Marianne Meed Ward, Burlington’s new mayor
“It’s surreal. I wake up and I think, ‘Wow, I’m the mayor.’”
On the heels of what she calls the “nastiest” campaign in Burlington history, Marianne Meed Ward is about to take the reins as the first female mayor in more than 40 years.
Meed Ward, 52, earned 46 per cent of the vote among a turnout of nearly 40 per cent, thwarting incumbent Rick Goldring’s bid for a third term.
The mother of three sits down with The Spectator to reflect on the campaign and tell us what’s ahead.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
It is a free public event.
1. Congratulations on your election win. You’re cleaning out your office after serving eight years as councillor. What does that feel like?
“It’s surreal. I wake up and I think, ‘Wow, I’m the mayor.’ What an incredible honour. I feel a huge sense of optimism and positive energy and hopefulness in the community. People are so excited about the new faces, about the new council and the possibilities that represents. It hasn’t dulled since the election. I feel the weight of those expectations and I welcome them. People expect us to do great things with the trust they have given us. They were ready and I was ready. It was time for change.”
2. You’ve been called a “political pit bull.” How do you react to that?
“I’ve been called a lot of things. People have described me as having a lot of courage. When I believe in something strongly, I will fight for it. For me, the genesis for that is not being braver than anyone else. I know how tough this role is. I’ve lived it for eight years. My role in this life is to help people and that is what drives me forward. I didn’t win this election alone, and I count on the public to be with me.”
3. You are the first female mayor in decades. What does that mean to you?
“If women don’t see women in roles they aspire to, they won’t know they can be it. After this last election, three women now sit on council, and that’s the biggest representation of women in Burlington’s history. Mary Munro was mayor from 1976 to 1978. Both of my daughters (Miranda, 20, and Alexandra, 17) attend University of Western, and they watched the election closely. I’m passionate about young women and young girls and I know how much it means to see a woman in this office.”
4. Why did you get into politics?
“What motivates me to get out of bed is helping people. As a child I would be sticking up for siblings or others who couldn’t stick up for themselves. I went into journalism, gave people voices and sought justice for them. I was a columnist for 10 years. In that role I talked about what we should do to make the world a better place. And as an elected official, now I can actually make it one. It was my husband (and high school sweetheart), Peter, who pushed me to run for mayor. He is my biggest fan. I could never do this job without his support.” (The day after the election was their 25th wedding anniversary.)
5. Let’s talk about the election and the personal blows you took.
“It was the nastiest election in Burlington history and it was targeting me, and only me ... It was like a punch to the gut. We couldn’t stop it. Third-party advertising, it should be abolished. We will probably never know who funded that attack, and that’s a problem in a democracy. You have hidden money and deep pockets with zero accountability. In many respects, the negative campaign ads against me backfired. To see the community respond to these dirty politics made me so proud. They said ‘not in our town.’ We chose to call out the behaviour instead of tossing it back. We kept it clean and never descended to that level. When I gave up the fear of losing, it became a fun campaign. Amid the negativity, I remained inspired and positive.”
6. Is there a plan to annex Waterdown?
(laughs) “That was an election ploy. (Outgoing mayor Rick Goldring spurred a boundary war of wards in September by suggesting the province should give Waterdown to the land-starved Burlington.) It had never been broached by anyone. It was just a distraction, and that has never been identified as a priority for our residents.
“We are already working well with Hamilton and communities on all sides of us. On election night I assured Mayor Fred Eisenberger I have no interest in Waterdown. He said, ‘Good, then I don’t have to annex Aldershot.’”
7. How will you be different than mayors of Burlington past?
“I do not have all the answers. I pretty much know one thing. The best solutions emerge from the broadest possible dialogue. If I can set this environment, we can solve anything together. But you can’t do that in a toxic environment. The good ideas go underground when that happens, and good ideas are welcome. We have a great community. Everyone needs to feel included.”
8. The hot potato in this election was rapid highrise development. What are your first steps in addressing this ?
“The first step is to push the reset button on the downtown plan submitted earlier this year and modify it before the region approves it on Dec. 8. The community has never been against development, and neither have I. They spoke very loudly about that by essentially electing a whole new council. It’s about overdevelopment in general and especially downtown. In many respects the election was a referendum on the plans to put that many highrises downtown. It’s about putting the right development in the right place.”
9. What are some of your priorities outside of halting rapid highrise development?
“Address traffic congestion and transit. They are linked. In this era of climate change, there’s also flood risk. That also has to do with rushed development — we need to take green infrastructure as important as concrete development. We must focus on our tree canopy. We are losing green space faster than we are developing it. Tax reform — tax increases in the last two years was over four per cent, beyond inflation, and the residents are not happy. We need to redirect tax dollars and refocus citizens’ priorities. And finally, rebuild trust within the community and foster civility among council members.”
10. What do you love most about Burlington?
“It’s a waterfront community with all the amenities of a big city but with a small town feel.”