Magumbe seeking Monaghan Ward seat
Racial justice advocate Charmaine Magumbe is running for city council in Monaghan Ward.
She filed her paperwork Thursday, a day before the 2 p.m. Friday deadline.
The municipal election is Oct. 22.
Magumbe is well known in the community for her activism for racial justice and peace.
In 2017, she received the YMCA Peace Medal and was named one of Peterborough’s top 20 most influential people by Peterborough This Week in 2017.
The mother of five is an international student adviser at Fleming College’s Frost Campus in Lindsay.
She also runs two businesses, the Perkolator publication and the Kawartha Homestay Program, which places international students with host families.
Born in Jamaica, Magumbe moved to Canada at the age of four. She grew up in Toronto and has a degree in psychology from Laurentian University in Sudbury.
She moved from Sudbury to Peterborough in 2004 and lives in the city’s north end.
Magumbe is actively involved in the community and plays a role in many local organizations and committees.
She’s the chair of the Race Relations Committee and a member of the Peterborough chapter of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan.
Magumbe has volunteered her time with the Jamaican Self-Help Foundation, the African Relief Fund, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and The Warming Room, to name a few.
She’s also organized and coorganized several events including a Solidarity Weekend, Black History Month events, Kwanza events, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and Just Laugh Peterborough Comedy Festival.
The first-time candidate faces incumbents Henry Clarke and Don Vassiliadis as well as hopefuls David McGowan and Jeff Westlake in Monaghan Ward.
She could not be reached for comment Thursday, but her website lists here priorities as business, environment, equity, accountability, affordability, recreation and relaxation,.