Mark Holland is an American community leader, pastor, and politician.
Holland was the 28th Mayor of Kansas City in office from April 25, 2013, to January 8, 2018. He was preceded in office by Joe Reardon and succeeded by David Alvey.
His mayorship prioritized economic development, innovation, and healthy communities, and he lobbied a lot to have his vision come to fruition. One example is when he lobbied Governor Brownback to accept Medicaid expansion as the Affordable Care Act allowed.
Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics states Wyandotte County created more jobs than most other counties in the metro area during Holland’s first year in office. During his tenure, unemployment fell from 7.6% in May 2013 to 4.5% in December 2017.
Who Is Mark Holland From Kansas?
Born on May 16, 1969, in Kansas City, Kansas, Holland is the third child and only son of Reverend Doctor Ronald E. Holland and Marci L’ Holland.
Rev. Dr. Ronald E. Holland is a Methodist minister, and Marci L. Holland is a public school teacher. Holland studied at Shawnee Mission West High School and graduated in 1987.
Following his high school graduation, he moved to Dallas, Texas, and attended Southern Methodist University, majoring in Philosophy and Anthropology. Unsatisfied with this level of education, Holland earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Iliff School of Theology.
Still unsatisfied, he got a Doctor of Ministry degree from St. Paul School of Theology. They were both Methodist Schools.
Holland has wanted to be a United Methodist pastor since he was a kid. During seminary, he held the position of a counselor with youth facing challenges such as abuse, neglect, and addiction in all three settings: inpatient, outpatient, and residential.
Following his ordination, Holland became a student pastor at Washington Park UMC in Denver, Colorado, then a full pastor in the Elwood Community Church in Elwood, Kansas, and Wathena United Methodist Church in Wathena, Kansas.
His longest tenure was from 1999 to 2018, when Holland became a Senior Pastor at Trinity Community Church in Kansas City, Kansas. Most recently, he co-founded Mainstream UMC with Rev. Dr. Nanette Robers, the pastor of Olathe Grace United Methodist Church, in July 2018. This organization was revolutionary for its inclusivity, especially towards the LGBTQ+ community.
Meet Democratic Nomination For U.S. Senate, Mark Holland
Mark Holland announced on October 1, 2021, that he would vie for the Democratic Party nomination for the U.S. State senate seat representing Kansas.
Holland had an interest in politics and public service from a young age. His father especially stated that he always thought Holland would end up in politics.
Holland’s first foray into elected office was when he held the Commissioner of Wyandotte County, At-Large District 1 seat on the Unified Government Board. Holland ran parks, pools, playgrounds, and exercise paths to increase the availability of green space to residents with an added emphasis on children and families.
At first, people didn’t take Holland seriously. Still, when Wyandotte County finished last in a 2009 health rankings study, his plan took on a new level of importance, and the Board of Commissioners adopted the Complete Streets Resolution in 2011.
This resolution would accommodate all road users equally and not only focus on vehicles.
Holland left his commissioner seat to chase the mayor’s office and won it in 2013. As mentioned above, his mayorship was very successful.
Besides lowering the unemployment rate, he also promoted several development projects, such as when the U.S. Soccer broke ground on a National Training and Coaching Development Center in KCK.
Amazon broke ground a week later on an 855,000-plus-square-foot fulfillment center whose duty would be picking, packing, and shipping smaller customer items and planned to employ close to 1000 people.
Where Is Mark Holland Now?
On August 2, 2022, Mark Holland won the primary for the Democratic Party nomination for the U.S. Senate seat.
Following this win, Holland will face incumbent U.S. Senator Jerry Moran in the general election. Things are looking up for Holland in his political career.
One can only imagine what Holland, who has achieved so much with his local offices, can succeed if he gets this larger seat.