourth Department. She grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Kenmore since 2017.

“The folks who live here really care about the neigh borhood and making sure it’s a wonderful place to live,” she said. “And I have children, I have a family, so I wanted to have that sense of community, but also the closeness to the city.”

Over time, she sought to get more involved in village affairs.

She discussed this with Patrick Bannister, the husband of another Appellate Division judge and some one long active in the Kenmore community, who suggested she meet with Mayor Patrick Mang.

Coincidentally, this happened around when trustee Lou Cercone resigned after moving out of the village.

Serving on the Village Brittany A. Jones Board wasn’t what Jones imagined until, she said, Mang asked if she had interest in filling the vacancy.

“So I said, ‘Sure, I’m happy to serve if the village needs someone to serve in that capacity,’“ Jones said.

Ogden, Jones’ boss, swore her in at the May 7th board meeting.

Jones is settling into her new role in the village of 14,900. It is a place where residents take the time, as one did at last Tuesday’s board meeting, to implore the village to change its code to rein in dog owners who don’t properly control their pets on walks.