Lynn Kiernan seeking re-election as Ward 1 Councillor

Ward 1 is the largest geographical Ward in Caledon

By Zachary Roman

Lynn Kiernan has been living in Ward 1 since 1963 — her family moved there when she was three.

She said, for her, “home” isn't just a word. “That's your heart and soul,” said Kiernan. “Northwest Caledon is, to me, I call it the jewel in the crown… it's the most beautiful. We've got the Niagara Escarpment, the Credit River, the meandering trails, the Provincial park.”

She said her love for her Ward and the people who live there is why she's running to be re-elected as Ward 1 councillor in this October's Caledon municipal elections.

Before entering the realm of municipal politics, Kiernan worked in investment banking. She retired in 2016, took a bit of time for herself, and then, in 2018, she said she was approached by many friends and community members who told her she should run for Council because she loves helping people.

While she said being a councillor can be challenging, she loves the work and enjoyed her 2018-2022 term on Council.

Coming from the corporate world, she had to learn that things move slower in politics and that things need to be planned far in advance. Kiernan enjoyed delving into municipal politics and learning as much as she could during her term. 

“I knew that I'd have to get right on board and start learning what I could about aggregate, and reading up on the acts, and asking questions to pertinent people and meeting with staff,” said Kiernan. “I found that really interesting. And really, for me, it was that opportunity to build some rapport and communication and relationships with staff and people in the industry.”

Aggregate was just the first of many important things to learn about. Next up was traffic, and Kiernan said she had to learn about the Ontario Traffic Manuals, the Ministry of Transportation, and how she could work to address residents' traffic concerns.

Traffic safety is an issue that tragically hit too close to home for Kiernan, who lives in Inglewood. She explained a neighbour of hers was hit and killed by a truck that ran a red light in Inglewood two years ago.

Kiernan went to the Ministry of Transportation to try and get increased safety measures in the Village. She said the Town of Caledon's traffic specialist was a massive help, as well as the community, who conducted their own traffic study when the Ministry's didn't seem to line up with what they experienced on a regular basis.

Eventually, after hard work and delegations to the Ministry, increased road safety measures were installed in Inglewood.

Kiernan said it was one of her proudest moments on Council. Traffic issues impact all of Ward 1, not just Inglewood, and Kiernan said she's enjoyed working to implement more community safety zones and traffic safety and calming measures throughout Ward 1.

“I feel like I've learned so much, and I just want to continue to learn… because only then can you help,” said Kiernan.

She explained one of the things she brings to the table is that she's a very social person.

“I want to get up and talk to people,” said Kiernan. “I have passion… our duty is to serve the residents, not to oversee (Town) staff… the job is to advocate for the community and solve problems and find solutions or compromise.”

Kiernan said, if elected, she'd like to see increased communication between regional and local councillors in the next term of Council.

She said there were times when she felt she wasn't made aware of what was going on at the Regional level during her term. In general, communication is a big priority for Kiernan.

“I will push for that. I've tried to lead by example this time and communicate and invite and include,” said Kiernan. “I stood at your door and said I'd be your voice and advocate for you. It's not my voice, it's not my platform. It's what the residents need.”

Kiernan said a big part of her job is communicating with residents, and said once word got out that she responds to people it became an even bigger part of her job.

“That's such a good feeling for me,” said Kiernan.

Something Kiernan said her residents need that she's working hard on and will continue to if re-elected is bringing a community pool back to Ward 1. She said she has a business plan for the pool, and she has asked the Town to conduct a feasibility study on it. It's one of many things she said she wants to continue working on.

“I would like to see the pool facility… moved forward. I want to continue my work, and I have spent a fair bit of time advocating for changes to the aggregate issues — I'm not foolish, you know, aggregate's here to stay — but it needs to be brought into a modern lens,” said Kiernan. “If we don't ask, we will never get… you've got to advocate for it. We made sure that the master (aggregate) rehabilitation plan was embedded in our (Official Plan), and that talks about the bypass of Caledon Village. We need the aggregate producers on board for that, and that's going to happen through respectful negotiation.”

Kiernan said if she had to describe her leadership style, she'd say it's collaborative, communicative and heart-centered. She said she doesn't view being a councillor as a leadership role, rather the community members are the leaders, and it's her job to advocate for them.

“I'm one vote out of nine. If I need something done for the community that I love so much, I've got to be able to portray with empathy and clarity to my colleagues why this is important,” said Kiernan. “You have to be able to have that respectful working relationship… I think that we all just need to be collaborative.”

Ward 1 has been “discovered” during the pandemic, said Kiernan, meaning an influx of tourists visiting for the day (or more). This has been a boon for businesses like coffee shops that are thriving, but with more visitors coming, Kiernan said there needs to be a strategy in place to manage the traffic.

She said she's been a part of working on Caledon's visitor management task force and wants to continue that work if re-elected.

While Caledon is expected to grow to nearly 300,000 people by 2050, Kiernan said that growth will by and large not impact the small villages and hamlets in Caledon's Ward 1. Kiernan would like to see it stay that way, and said she doesn't want the character and charm of the communities in Ward 1 to be lost.

Kiernan currently sits on Caledon's Heritage Committee, so she said it's a priority for her to preserve the heritage and beauty that's in Caledon.

Kiernan grew up on a farm property and said she had the best time — she wants future generations of kids in Ward 1 to be able to have that same experience enjoying the beautiful nature that Caledon has to offer.

“I just love it here. Nothing's perfect, but I think we live in paradise and it's up to us to all come together to make things a little better,” said Kiernan.

And if re-elected, she said she's going to use communication, collaboration and compromise to make that happen.