Oxford’s village council has its first-ever millennial majority. Three of the five seats are now held by members of the generation born between 1981 and 1996.

Last week, council voted 3-1 to appoint 26-year-old Allison Kemp to the seat previously held by Erik Dolan, who resigned in December. She was sworn into office Jan. 10 and will serve until November 2020.

“I know that many feel that millennials are entitled or apathetic. I find that’s not the case at all,” Kemp told council during her interview. “I know my friends have become more and more involved as we’ve aged and we want to make a difference.”

Kemp, a 2010 Oxford High School graduate who resides on W. Burdick St., joins fellow millennials Joe Frost, the village president, and Councilwoman Kate Logan, both of whom were born in 1982.

“(Millennials) want to be involved,” Kemp said. “We have more access to information than we ever have (before). We have the skills to use technologies that we grew up with. And I think that if we combine those skills with the wisdom and the experience from people that have served on this (council), we can benefit everybody.”

Kemp was one of four people who applied for the seat. The others were Kelsey Cooke, an attorney employed with the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office; Michelle C. McClellan, an office coordinator and senior massage therapist at Beaumont hospital; and Justin Willcock, creator and

coordinator of a Facebook group named “Volunteers of North Oakland County (VONOC).”

Council was pleased with the candidates in terms of both the number and quality.

“I will be honest that this is going to be a tough decision because all four of them come from very different backgrounds, (have) very different perspectives and all of that, I believe, will be an asset to our community,” Frost said.

“I thought they were all very qualified,” said Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth.

“I think we selected a qualified person to serve on council, but there were three other qualified persons to serve on council as well, so how could we go wrong?” said Councilman Dave Bailey.

Frost cast the lone dissenting vote against Kemp because he felt Cooke “might be a better fit” for council given her legal background, bachelor’s degree in political science and her experience dealing with infrastructure issues, which could be a “significant asset to this community moving forward.”

That being said, Frost still had positive things to say about Kemp.

“Allison has an incredible perspective in that she is downtown every day and sees things and talks to people that we don’t talk to on a regular basis,” he said. “She’s very passionate about the communication side of things.”

Kemp is employed as a server at downtown’s Ox Bar and Grill. She is a lifelong Oxford resident who grew up in the township and has lived in the village for the last four years.

“I love this town,” she said. “I love the small-town feel and its culture.”

Kemp, who is still pursuing her bachelor’s degree, has worked as a server for the last 10 years. Prior to starting at the Ox in 2014, she had worked at Red Knapp’s American Grill since 2009.

“I interact with the public on a daily basis,” she said.

As a result, she said she’s “gotten  to know the people of Oxford” and “heard their concerns” about the community as well as their “love” and “vision” for it.

As a millennial, Kemp told council she can help provide the village with “insight into how this generation relates and communicates, and how they obtain information.”

She said “more and more” people are “obtaining their information” from social media and websites “rather than more traditional forms of news.”

“I think that moving forward, communicating with the public should be our priority,” Kemp said.

For example, she would like to see the village use social media to inform residents of agenda items at upcoming meetings and invite them to attend.

Kemp would also like there to be alternative ways to communicate with council.

“Obviously, coming in person is the best way to do that,” she said. “But in today’s world that can be difficult for many people who are working longer hours than they ever have (before and) working non-traditional jobs. I don’t want to just discount those people in our community.”

Kemp said “a lot” of millennials “feel underrepresented in government” and the reason many of them don’t get involved is because it’s “a scary thing” to jump in “when your perception of it is that all of your leaders are from generations above you.”

She believes the village can change that by actively seeking out millennial input and participation. “The more we reach out, the more we ask for help, (the more) my generation will rise to that,” Kemp said.