Lucrezia Chiappetta running for Ward 6 Councillor

Chiappetta says one of her ultimate goals is to bring people together

By Zachary Roman

Lucrezia Chiappetta is passionate about the environment and planning complete communities in Caledon.

The Ward 6 Councillor candidate has lived on Bolton's North Hill for 17 years with her husband, and has two children. She's currently the co-chair of EcoCaledon, a non-profit organization working to improve the environment in Caledon, and has been volunteering with the group for 12 years.

She's always had an interest in environmental issues, and that's what drove her to get both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in environmental studies with a focus on public participation and urban planning. Chiappetta is also a tee ball coach and has been a Girl Guide leader.

Chiappetta said her time with EcoCaledon has been a great opportunity for her to work with both the Town of Caledon and other community groups on various issues. While the environment is an important concern for her, Chiappetta is interested in everything that comes with being a Councillor and explained everything is connected. 

“Some people just see the environmentalist as that tree hugger type of person, but I'm not,” said Chiappetta. “Obviously I love trees and everything but… in order to have a healthy economy we need to have a healthy environment… in order to create real social justice, I think there needs to be environmental justice. Rather than working in our individual silos, it's so important to bring that intersectional piece to all issues that are important to the community.”

Running for municipal government has been a step outside of Chiappetta's comfort zone, but she said she has to put herself out there in order to try and create the positive change she wants to see in Caledon. In her door-knocking efforts thus far, Chiappetta said she's heard from residents concerned about the following issues: truck traffic and traffic safety, Downtown Bolton revitalization, community engagement, and the environment.

“Residents are definitely looking for more ways to have a voice at Council… more than just one-way communication,” said Chiappetta, explaining she wants to get constituents involved early on in the decision-making process on issues if elected — and include their ideas in the decisions that are made.

Chiappetta said she'd look into engagement opportunities like hosting monthly in person or virtual drop-in meetings, adding that those types of things are necessary as not everyone is comfortable delegating at a Council meeting.

She also said since people are busy, they may not be able to attend every Town of Caledon public meeting or Council meeting they'd like to, and her drop-in meetings could give people the chance to share their ideas and concerns.

One of Ward 6 residents' concerns is traffic safety, and Chiappetta said a lot of it is worries about drivers speeding in the ward's residential neighbourhoods where there's lots of families with young children. The other thing residents are concerned about is illegal truck traffic; trucks in Bolton driving on roads they shouldn't be driving on.

Chiappetta said, if elected, she'd want to collaborate with the Ward 5 and Regional Councillors to find ways to better manage traffic.

“Coming from a background in community engagement where I studied a lot about community based social marketing, it's always a matter of figuring out first what the barriers are, what the problems are, and then trying to come up with the solution,” said Chiappetta. “Anything that I do, I'm going to approach it in that same way.”

In regards to the growth that's coming to Caledon, Chiappetta said she'd like to be at the table to ensure proper infrastructure is included with future developments, that green development standards are followed, and that mixed-use communities are made so people have more things to do within walking distance of where they live.

Chiappetta would like to see developers creating communities with a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, and low- and mid-rise buildings so that everyone from young families to seniors have somewhere to live.

“If we had more spaces where the community could come together and congregate, I think that would be really nice as well,” said Chiappetta. “Whether it be an outdoor community concert space, or a community garden… I just want to see more of those opportunities for the community to come together. I will wholeheartedly support more of those.”

Downtown Bolton is an area that Chiappetta would like to continue revitalizing, as well as look into the reasons why it needed revitalization in the first place. She said looking at the successful downtown cores of other municipalities will be important, as well as working with business owners who are already in Bolton's downtown core. Bringing in more mixed-use housing and parking to the area could also help support downtown businesses, said Chiappetta.

Chiappetta said, if elected, she would not consider herself to be above anyone else and take a collaborative approach to leadership. She said she's been hearing some great ideas at the doors in Ward 6, and has been emphasizing to people how important it is for them to bring those ideas forward and collaborate with the Town of Caledon.

“I want to make sure that we're hearing from as many of the voices that matter as possible,” she said. “What you see is what you get with me. I'll tell you when I don't have that magic answer and I'll tell you when I think I do… you won't find terms like good governance and transparency in my (platform and commentary) because that's already embedded in my style. Anyone who knows me knows that about me already, and hopefully when people talk to me at the door or in public, they'll get that same sense from me as well.”

Chiappetta said finding ways to get more community members together is one of her ultimate goals as a possible Councillor.