On Oct. 24, voters across Waterloo Region in Ontario will head to the polls to elect city and regional councillors, mayors and a regional chair.
Residents of Cambridge, the region’s second-largest city, will elect councillors in eight wards as well as a mayor to form city council.
There will be at least three new faces in place, as Ward 4 Coun. Jan Liggett is running for mayor and Ward 5 Coun. Pam Wolf is seeking one of two seats on regional council. Ward 3 Coun. Mike Mann has chosen not to seek re-election.
Five people have entered the race to replace Mann in Ward 3, including former MPP Belinda Karahalios as well as Michele Braniff, Tracey Hipel, Corey Kimpson and Nate Whalen.
To help voters ahead of this election, Global News has reached out to all of those running for regional or city council, mayor or regional chair in Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo with available online contact info. Those running for office were emailed a list of seven questions and in the coming days, the responses for every candidate who replies will be shared.
What follows are the responses received from those running for councillor in Cambridge, with the candidates being listed in alphabetical order:
Michele Braniff
Q.1 Please give a brief background of yourself including what you do for a living and how long you have lived in the area? (If you are an incumbent, please state how long you have held the position.)
My husband and I purchased a home together in Preston in spring of 2020. It is the second marriage for both of us and we had to postpone the date because municipal offices were all closed and we could not get a marriage licence. Three months after the original date, we had a backyard wedding in early September. Before moving to Ward 3, I had lived in another part of Cambridge for just over nine years. I worked for many years on Dickson Street and was manager of Lutherwood Family Counselling, and in that capacity worked with many partner agencies in the community. I have also participated as an artist in art programs and the Mayor’s Celebration of the Art and as Artist-in-Residence at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts.
I moved to Cambridge because I love the city. I love the river and green spaces, the local businesses, the art scene, the neighbourhoods and the friendliness of the people. I love the way the business community supports neighbourhoods and the way that non-profit organizations collaborate to better serve the City. The relationship between a city and its citizen is an essential element to create a place that is welcoming and enhances the well-being of all its residents.
My career has given me a great deal of experience and helped me develop useful skills to be Ward 3 Councillor. I have been a lawyer, mediator, entrepreneur and professor at both the community college and university levels. In my graphic facilitation business, clients included Waterloo Well-being, The Crime Prevention Council and other non-profit organizations collaborating and advocating for increased health, well-being and resilience for children, families, adults and neighbourhoods.
Q.2 Why do you believe you are the right person for the job?
I decided to run for Ward 3 councillor because I want to put citizens at the heart of our city. A welcoming and accessible city is all about the relationships. City council must function with collaboration, respect and consensus-building and citizens need effective communication with their ward councillor. City staff have expertise and continuity with City services and I would seek relationships with staff to enrich my networks for and about the city.
In my experience at the front line and as a manager providing mental health services, I gained insight into how systems can let people down with gaps in service or bureaucratic barriers that are impersonal and hard to navigate. People thrive on connections to others; relationships sustain us to become healthier and more resilient. As a graduate student at University of Waterloo in a program about social innovation, I was also a manager at a non-profit organization and my focus was on how to transform mental health service systems to be truly client-centered. Especially during the isolation of the pandemic, we have all learned how relationships are essential for our well-being and resilience. This relationship-based focus on transforming systems can be scaled up to apply to city programs, neighbourhoods and city hall.
City council has a responsibility to facilitate strong citizen leadership, participation and engagement by minimizing red tape and other barriers to communication. I have had the privilege of participating in citizen advisory committees for the Stronger Together initiative in November, 2018 and, most recently, on the Youth and Older Adults Sub-Committee for the Cambridge Wellness Advisory Council. These have been excellent initiatives for citizen engagement; they can be expanded and revised in order to maximize opportunities and impact by citizen consultation on City decisions. Citizen recommendations need to be fast-tracked and prioritized for improvement of grassroots democracy. When I coached small business start-ups, we emphasized that customer service feedback was more valuable and cost-effective than hiring outside business consultants. The city can also benefit from enhancing the communication channels so that citizen feedback can be integrated into Council decision-making.
I talked to a woman whose “twenty-something” son had identified a need for signage in a school zone to make the street safer. His mother talked about how many months and how many times her son reached out to the city. We need to make it easier for citizens to connect to the city.
