Town Clerk candidate profile: Kelsi Power-Spirlet

Mar 19, 2021

Ever since she went to grad school at Trinity College in Dublin, resident Kelsi Power-Spirlet said she has been obsessed with how elections are run — especially at the local level.

That passion for politics is precisely why she is running for Town Clerk on April 6, a position she was previously a finalist for after the retirement of former clerk Lynn Medeiros.

“I went through the whole interview process and didn’t get dissuaded from it,” she said. “I’m really passionate about Dartmouth and I’m really passionate about the office.” 

A native of Barnstable, Power-Spirlet moved to town this past summer after her partner got a job in Dartmouth. So far, she said living in town has been nothing but a pleasant experience.

“I really love it here,” she said, noting that she especially enjoys the Dartmouth Natural Resource Trust trails.

Along with a degree in political science, Power-Spirlet also has six years of experience working in the hospitality industry in New York City — something she said would translate well to Town Hall, since her previous job involved a lot of quick thinking and organization.

“If you can project the Town Clerk’s office as a one stop shop of positive interaction, it just helps local government overall,” she said. 

In addition to putting her own spin on customer service at Town Hall, the candidate said that if elected, she also wants to create more opportunities to educate residents on what the office does, along with trying to be more active on social media to attract more youth involvement. 

“Democracy comes from local government,” Power-Spirlet said. “Civic engagement is number one for me.”