Mayor Alan Keck

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

Alan Keck was elected to his second term as mayor of his hometown of Somerset in 2022. Here he has led a period of unprecedented change, unifying this southeastern Kentucky city and lighting it up through tourism, economic development, and community spirit.

Mayor Keck believes wholeheartedly in investing in people — not only city employees but also the people who choose to live, work and visit here. He has been dedicated to finding financial resources to support the community’s people while showing up to listen and consider ideas different from his own. He makes decisions daily that propel the community forward, while also being willing to step aside when necessary to make room for progress. 

Somerset is a transformed city under Mayor Keck’s leadership, and the energy here is palpable. The following are just a few of the ways he is lighting up this community and making it a better place to live:

• Desiring to have a significant generational impact in Somerset, Mayor Keck challenged his team to develop a brand for the city soon after taking office in 2019. He firmly believes if Somerset’s people can rally behind their story, they are the best ambassadors for attracting and retaining people and commerce. And rally behind it they have: the vibrant four-blade propeller in the city’s logo and the corresponding brand story have been embraced widely. Thousands are sharing their own Somerset story across social media, building excitement about this community across the region and state.
• This growing excitement is also visible within the city’s workforce. City employees have experienced a significant culture shift, one where everyone is treated with respect, where open and honest communication is encouraged, where trust is built daily and employees have more freedom to lead and make decisions. Growth and development opportunities are plentiful. Mayor Keck leads by example in the way he treats city employees, and that has manifested in a more productive, happier workforce. He has also provided record investment in the city’s fire, police and EMS departments, improving salaries, equipment and facilities.
• Mayor Keck introduced four free community festivals in 2019 that attracted more than 17,000 people to downtown Somerset. These festivals are first and foremost for the people of Somerset, a way for them to fellowship and celebrate their community while enjoying food, music and local art. But they have also successfully attracted visitors to the community and spurred downtown revitalization and investment. Combined with his support and encouragement of murals and art projects throughout downtown, these festivals have helped Mayor Keck generate new and increased revenue for the city without raising taxes.
• Mayor Keck reimagined our community’s economy by helping create and serving on the board for the Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority (SPEDA), a new city-county partnership that endeavors to approach economic development holistically through the lens of quality of life and place. SPEDA serves as an umbrella for workforce development, tourism, entrepreneurship and industrial recruitment, following Mayor Keck’s core belief that problems in a community can be solved with growth, and growth begins with investing in initiatives that make the community a better place to live, work and visit. Because tourism is Pulaski County’s top industry and is now being treated as such through the addition of downtown events and attractions, the community is seeing huge returns: In 2021, tourism spending grew by 9.9%, or $11 million, over the previous record year (2019). This is Pulaski County’s largest-ever increase.
• Recruiting the community’s first bourbon distillery was one of Mayor Keck’s top priorities when elected, and one he was able to check off his list in record fashion: He took office in January 2019 and the announcement that Horse Soldier Bourbon would build a distillery here was made 11 months later. This $250 million-plus investment from Horse Soldier will put the community on the southernmost tip of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. After just a year in office, building a brand and telling Somerset’s story had helped Mayor Keck achieve one of his most aggressive goals.
• Mayor Keck’s compassionate spirit and genuine nature give him the unique ability to connect with people of all walks of life, and he has embraced this in supporting community-based projects that promote inclusion. From hosting a Lady Boss event that celebrated Somerset’s female entrepreneurs, to participating in a Juneteenth Charette that endeavored to promote peaceful and uplifting conversation following weeks of civil unrest across the nation, Mayor Keck is committed to being a leader for all, supporting movements that historically have been ignored in this community.

While all of this illustrates Mayor Keck’s outstanding guidance during the best of days in our community, likely his most valuable trait lies in his ability to pivot and lead during a crisis. And that is what he was faced with during the global pandemic in 2020. As a business owner himself, Mayor Keck is a tireless advocate for Main Street and a champion for local government. Firm in his belief that lives and livelihoods are not mutually exclusive, he immediately turned to his team to explore how the city could support local businesses and artists during this challenging time. The city debuted a live Facebook series, #seemyset LIVE!, which highlighted a different business and artist or musician during each broadcast and gave Mayor Keck the opportunity to share updates about the pandemic with the community.

One of Mayor Keck’s top priorities has always been for Somerset to be the healthiest community in Kentucky, and the pandemic illustrated the need to encourage residents to care for their physical and mental well-being. The city launched its Healthy Somerset initiative during this time, offering ideas and creating challenges to encourage exercise and healthy habits, while also embracing efforts already underway to make the community more walkable, enhance city parks and provide healthy, locally sourced food options to residents.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Keck has used his diplomatic yet bold voice to rally for community leaders to have a seat at the table in discussions about safely and strategically reopening the economy. His advocacy has been covered by the media statewide, and because of his efforts, Mayor Keck was invited to offer his perspective on reopening Heartland economies in the New York Times, as well as Neil Cavuto’s Coast to Coast on FOX Business. He is also a regular op-ed contributor in several statewide publications.

As a lifelong resident of Somerset, Mayor Keck has been greatly involved in local business and civic activities. Prior to being elected mayor, he served as president of Somerset Recycling. He is the founder and principal agent of Keck Sports Management, a professional baseball agency that represents professional athletes, and is one of the youngest ever independently certified agents through the Major League Baseball Players Association. 

Following a vision to bring balance to higher education and tackling a long-discussed desire to build a four-year university in Somerset, Mayor Keck is the founder and board chairman of the University of Somerset, a private research university rooted in the classic liberal arts tradition while embracing technological innovation and scientific development.

In 2021, Mayor Keck was selected as the Kentucky League of Cities Elected Official of the Year for his creative and dynamic leadership.

Mayor Keck is a 2003 graduate of Somerset High School, a 2007 graduate of Western Kentucky University and a 2014 MBA graduate of the University of the Cumberlands. He serves as a deacon at First Baptist Church, where he also teaches Sunday School, and is a member of the Kentucky Baptist Convention Public Affairs Committee. He was a member of the 2017 class of Leadership Kentucky and now serves on the organization’s board of directors. He is also a member of the KLC board of directors. He has been deeply involved with the America Israel Public Affairs Committe (AIPAC), serving on its National Council between 2017 and 2019.

Mayor Keck and his wife Tiffany have three young daughters, Olyvia, Oaklee and Olsen.