Kate Cook

Voted to add $50,000 to the capital plan for a plan to move the city vehicle fleet off fossil fuels. It failed 3-6.

December 2, 2024Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to adopt the city's 'Skip the Stuff' policy to cut single-use food containers and utensils. The council approved it.

July 15, 2024Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to raise funding for the city's Climate Action Plan to $100,000 in the 2023 budget year of the capital plan. The council passed it 9-0.

March 7, 2022Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against dropping a proposed rule that candidates' campaign finance disclosures be posted on the city website. The change passed 5-4.

November 13, 2023Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved, for the Governance Committee, to adopt a new city Ethics and Transparency Policy. The council approved it.

November 13, 2023Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Seconded and voted for an ethics code change that bars city officers and employees from accepting gifts over $100 a year. It passed 7-2.

October 16, 2023Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved final passage of a revised city ethics code that added an ethics investigation officer. The council passed it 9-0.

August 22, 2022Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to spend $65,000 from the city's Below Market Rate Housing Trust Fund on a study of artist live and work studios as below-market housing. It passed 7-2.

June 8, 2026Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against the 2026 fiscal year general fund budget, saying it grew faster than the Social Security cost-of-living increase. It passed 7-2.

June 23, 2025Supports Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against adding $153,000 to the school budget above the city manager's plan. It failed 4-5.

June 23, 2025Supports Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against budget guidance that set a 2.9% spending increase target for the 2026 fiscal year. She said she wanted 2.5%. It passed 8-1.

January 21, 2025Supports Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted to add $50,000 to the capital plan for a plan to move the city vehicle fleet off fossil fuels. It failed 3-6.

December 2, 2024Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to add a $100,000 shuttle loop or microtransit study to the 2026 budget year of the capital plan. The council approved it.

December 2, 2024Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to approve a $140,000 contract with DiBari & Associates to design and install a public artwork on Peirce Island. The council approved it.

August 19, 2024Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to put $600,000 for an accessible (ADA) playground at South Mill Pond into the 2025 budget year instead of 2029. The council approved it.

March 6, 2023Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to fund police body cameras a year sooner in the city's capital plan, saying other Seacoast towns already had them. The council approved it.

March 6, 2023Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against a $3.1 million school bond that included replacing the high school's artificial turf field. It passed 7-2.

July 11, 2022Supports Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted for the city's $131.8 million general fund budget for the 2023 fiscal year. It passed 8-1.

June 6, 2022Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to raise funding for the city's Climate Action Plan to $100,000 in the 2023 budget year of the capital plan. The council passed it 9-0.

March 7, 2022Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to fund police body cameras a year sooner in the city's capital plan, saying other Seacoast towns already had them. The council approved it.

March 6, 2023Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to have city planners review pre-approved accessory dwelling unit (ADU) plans from other towns for use in Portsmouth. The council passed it unanimously.

June 22, 2026Supports Housing Affordability

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to spend $65,000 from the city's Below Market Rate Housing Trust Fund on a study of artist live and work studios as below-market housing. It passed 7-2.

June 8, 2026Supports Housing Affordability

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to send an arts commission report on artist live and work space to the Planning Board as an affordable housing incentive. The council approved it.

October 6, 2025Supports Housing Affordability

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted to hire the Portsmouth Housing Authority, not a rival nonprofit, to build permanent below-market housing at 35 Sherburne Road. The housing authority contract passed 8-1.

December 9, 2024Supports Housing Affordability

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted to direct city staff to pursue the McIntyre federal building site so it could become workforce housing. It passed 8-1.

August 7, 2023Supports Housing Affordability

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to ask two city committees to review parking requirements and recommend changes that make housing more affordable and reduce car use. The council approved it.

May 1, 2023Supports Housing Affordability

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Seconded and voted for a motion to remove parking requirements for accessory dwelling units. It failed 3-6.

April 17, 2023Supports Housing Affordability

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against sending a second set of accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules to the Planning Board. She questioned strict parking rules for these small extra homes. The motion passed.

November 14, 2022Supports Housing Affordability

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to add the Muslim holy days Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the city calendar, with no city meetings on those days. It passed with one vote against.

December 8, 2025Supports Civil Rights

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to add a $100,000 shuttle loop or microtransit study to the 2026 budget year of the capital plan. The council approved it.

December 2, 2024Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to put $600,000 for an accessible (ADA) playground at South Mill Pond into the 2025 budget year instead of 2029. The council approved it.

March 6, 2023Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to widen the Market Square redesign study to nearby downtown streets, aiming for wider sidewalks and easier walking. The council adopted it with an amendment naming Congress, Pleasant, Market and Daniel Streets.

January 23, 2023Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to reserve the Parrott Avenue lot for residents and downtown workers, with a few spaces for district court defendants. It passed 8-0.

September 14, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against removing part of Parrott Avenue from the resident parking pilot, saying she wanted more data first. It passed 5-3.

September 14, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against setting downtown parking at $3 an hour for three hours and $6 after. It failed 3-5.