With my skills, training and experience in law, mediation, mental health / resilience and social innovation, I am uniquely qualified to transform city hall and city council to place citizens at the heart of the city.
Q.3 What do you think is the most important issue facing your ward and the city as a whole?
My biggest priority is to deepen political conversations within council and with the citizens of Ward 3 because our social, political, economic and environmental challenges are much too complex to be solved by polarized politics or fragmented responses. We need a coherent plan that recognizes interconnecting causes, impacts and effects. There are many challenges for Cambridge: some arise from decreased funding support from higher levels of government; others are related to global developments, such as the climate crisis, increased migration / urbanization and pandemics. Businesses, non-profits and professional service organizations rely on research to make evidence-based decisions and municipal government needs to ensure policy is based on research for global insight to design local solutions to our challenges.
Too often, challenges are not recognized until there is a crisis; reacting to a crisis is often poorly planned, over-simplified and inefficient. A more effective response is upstream thinking, which is about exploring the cause of the problem and putting in place preventative measures, such as early childhood education, youth programs, literacy training or age-friendly design features.
For example, while out campaigning, I was told by voters in the neighbourhood about a small park on Lawrence Street. The basketball nets are in shreds; the tennis court nets were missing all summer and neighbours said that the lights were out. A well-maintained park is a place for kids to play and neighbours to gather while one that is poorly maintained or left in darkness is unwelcoming and eventually becomes unsafe. There is research that basketball courts and programming reduces youth crime.
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We are navigating between the proverbial “rock and a hard place” and must define the challenge accordingly. I would therefore define my priority as how to galvanize city Council to develop a strategy to maximize resilience and sustainability of individuals, families, neighbourhoods and the city while ensuring strong and sustainable fiscal policy. My first priority is to ensure that city council functions collaboratively and applies evidence-based research and best practices to develop innovative and creative local solutions to put people and planet first.
Q.4 Looking down the road, what are your long-term goals for the city?
For me, my vision of a successful term of office would include:
- Our beautiful riverside city ranked as one of the happiest in Canada, measured by the Canadian Index of Wellbeing which evaluates the wellness of populations based on community vitality, democratic engagement, the environment, healthy populations, living standards and education. Resilient children, families and neighbourhoods who are welcomed and safe. Food security, affordable housing, a living income, clean water and fresh air will be protected as human rights in a city built on equity and social justice. A city that is safe, sustainable, walkable and friendly: a lovable City.
- I want to see the City of Cambridge develop a Bioplan for restoration and protection of green spaces. The city can invite citizens, researchers and other stakeholders to a series of roundtables. Perhaps this will be part of a COVID recovery plan.
- By the late 2020s, the City of Cambridge will have substantially aligned its policy, land use planning and programs for innovation with: (1) the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals; (2) standards for a Reconciliation Economy for sustainable and equitable management of resources between Indigenous and Settler People and (3) Circular economy principles. The circular economy has been explored at government of Canada web-sites and gained world-wide attention with the adoption in the Amsterdam Circular Strategy 2020-2025. A circular economy seeks to retain and recover value of resources by reusing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, repurposing, or recycling products and materials.
Q.5 What is your platform?
My platform is to place to place citizens at the heart of the city for resilience, sustainability and working together. City Council decisions must be based on:
- evidence and research for global best practices
- true cost accounting which includes both short- and long-term impact on children, families, city infrastructure and the environment
- upstream thinking to prevent problems before the challenges become worse.
Q.6 What do you like to do in your spare time?
I have a morning yoga routine and spend quite a lot of time planning and caring for my pollinator garden. I am an artist with a focus on mixed media paintings and urban sketching. I enjoy cycling, walking, cross-country skiing in Cambridge, nearby parks and canoeing and kayaking on the Grand River.
Q.7 What is your favourite thing about living in your city/ward?
I love the variety across the city with historic Galt, Preston, Hespeler and Blair and the modern buildings, greenspaces and the rivers which weave the city together. Mostly, I love the friendliness of the people and how easy it is to cycle from one neighbourhood to another!
Belinda Karahalios
Q.1 Please give a brief background of yourself including what you do for a living and how long you have lived in the area? (If you are an incumbent, please state how long you have held the position.)
