Orillia became home for Stephanie Kenny a year ago, and now she wants to do her part to help her town flourish.
The 28-year-old disaster management co-ordinator with the Canadian Red Cross is running for a councillor’s seat in Ward 4.
“Part of the reason I’m running is to make it a positive place for my son,” she said of two-year-old Boston. “Youth are under-represented. We need to invest in our youth and we need to engage our youth.”
She is focusing on three key areas during her campaign: affordability, communication and technology/modernization.
“It’s time to blow out the budget and start from the ground up,” she said of her desire to re-prioritize spending to focus on the city’s greatest needs.
One of the main reasons communication is on her list of priorities is the way the potential sale of the Orillia Power Distribution Corporation to Hydro One transpired.
“People don’t feel like it was done appropriately,” she said, citing closed-session meetings and the city’s decision to look only at Hydro One as a potential buyer.
She made her stance on the deal clear: “I am not in favour of the sale. I don’t feel selling off our public assets is a good thing.”
As for technology and modernization, she has her eyes on everything from building permits to Uber. She wants people to be able to get their building permits online.
She also feels “we’re adding barriers that other municipalities are not” when it comes to the Uber ride-sharing service. She was referring to council’s decision to require vulnerable-sector checks from drivers, should Uber decide to establish a presence in Orillia, even though drivers already need to have criminal record checks.
“Overthinking it and not being forward thinking can prevent things like that from coming to our municipality,” Kenny said.
When it comes to issues specific to Ward 4, she wants to consult the constituency to help form her priorities. She said she is frustrated with the current process of creating a sewage-pumping station in the Cedar Island Road area. A decision was recently postponed for the third time.
“We’re kicking the can on it,” Kenny said. "I want to get things done."
Kenny is one of four women running for council.
“Women are under-represented at the council table,” she said, noting even if all three are elected, they will still only constitute one-third of the group.
Kenny said if she receives a vote of confidence next month from Ward 4 electors, she will make sure to be “approachable.”
“I don’t want to be viewed as a politician. I want to be viewed as a person, just like you,” she said. “I’m a very good listener and I’m very empathetic.”
Kenny grew up in Timmins. She graduated from a social service worker program at college and has worked with women's shelters, non-profit organizations and family support agencies. She moved to Simcoe County with her husband after they were married and then chose to head to Orillia.
“Orillia felt like home to us, coming from smaller communities in the north,” she said. “I wanted to get involved in my community because this is home now.”
Editor's Note: OrilliaMatters is profiling all candidates in Orillia’s municipal election. They are being published daily, by ward, in alphabetical order. The mayoralty candidates will also be profiled.
