MEET CHAD McKenna
Trusted. Persistent. Principled.
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My Marriage
My wife Jayme shows me everyday what selfless, enduring love looks like and what it means to care for our community.
Jayme and I met when we were still students at UMD. She is a neuro/trauma nurse in Duluth, and a devoted mom and partner. We’re raising our two young children in West Duluth, where we've lived for 17 years.
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My Family
Being a dad is what keeps me grounded. Parenting is the most challenging work any of us do, and so rewarding.
Jayme and I strive to raise children who feel accepted, loved, and safe—building a foundation for confidence, compassion, and creativity.
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My work
For 20 years, I’ve worked in the labor movement in Northern MN. I’ve negotiated contracts with the largest employers in the region - contracts that improve people’s lives and build strong communities from Cloquet to Baudette, from Grand Marais to Bemidji, from Duluth to International Falls, from Virginia to Deer River.
I’m continually working on community and creative projects that inspire me. Here are some from recent years...
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I write as often as I can on Substack about our community and way of life in Northeastern Minnesota, the struggles we all face in our day to day lives, and the pursuit of the American dream. I first called it“DeWalt Dad’s Parenting Parables,” but I have recently changed to “The Pursuit.”
“The Pursuit” is also the name of the podcast I started earlier this year where I interview regular people and talk about their lives through the lens of “the pursuit of happiness.” This is an effort to explore the meaning of the Declaration of Independence as we approach the 250th anniversary next year.
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In 2021, I started a business making and selling candles - it started as a COVID hobby and turned it into a (very) small business called Cool Cousin Candle Company. The name of the company was a tribute to Jayme’s cousin and our daughter’s godmother, Lisa, who we lost in 2018 and who we loved immensely. Just prior to our daughter being born, Lisa told us she wanted the baby to call her “CC” for “Cool Cousin.” We had a good laugh that she had come up with her own nickname and it stuck.
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In 2024, I launched the Cheerio Challenge after crude comments were made about Duluth being “a small minded community” that “peed in its Cheerios” for asking questions about development projects. That effort has raised over $115,000 and collected 1200 boxes of cereal for local food shelves over the course of just 8 days.
I believe strongly that for democracy to work individual citizens need to be active participants in our communities.
Over the years, I’ve volunteered for and helped raise money for many causes and organizations.
I served as Vice President of my PTA, I’ve volunteered on dozens of school referendum efforts, have attended the Fire Ops and the Citizens Police Academy, regularly donate blood, and have helped many working people run for elected office.
I’m persistent, principled, and motivated to make positive changes for my children’s future and for my community.
we can do better than this. We ARE better than this.
We need a congressman who gets up every morning burning with energy to fight for what’s right, not point their finger at someone else to blame.
A congressman who is not absent without leave. Who is not afraid to talk with his constituents, even when they disagree with him – particularly when they disagree with them.
I am nothing if not relentless. I never stop.
It can be hard to watch the news these days. Each day seems to grow darker and darker. But each of us is a point of light. Together, we form a beacon of light. A beacon of hope in the face of fear, a beacon of peace in the face of violence, a beacon of solidarity in the face of division.
My name will be on that ballot next year and my children will know where I stood when the fundamentals of our democracy were tested.
