he believed Davis was a, "good guy," who was, "reluctant to make decisions". Kernan's harsh rebuke of the council earned support from council member Fred Ferlic. In 2015, Kernan served as campaign manager and treasurer for Kareemah Fowler's campaign for South Bend City Clerk. Fowler had a landslide victory in capturing Democratic nomination in a competitive primary, defeating veteran Common Council member Derek Dieter, and was elected clerk in the general election. During the 2016 United States presidential election, Kernan appeared in a Priorities USA Action-funded television advertisement criticizing Republican nominee Donald Trump as “unfit to be president.” In the ad, he also referred to comments Trump had made deriding John McCain's military service, in which, like Kernan, he was a prisoner of war in the Vietnam war, as, "disgraceful". The ad was run in nine swing states. In 2017, along with Republican former Ohio Governor Bob Taft, Kernan co-authored an op-ed arguing in favor of abolishing the death penalty for mentally ill criminals. Kernan endorsed Tim Corbett in his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination in the 2018 St. Joseph County Sheriff election. Honors and awards For his military service, Kernan was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Purple Hearts and the Navy Commendation Medal. He was among the second-ever class of inductees into the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame when he was enshrined in 2015. Kernan was awarded an honorary doctorate by his alma mater the University of Notre Dame in 1998, when he served as the university's commencement speaker. In 2012, the Notre Dame Monogram Club awarded Kernan the Edward “Moose” Krause Distinguished Service Award. Six years later, the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association presented Kernan with the Rev. Edward Frederick Sorin, C.S.C., Award, regarded to be one of the university's highest honors. A park in South Bend was named for Kernan in 2017. The park, located along the St. Joseph River, had previously been named Viewing Park. That same year, Kernan received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Indiana University. Personal life Kernan was the eldest of nine children. He had one brother and seven sisters. Kernan married Maggie McCullough in April 1974. Since 1976, they resided on the north side of South Bend, Indiana, where Maggie works as a marketing specialist for 1st Source Bank. Maggie is a Purdue University graduate and was active in community service. Kernan was Catholic. Kernan and