August 17, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to support a donated 'City of the Open Door' artwork for Vaughan Mall, proposed by members of the LGBTQ+ community. It passed 8-1.

August 3, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against putting off the fire boat purchase until October. The delay passed 7-2.

August 3, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to keep resident parking rates unchanged in a plan raising downtown parking to $3 an hour for three hours and $6 after. Her amendment passed 8-1.

August 3, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to ask the Planning Board to study creating a Heritage Commission to help protect historic buildings. The council passed it unanimously.

July 13, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved a resolution backing House Bill 1491, a state bill allowing a type of insurance pool for towns. The council passed it unanimously.

June 8, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to adopt a three-tier water and sewer rate structure for the 2027 fiscal year. The council passed it unanimously.

May 4, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved for the city to work with the Prescott Park Arts Festival on festival-funded park upgrades, including a covered stage. The council passed it unanimously.

April 20, 2026

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to end the council's Governance Committee, saying it had spent four years revising city ordinances and policies. The council approved it.

December 22, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Won re-election to the Portsmouth City Council on November 4, 2025. She placed third of 18 candidates with 3,858 votes.

November 4, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against starting the process to remove 109 Dennett Street from the Historic District. It passed 6-3.

October 20, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against putting a question on allowing social districts, where people can carry drinks outdoors, on the November 2025 ballot. It passed with two votes against.

September 24, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to hold a public hearing on putting a KENO gambling ban on the November 2025 city ballot. The council approved it as amended.

September 8, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to have staff plan a resident parking program charging non-residents $1 an hour in unmetered neighborhoods near downtown. It passed with three votes against.

September 8, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Cast the only vote against the school superintendent's employment contract. It passed 6-1.

August 18, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against accepting the Market Square Master Plan, saying it did not go far enough. It passed with two votes against.

August 4, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against free 15-minute parking for residents. It failed 3-6.

July 14, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against giving cars with veteran, military or Gold Star plates three hours of free metered parking. The amendment passed 7-2.

June 9, 2025

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to ask city planners and lawyers to draft an arts zoning district with incentives for artist live and work space in the West End. The council approved it.

December 2, 2024

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved final passage of an ordinance that combined the city's rules on funding, reviewing and buying public art. It passed 9-0.

October 7, 2024

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against a zoning change that let some rooftop solar panels in the historic district skip full Historic District Commission review. It passed 5-4.

July 15, 2024

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved final passage of zoning changes on home businesses that local artists backed to make art classes easier to offer. The council approved it.

June 17, 2024

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted to name the municipal campus as the site for a new community policing facility, while saying she had serious cost concerns. It passed 7-2.

June 3, 2024

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against a new employment agreement for Police Chief Mark Newport, citing concerns about the pay structure. It passed 5-3.

April 15, 2024

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Seconded and voted for a motion to take up a proposed resolution on Israel and Gaza early in the meeting. It failed 3-6.

March 4, 2024

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to adopt the 2023 Portsmouth Cultural Plan, which she called the city's first in 20 years. The council approved it.

March 4, 2024

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against finding that Planning Board member James Hewitt had committed misconduct in office after a removal hearing. The finding failed 1-7.

February 13, 2024

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Won re-election to the Portsmouth City Council on November 7, 2023. She placed fourth among the at-large candidates with 3,188 votes.

November 7, 2023

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Told the Portsmouth Herald in October 2023 that she had worked as a U.S. diplomat at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She also said she had chaired the board of the Southern District YMCA.

October 6, 2023

Source: yahoo.com

Moved final passage of an ordinance creating a permanent Arts and Cultural Commission. The council approved it.

September 5, 2023

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved changes to the sidewalk section of the city's new outdoor dining policy. The motion failed 3-6.

February 6, 2023

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved final passage of changes to the city's ordinance on funding public art. The council approved it.

December 5, 2022

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Moved to replace the city's 2014 public art policy with a new policy on how the city reviews and accepts public art. The council approved it.

October 24, 2022

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted to approve a settlement of the city's lawsuit with DSA, which included a $500,000 city payment. It passed 7-2.

October 17, 2022

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted against sending a Governance Committee policy that rotates the city's outside auditors to the Audit Committee for review. She had presented the policy. The referral passed 7-2.

October 3, 2022

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Cast the only vote against extending a construction license for 60 Penhallow Street, which let a downtown project use public space. She said nearby shops had suffered. It passed 8-1.

June 21, 2022

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Voted to approve a settlement agreement with SoBow Square LLC, the developer working with the city on the McIntyre federal building site. It passed 8-1.

April 6, 2022

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Won a seat on the Portsmouth City Council in the November 2, 2021 city election. She placed ninth of 19 at-large candidates with 2,316 votes, and the top nine won.

November 2, 2021

Source: files.portsmouthnh.gov

Was listed as a returning member of the Southern District YMCA board of directors in January 2015. The announcement named her an education consultant with KCConsulting.

January 18, 2015

Source: patch.com