Two mayors named Dorothy reveal how to make Waterloo a better place to live
mayors named Dorothy want to make Waterloo a better place to live. They pitched their ideas Thursday to hundreds who gathered to consider the state of the city.
Dorothy Oloruntola wants children’s hospitals, cheaper recreation activities, and more affordable housing and groceries. Dorothy McCabe wants more affordable housing, progress against climate change and more business investment.
What sets them apart is this: McCabe is the real mayor, elected in 2022. The other Dorothy is in Grade 5, chosen as mayor for a day in a student outreach program.
McCabe acknowledged in her state-of-the-city speech that Waterloo faces challenges, such as the rising cost of living and a housing slowdown.
“We’re in a tough patch right now, but you know, we’ll get through it,” she said in an interview.
She told the audience that city hall will meet its pledge to add 16,000 homes by 2031.
This will be achieved in part, she said, by a city plan to put more than 700 dwellings on city-owned land near the RIM Park recreation complex. City council intends to provide the vacant land to a non-profit developer in exchange for a mix of affordable and market-priced housing.
“The scope, size and scale of this decision and the development is unprecedented,” she said.
McCabe stands by a city tax increase of almost 27 per cent that council has imposed on property owners between 2023 and 2026. It’s twice the size of any tax increase approved by four previous councils.
We’re in a tough patch right now, but you know, we’ll get through it.
DOROTHY MCCABE WATERLOO MAYOR
“The approved budget reflects our community’s needs today and for the future,” she said.
McCabe spoke at Lazaridis Hall on the campus of Wilfrid Laurier University. The breakfast event raised more than $15,000 for the Rotary Club, a service organization that will donate proceeds to Supportive Housing of Waterloo.
“I think it is important for someone in my position to really be a cheerleader,” she said in an interview. “I think that optimism breeds optimism.” She draws her optimism from conversing with people who tell her their ideas and ambitions. People such as the other Dorothy, who is 10 years old and also has lots to say about how Waterloo could be better.
“If you walk up and down Waterloo, you’ll see a lot of people on the street who are homeless,” the younger Dorothy said.
“I think that’s because accommodation prices are too high. And also, food prices are too high and some people just can’t afford that.”
Using a recreation centre should be made cheaper because “people like to go and exercise,” she said. “And if they lowered the prices, it’d be really good for people because then they can get more exercise and be fit and healthy.”