Kate Hepworth running for Ward 1 Councillor

Hepworth is an advocate for proactive planning

By Zachary Roman

Kate Hepworth wants to be the next person to represent Caledon's Ward 1.

Hepworth is a former Emergency Medical Services (EMS) dispatcher, having spent 25 years on the job in Parry Sound before retiring. She now lives in Caledon Village, where she's been involved in local issues for the better part of 17 years.

Hepworth is the former president of the Caledon Village Association, having stepped down to focus on her run for Councillor. As president, Hepworth said people would ask her what she can do about a variety of issues in Caledon Village, and Hepworth realized she could help on a larger scale if she became a Councillor.

One of the first times Hepworth got involved in municipal politics was when she attended meetings about the widening of Highway 10. Soon, she was attending Council meetings and getting involved in discussions around gravel pits in Caledon. She's never stopped, because “there's always something going on.”

If elected, Hepworth said she wants to get more people involved in municipal politics. She said people don't realize how much it impacts their daily lives.

“If you don't have that voice working for you, and if people don't pay attention, this is how stuff just gets blasted past you,” said Hepworth.

She said Caledon residents are not given enough time to register as a delegate before Council meetings, and that many residents don't know they can register late by getting their Ward Councillor to make a motion asking for it.

“Councillors are employees, the public is the employer… you've got to be respectful, but bring your points forward. You should have that opportunity,” said Hepworth. “Something I will be pushing for is to bring about a public question period (at Council meetings).”

Since she has a background in EMS, Hepworth wants to see growth to EMS services happen in conjunction with the growth that's coming to Caledon.

“We've got an aging population, we have to pay attention to this,” she said. If elected, Hepworth said she'll have the backs of all first responders.

When it comes to the aggregate industry, Hepworth said people often mistake her as anti-aggregate altogether.

“Aggregate is part of what Caledon is, but why does it need to keep expanding?” said Hepworth. “How much more money do you need to make?”

Hepworth wants to ensure that air quality concerns and traffic safety are addressed properly by the aggregate industry and Town. She also said the aggregate industry could give back to the Town by donating money to help build things like new recreation facilities, especially in Ward 1 which she said needs one after its pool was shuttered.

“You take by the truckload, every day, soil or aggregate or sand, you take it out of Ward 1. What do we get back? We get nothing except more traffic, more unsafe roads,” said Hepworth. “I think it's time for a little bit of return.”

Hepworth has been an advocate for automated speed enforcement cameras, and said Caledon needs more of them in order to really deter drivers from speeding. She also has an idea that Caledon could play host to an office that processes the tickets, creating jobs. Hepworth said during her campaigning so far, the number one concerns of Ward 1 residents are speed and traffic safety.

The number one thing Caledon Council could improve on is communication, said Hepworth, and it's something she said she's an expert in after 25 years as an EMS dispatcher. She said a big change that could get more residents involved in Council matters is using less dense language.

“It needs to be more readily available to them in terms that can be understood… some of the verbiage on the agenda — we're not all lawyers,” said Hepworth, adding communication between Councillors can be improved too.

“If you get nine people up there who on a personal level don't get along, that doesn't matter. You were elected by residents to sort this out, you have got to be able to work together…. you've got to listen to both sides of the argument.”

Hepworth said, if elected, she would like to advocate for the implementation of a yearly performance review for councillors, where residents can submit feedback and say whether they feel they're “getting their money's worth” out of Council.