GUELPH POLITICAST #356 – The New Kids on the Block Part 1

On Open Sources Guelph we talk to all members of city council regularly, so it seemed fitting to kick off this new council term last fall by talking first to the five new councillors. For the next couple of weeks on this podcast, we’re going to collect those initial interviews starting with the new reps from the odd number wards in Guelph as we get to know the new players at the council table.

Both Bob Bell and June Hofland, the previous Ward 1 and Ward 3 city councillors respectively, were elected in 2006 and they left some pretty big shoes to fill in terms of experience and longevity at City Hall. The new councillors for those wards, Erin Caton and Michele Richardson, join council at a time of unique challenges even before the provincial government really piled it on in the weeks between the election and the inaugural meetings of the new term.

So with that in mind, we talked to Caton last fall on Open Sources about the things that made a difference for her in the election campaign, developing working relationships with her fellow councillors and increasing representation for people with disabilities on council. She also talked about some of the initial moves she was planning for her first weeks on council and how provincial directives might interrupt the well laid plans she campaigned on.

We also talked to Richardson, who told us about how she, as the one woman running in Ward 3, was elected over several male challengers. She also talked about being thrown into the deep end with Bill 23, and whether the agenda she ran on as a candidate is in danger because of big provincial changes to council business. Also, Richardson discussed how she’ll manage her day job at Wellington County with her new duties plus she talked about some recent development news in her ward.

So let's talk to some our new council friends - again - on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!

You can hear new interviews every week with Guelph councillors and other government newsmakers on Open Sources Guelph, Thursday at 5 pm on CFRU 93.3 fm or cfru.ca. Also, keep visiting Guelph Politico for all the latest coverage about all the latest city council meetings.

The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, Stitcher, Google, TuneIn and Spotify .

Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.