I have lived in Preston for over 7 years with my husband Jim and our 6-year-old son Victor. I am the Party President for the New Blue Party of Ontario, and the former Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Cambridge (2018-2022). Prior to politics, I worked for a healthcare charity.
Q.2 Why do you believe you are the right person for the job?
I am the best person for the job. For four years as MPP, I was not afraid to stand up for Cambridge residents and to stand on principle. I will not be bullied into voting against my conscience or turning a blind eye from doing the right thing. I am running to defend taxpayers and advocate for principle and the opinions held by Cambridge residents just as I did as Cambridge MPP. Cambridge residents should not feel that their legitimate questions regarding the decisions made by city hall or Queen’s Park will be ignored or even worse, vilified.
Q.3 What do you think is the most important issue facing your ward and the city as a whole?
Affordability. Cambridge city councillors voted in favour of an egregious 4.24 per cent property tax increase for 2022 (more than triple the prior year’s increase) in addition to an increase in the water rate and capital debt. This is reckless and unsustainable spending especially considering rising inflation.
Q.4 Looking down the road, what are your long-term goals for the city?
I will be focusing on cutting wasteful spending and saving taxpayer money to ensure no new or increased taxes. We must also not be silenced or attacked for wanting to debate policy proposals based on the facts and questioning whether ideological top-down proposals are having the intended results.
Q.5 What is your platform?
A freeze on property taxes, to fight against a drug injection site from being imposed against the will of residents, increased transparency with regards to city council decisions and city spending. Please visit http://www.votebelinda.ca
Q.6 What do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy being outside; I love to cook, and when I have time, I love reading. But my favourite thing is the time I get to spend with my husband Jim and our son.
Q.7 What is your favourite thing about living in your city/ward?
I love so many things about Cambridge and Preston. I love that Preston has so much green space and that we are close to Riverside Park and the soccer dome. We have such old beautiful buildings in Preston and some fantastic restaurants and other small businesses. The people in Cambridge are different too, we are friendlier, more chatty, more open to saying hello to one another on the street. After working at Queens Park for 4 years as the MPP, I can say for certain that we are different here, and that’s a good thing that I hope we never lose.
Corey Kimpson
Q.1 Please give a brief background of yourself including what you do for a living and how long you have lived in the area? (If you are an incumbent, please state how long you have held the position.)
Born and raised in Cambridge, I am a lifelong resident of Ward 3. I am a business owner and I also work in a part-time capacity at a local community health centre. I am prepared to represent the community in a full-time capacity at city hall.
Q.2 Why do you believe you are the right person for the job?
I have been an active and engaged community member for many years, serving as a volunteer on the Preston BIA, Preston Towne Market Planning Committee, Cambridge Memorial Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Committee and school councils within the ward. I bring a unique perspective as a business owner, employee, volunteer and resident and I have the ability to collaborate with others and bring about positive change. I have been recognized internationally for my dedication and innovation by The Beryl Institute as the recipient of the 2020 Innovative Patient and Family Advisor Award for the work I have done at Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
Q.3 What do you think is the most important issue facing your ward and the city as a whole?
In speaking with community members, I have learned that there are many areas of concern. In Ward 3, many community members are concerned with feelings of safety and security in their neighbourhoods, specifically in the downtown area of Preston. This is echoed throughout the City as we must balance the needs of a growing community with the resources we have available to us. As a city councillor, it is my job to represent the community members and advocate to ensure their voices are being heard and considered when decisions are being made.
Q.4 Looking down the road, what are your long-term goals for the city?
We must work together with our regional, provincial and even federal counterparts to ensure that our community has access to the programs and services our residents need not only to survive, but to thrive. We must ensure that the resources are present to allow our community to grow while at the same time recognizing and celebrating our unique character and history.
Q.5 What is your platform?
Thriving healthcare and business, community safety, integrative neighbourhoods and affordable housing.
Q.6 What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare time, that’s a good one! In all seriousness, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, volunteering, walking my dogs and attending trivia night at the local pub!
Q.7 What is your favourite thing about living in your city/ward?
I love our neighbourhood. We have the most wonderful people around us who are always ready to lend a hand. There are three generations of us living in the house I grew up in. My neighbours across the street remember the day my parents brought me home from the hospital. I can walk to our main street and can see the possibilities just waiting to take shape with some new projects and ideas. There are new families moving into the area and they bring fresh, new energy. It’s just a great place to be.
