Safety has always been at the forefront of Councillor Kiernan’s mind

By Rob Paul

When Lynn Kiernan decided to run for Caledon Town Council in 2018, she didn't expect to spend half of her first term working remotely.

The Ward 1 Area Councillor, who calls Inglewood home, loves meeting and conversing with her constituents.

Her love for the people in her community has made the past two years representing them a lot different, but her passion and drive has never wavered.

“Everyone working remotely adds an extra layer of complexity,” she said. “I'm a people person, so I like to get out and meet with my residents, so it's been a bit of a challenge but I'm remaining optimistic.”

Being a Councillor for Ward 1 isn't just a job for Kiernan, it's her life, she says, and the reason she gets out of bed in the morning. That enthusiasm to represent her community has been built over years of living and being in it: She's lived in Caledon since 1963 and raised her family here.

That passion and involvement has always been with Kiernan and it's what led her to run for Council in the first place and what still feeds her appetite for making a difference in Caledon to this day. 

“It was the same reason then [when I ran for Council] that is within me today is what drives me,” she said. “I've lived here in the Ward really since I was three and it's my passion and my deep commitment to this area. I still feel that today, for me, there is no place like Ward 1. I call it the jewel in the crown of Caledon, probably to the chagrin of my colleagues, but I don't mean to be disrespectful, I just do have a passion for where we live and our communities in the villages and hamlets. My heart and soul is here. I feel deeply connected both personally and physically to this place, we just came home from travelling and for me, I feel grounded when I'm here.”

Although COVID-19 could overshadow her first few years on council, Kiernan doesn't allow it to, and she's ensured her focus is always on improving the community and finding solutions to problems for residents, specifically when it comes to safety.

“What an interesting first term,” she said. “Reflecting back, I'm very grateful to be able to serve my community and these last three years have allowed me to find an even deeper connection to my community and my residents and I think I learned something every single day. We, like every Ward in Caledon, face our own challenges and these past couple years have really strengthened my resolve to find solutions for my community. One of my key commitments has been for safety in my community. It has been a real keystone of what I've tried to achieve these last 20 months with the help of my Council colleagues because remember I'm only one of nine. You can't do this in a vacuum, it all comes down to the community coming to their Councillors and portraying problems and issues, then the Councillor's job is to advocate to find a solution and follow that through with their colleagues because their support is a necessity. As a result of that, there's been significant progress and improvements made to safety in the community. We've got community safety zones set up in our hamlets for the first time ever, Town Council and my colleagues supported that. I'm also very entrenched in advocating to the provinces for increasing safety on Highway 10, that's been a big issue for me.”

Being rooted so firmly in the Caledon community has allowed Kiernan to build relationships with residents and to see the whole picture on every topic when representing them, and she's adamant that it should never be about what she wants and always about what they want to see done.

“The most important thing is connecting with residents,” she said. “I'm a little idealistic but it's exactly how this works. I can remember saying to someone that it's not my opinion, it's the community's opinion that I'm supposed to be advocating for, and that may be conflicting. You may have 50 per cent of the community saying go right and 50 per cent saying go left and there's where that situation comes in where you have to steer the best that you can. It's all about the community's needs and making small progresses. If there's a success, for example with the community safety zones, to find that success in life or as a Councillor you can't look at it as a long race; it's a lot of tiny, short races that come one after the other—it's like hitting singles.”

With plenty accomplished in her first three years, Kiernan is humble about taking credit for what she's done for improving safety in Ward 1, but despite this, she knows she has the traits needed to continue to fight for her community.

“This isn't a job about ego, it's about service, but if pressed I'd say I'm most pleased that I was able to get the community safety zones setup,” she said. “Now that doesn't fix everything, but it's a great start. I'm tenacious about my commitment on finding safety for Highway 10. I'm advocating through to the province; I'm delegating at ROMA coming up again to seek that commitment from the province to make some changes to this dangerous highway. It's something that I'll never give up on and I really do mean that because I am a really tenacious person. I'm proud of my tenacity because I'll never stop pushing for that until we achieve some safety measures.”

Going forward, safety continues to be at the forefront of Kiernan's mind and she's hoping to make a big difference over the next few months.

“Highway 10 is a very important issue and people's lives are being risked and lost on this highway,” she said. “I think the lines of communication between me and my colleagues and the province are still very open. It's a work in progress, it's complex, and it takes time, but I'm very committed to this.”

Despite just under one full term on Council, Kiernan has identified the most important part of representing a large community and it's that you must always fight for them no matter what answers you're getting in Council meetings. 

“You have to stick to it because you're going to be told no,” she said. “Often the very first answer I get is ‘no we can't do that, Councillor.' It's up to me to say, ‘Right, well, I believe if we can't do that, we can do some of that and find a compromise.' There are workarounds and I don't accept that first no. That's very important for a Councillor and I think it's really important for a Councillor to listen to their residents, even the people who are in disagreement because everyone is entitled to their opinion, and you have to listen with respect.

“I think it's important to keep your ego in check because I'm serving the community, and this is a job of service. If you can find that solution when a resident brings you an issue, that means you've served your resident. It doesn't mean you've put a feather in your cap, it means you've done the right thing by that person, and you move onto the next problem. And everyone makes mistakes, but when you do you pick up your phone, apologize, move on, and do the right thing. That really is what I try to achieve. It's about helping the people, businesses, and organizations. That's the most rewarding thing. I had a resident tell me recently that I have a very open-door policy and it was almost like they were surprised, and I thought about how strange that is. It's about answering your phone for them, it's customer service.”