KIMBERLY HAHN is a passionate woman.
For those who know her or have heard her speak at conferences across the country, there’s no question of her passion for her family, her country, and the faith.
This article appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of Embodied Magazine.
But her passion runs deeper than that.
So deep in fact that seven years ago she decided to run for city council in Steubenville, Ohio, where she and her husband — renowned Catholic theologian, speaker, and author Scott Hahn — have lived since 1990.
Kimberly homeschooled their six children for 26 years, and when the Hahns’ youngest went off to boarding school in the fall of 2014 she was left asking, “What next, Lord?”
Sitting across the kitchen table from her famous husband, they pondered the energetic woman’s future.
“Maybe it’s time for politics,” Scott suggested.
That idea was not as random as you might think.
At the tender age of 12, Kimberly served as an honorary page at the Washington State legislature during her grandmother’s tenure as state representative.
Gladys Kirk served seven terms in Olympia, Washington, from 1957-1973. She had followed in her husband’s footsteps. Douglas Kirk was a state rep from 1951-1955 before going on to serve on city council in Seattle.
“I’ve always considered public service to be something very good,” Kimberly said. “My grandmother was an inspiration. I flew out to Washington and watched my grandmother in action.
“She never lost. She died of cancer while in office. I only found out a year ago that my grandmother’s last year of formal education was sixth grade. She was a very smart woman. Her family needed her to work in the business, so she quit school to help them out.”
HITTING THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
With a population of about 18,000, Steubenville is the seat of Jefferson County. It sits on the Ohio River, about 33 miles west of Pittsburgh. The city is home to the Franciscan University of Steubenville where Scott Hahn is a professor of theology.
“With his blessing, I began asking people who knew me pretty well what they thought about me running for city council, and then I began campaigning for a good eight months,” Kimberly recalls.
Kimberly Hahn is sworn in as a member of the Steubenville City Council in 2015.
“We have over 7,000 residences in Steubenville, including a number of apartments. I went to every single door and knocked and left literature. I had over 40 neighborhood coffees where I had friends invite their friends to meet me. I did many events and just got out there and met people.”
In late 2015, she won the city council at-large race against incumbent Kenny Davis by a 2,711 to 2,166 margin. She won by an even wider margin in 2019. Kimberly credits her success, in part, to trusting her instincts.
“I ran as a Republican,” she explained. “People said, ‘Don’t mention your party affiliation’ because it was six-to-one Democrat to Republican in the city. I said, ‘Well, I’m not going to hide this fact. This is how I’m going to run and if the doors slam in my face, so be it. But that was not the case.”
Others advised she not mention the Catholic university where her husband works. Kimberly also ignored that guidance.
“I wasn’t campaigning on behalf of my husband, so I didn’t feel the need to talk about the university,” she said, “but I was so impressed as I went door-to-door. People said that if it wasn’t for the university, our city would have folded when the steel mills shut down. They expressed a lot of gratitude for the university. I didn’t find that a negative at all.”
TOB VALUES
Located in central Appalachia, the region has suffered economically since the decline of the coal and steel industry in the 1980s. In keeping with her Catholic faith and Pope St. John Paul II’s theology of the body, Kimberly is using her influence to elevate the dignity of citizens—particularly the underprivileged—by creating opportunities to work and to experience the outdoors.
“Jefferson County is near the top in Ohio for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and opioid trouble,” she explained. “That has a great impact on us. Part of why I have such a passion for Parks and Recreation is because I believe that getting out and moving around will help people work on their own health.”
Kimberly championed the redevelopment of the city’s marina, investment in community gardens, restoration of the city’s parks, and other recreational facilities.
“I worked very hard at making sure we didn’t shut down our community pool. I think it’s a great asset. Groups of volunteers were very motivated to restore a 99-acre park and I have tried to give them as much support as possible.”
Decades ago, the city acquired a 100-year-old lock and dam on the Ohio River. Steubenville uses the riverbank area as a marina.
“There’s been no real development there and I have worked hard for some very simple things—a shared-use path, getting the water and sewer lines so we could eventually have bathrooms,” she said. “I’m hoping and praying that I can set in motion over these next two years some significant improvements to the marina. Once we restore the marina, I think people will buy up land next to it and put up restaurants. I do not believe politicians create jobs, but we create the environment so that entrepreneurs will risk and create jobs.”
Kimberly’s political philosophy is in lock step with the theology of the body.
“My approach is that every person is made in the image and likeness of God, so each person is worthy of respect, worthy of a careful listening—even if we’re at odds.”
Such adversity has been difficult, Kimberly said, noting how she has been challenged by voters and fellow city council members.
“You have to have a thick skin,” she said.
A new council member recently told Kimberly that a colleague advised him to oppose everything she said. That councilman now admits the advice was bogus.
“I appreciate him being honest,” she said. “He’s been with me long enough now to know that I don’t talk out of both sides of my mouth. I really want what is best for the city and the people, and I’m willing to compromise to build bridges when it doesn’t have to do with a moral issue.”
Kimberly said that being herself and focusing on human dignity has won over many detractors.
Her door-knocking brought her face-to-face with the city’s poor. She again jettisoned conventional political wisdom and visited the city’s projects.
“People said, ‘Oh don’t bother. Most of them aren’t registered to vote and the ones that are going to be hard-core Democrats.’ I knew that I had to meet the people. I had to know what their concerns are. I will still represent them even if they don’t vote for me.”
Kimberly recalls how one gentleman came out of his place in the projects and told her that no one had ever knocked on his door. He said, “The fact that you stood here, you have my vote.” Other people said similar things. No one running for council had ever shown up.
Kimberly relishes her work and her grassroots popularity in Steubenville. Residents regularly come up to her on the street or in coffee shops and strike up a conversation while her internationally known husband goes unrecognized by the locals.
“Scott is so well-known in his sphere, but most don’t know him here.”
Scott and Kimberly Hahn
Kimberly said she finds politics thrilling—not for her own glory but because locals are able to connect with someone in political office.
“It’s such a joy for them to feel like ‘she knows me.’ That’s what they communicate: ‘She knows me. She cares. She wants me to stop and say hi.’”
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Term limits mean that Kimberly will give up her council seat at the end of her second four-year term in the fall of 2023. As to her future, she is relying on the Holy Spirit to guide her.
“I don’t know what’s next,” she pondered. “I’m 64. I feel like I’ve learned so much that I hate to just put it all away and say, ‘Okay, the files can be burned. I’m done. God bless the next people stepping in.’ I would love to use the knowledge I have gained.”
Kimberly said she may dive back into private life and devote more time to her family. A daughter and family just moved back to Steubenville.
“I’ve never had grandchildren in town, so who knows. Maybe I go back to the hidden life and not so much in the public eye. That’s fine. In years, that could change. I just want to keep saying, ‘Yes, Lord, whatever you want.’”
Patrick Novecosky is a Virginia-based journalist, author, international speaker, and pro-life activist. His latest book is “100 Ways John Paul II Changed the World.” This article appeared in the Fall 2022 edition of Embodied Magazine.