Nate Whalen
Q.1 Please give a brief background of yourself including what you do for a living and how long you have lived in the area? (If you are an incumbent, please state how long you have held the position.)
I’m 28 years old, a husband, homeowner, 2x business owner, ex-banker, and proud Preston Ward 3 resident and volunteer.
Q.2 Why do you believe you are the right person for the job?
I’ve been a community leader all my life, led hundreds of people and big budgets, was a senior manager at one of the world’s largest companies, and brought to life multiple organizations and projects using my strategic thinking and ability to influence others.
I’m someone who genuinely cares about our Preston community, and I will be a strong voice for you with the city, while prioritizing putting more money in your pocket, taking a leadership role in the housing and homelessness crisis, and advocating for a thriving downtown Preston.
Q.3 What do you think is the most important issue facing your ward and the city as a whole?
Affordability – People are barely surviving with the rising cost of groceries, energy, mortgage/rent payments. The last thing we need is another major tax hike as we’re already paying $250-$600 more per household than residents of Kitchener or Waterloo.
We need to do a line by line review of our City expenses and ask ourselves what is essential and what can be paused or reduced, and hold City staff accountable to speed up permits, cut red tape, and ensure housing developments get built quickly so folks can finally buy their first home or rent an affordable apartment, while at the same time, supporting our most vulnerable in society to ensure they don’t have to sleep in our parks or on the street.
Q.4 Looking down the road, what are your long-term goals for the city?
Over the medium to long-term, I’d like to see our city:
- Open for business: Let’s be known as a city that’s open for business with smart, fast permit approval processes, a competitive tax rate, and actively recruiting companies that bring many high paying jobs so our people can live and work here in Cambridge.
- Get a better deal at the region and province: We must advocate to the region and the province to ensure there’s more autonomy, less burden on Cambridge taxpayers, and enhanced services such as healthcare, long-term care facilities and local addictions treatment and housing supports. With a growing population, Cambridge should also begin advocating for a fourth seat on our Regional Council so there’s adequate representation for our residents by the 2026 Municipal Election.
- Have thriving downtown cores: We continue to have boarded up buildings here in downtown Preston and there continues to be opportunity for growth and making our downtowns more attractive. I envision a Preston Towne Centre that’s even more bustling – with more shoppers to match more things to do, cafes, shops, bars, restaurants.
- Cambridge as a destination: Many folks in Cambridge go to Kitchener, Waterloo, or Toronto to have fun or go to an event. We need to review our city plans to ensure Cambridge is a destination for a night out or a convention that brings more folks and money into our City. We need to explore a space to host larger events and conventions, including the potential for a minor league sports team.
Q.5 What is your platform?
1) More housing: Our neighbours shouldn’t have to sleep in our parks. We need a City Council that prioritizes getting housing built and solving our homelessness crisis.
2) Lower taxes: We’re all feeling the pinch. The cost of food, gas, and housing continues to increase. The last thing we need is more tax. We need a City Council that prioritizes putting more money back in your pocket. Lower taxes (property & water) means lower housing costs, for both homeowners and renters.
3) Thriving Preston: Our business owners deserve to thrive and we deserve great shops, bars, and restaurants. We need a City Council that cares about building a thriving Preston Towne Centre.
Q.6 What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time, I most enjoy spending time with my husband Axel, including going out for dinner, going for walks, or staying in and watching a new episode on Netflix or Crave like I’m sure most couples do. If not with my family or working, I’m likely reading the news, volunteering, or working on a new business idea.
Q.7 What is your favourite thing about living in your city/ward?
I absolutely love living in Preston. Like many, I live in a 100+ year old home that’s in a neighbourhood filled with character, charm, and very friendly people (and dogs). Unlike many growing cities across Ontario, we still have a small town feel where people know each other, care about each other, and stop to ask, “how are you?” Being raised in St. John’s, NL, which is a similar size to Cambridge, I love how our community feels like a home away from (my original) home – and I want to be a strong voice for you at the city to help ensure Preston remains the amazing, beautiful community it is today for generations to come.
Global News has also reached out to Tracey Hipel but has not received a response as of publication. This copy will be updated as further answers arrive.
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