Cheryl Connors running for Ward 4 Councillor

Connors says concerns from residents in her ward have been ignored for too long

By Zachary Roman

Cheryl Connors wants to be a breath of fresh air on Caledon council.

The Ward 4 Councillor candidate has been living in Palgrave with her husband for the past 20 years, and the pair raised their son there.

Connors runs her own small marketing and communications business, and has worked for the Government of Ontario in the past. She has a political science degree from York University, as well as certificates in marketing and public relations. Connors is also the Executive Director of the Canadian Network for Respiratory Care (CNRC).

Connors said she first became interested in politics around a decade ago when a gravel pit near her house was going to undergo a major expansion below the water table. Connors said since the pit was located in the Oak Ridges Moraine, the expansion shouldn't have been allowed to happen, so she formed the Palgrave Residents Association and she and other residents tried to fight it.

Connors said she did not feel support from Council in her efforts at that time, only opposition. From that point onwards, Connors said she got involved with many issues around the community and became a frequent delegate at Town Council meetings. 

Since she's the executive director of CNRC, air quality in Caledon is a concern of Connors.

She said Oakville has a great air quality bylaw and, if elected, she'd love to put a motion forward to get a similar bylaw implemented in Caledon. 

“The bottom line is industrial activities don't belong next to the places that people live, play, and go to school,” said Connors. “A lot of these conflicts that occur about (land use) are the result of poor planning decisions.” 

Connors said much can be done to improve planning in the Town of Caledon, and that planning decisions need to be made with residents' health and safety, and the environment, in mind.

“I'm adamantly against filling up Caledon with nothing but warehouses; we don't have the infrastructure to support it,” said Connors. “It's not great employment lands, [warehouse jobs] are low paying jobs, and the jobs per square foot is really low.”

Connors said Caledon is a highly-educated community that's close to an airport, and for those reasons and more she thinks better and more creative businesses could be attracted to Caledon.

She said the amount of warehouses in Caledon shows a lack of vision from previous Councils, and that she really feels for people who have had warehouses built near their homes. Connors said she believes developers are developing Caledon in their best interests and it's time for residents to have a say in what their community looks like. 

Connors is against the proposed Highway 413 and said she'll be advocating against it, if elected.

She said Caledon does not need an East-West highway that paves over environmentally sensitive land; that dedicated truck lanes could be created on the 407 instead.

During her campaigning so far, Connors said she's found people have been shocked by Caledon Council's recent decision to give itself (and future Councils) a roughly 24 per cent 

compensation increase. Connors herself is against the raise, and said it's “beyond insensitive” to people who have been enduring hardship these past few years.

“People are really struggling with the cost of living right now. They're struggling to put food on their tables, pay their taxes, put gas in their cars,” said Connors. “That was the next Council's right to make that decision, and I've said, If elected, the first motion I will put on the table is to take that raise back… it shouldn't be [the] outgoing Council determining compensation.”

In her career, Connors said she's always been good at putting teams together and recognizing and appreciating the work of others. It's a skill she said she'll bring to being Councillor if elected, and she wants to create committees of residents that can provide guidance to Council. Connors said she's also good at managing large projects and juggling multiple projects at the same time.

Connors said in the past when she's been a delegate at Council meetings, she felt she was not treated well and that Council was uninterested in what she had to say.

“I'm not a fan of career politicians, I'm running against a guy who has been there for almost 20 years… I think that's wrong,” said Connors. “You should go in there, one to two terms and do what you need to do, bring all that passion — and then let somebody else come in and do it.”

Connors said, if elected, she'll make every effort to answer phone calls and emails within one business day. She believes timely communication is important and that it's a Councillor's job to bring the needs of residents forward, as well as connect them with the right Town staff if necessary.

“I want to be able to give back and improve our community. I know how to bring people together towards a common purpose, that's what I've done in my career. I'll bring all of that to… municipal politics,” said Connors. “It's time to return fairness and respect for residents back to Caledon, and it's been missing for a long time. That's ultimately why I'm running: it's time for change.”