Old Grey Mayors

We have something a little different on this episode of the Old Grey Mayors podcast. Luisa D'Amato a longtime journalist at the Waterloo Region Record, joins Rob to talk about her career and insights into journalism. D'Amato discusses her early influences, including Bernard Levin and her education at Columbia Journalism School, recounting her experiences covering social services, investigative journalism, and local politics, including her work on a significant story about a suspected murderer while she was about to give birth. D'Amato and Rob also dive into the challenges of modern journalism, including the decline in local news coverage and the impact of social media on public discourse. D'Amato also shares why local journalism is critical to holding institutions and leaders accountable and offers tips for politicians interacting with the press.

In this episode of The Old Grey Mayor's Podcast, host Robert Deutschmann reconnects with Geoff Lorentz, a veteran of municipal politics with 34 years of service, including 21 years on Regional Council. Geoff discusses his journey from being appointed to Regional Council under the old double-elect system to becoming a councillor through the direct election process. The conversation reflects on significant projects like the ION light rail system, airport development, and the challenges of managing regional governance. Geoff shares insights about key issues such as working with staff, Uber's arrival in Waterloo Region, and the impact of roundabouts on traffic safety. He concludes by reflecting on his transition away from public office and the camaraderie that made his time in politics fulfilling. This episode provides a deep dive into the nuances of regional governance, the balancing act between innovation and responsibility, and the satisfaction of public service. Geoff Lorentz offers a seasoned perspective on the rewards and challenges of managing public infrastructure, budgets, and evolving community needs. Tune in for practical insights into local politics and stories about the key projects that have shaped the Waterloo Region.

In this episode of The Old Grey Mayor's Podcast, host Robert Deutschmann speaks with Jenn Pfenning, a farmer, advocate, and former Wilmot Township councillor. Jenn shares her journey from working on her family's organic farm to becoming involved in local politics. They discuss her experience on council, the role of community engagement, and the complexities of balancing advocacy for sustainable agriculture and migrant labour rights. Jenn also reflects on the challenges of municipal governance, the importance of local infrastructure, and her decision to run for mayor in 2022. This episode offers valuable insights into grassroots advocacy, community engagement, and the realities of local governance. Tune in to learn more about Jenn's passion for public service, sustainable agriculture, and the power of local politics.

Jeff Henry returns to the podcast to talk all things municipal budgets, from managing capital projects to the costs of upgrading infrastructure in older neighbourhoods.

Karl Kiefer joins Rob on the podcast to talk about his journey into local politics. Inspired by the amalgamation of Preston and Cambridge in 1973, Karl ran for and was elected to Cambridge City Council. He shares stories on community involvement, recreational facilities, and managing public funds and resources.

Former City of Kitchener councillor John Gazzola is back on the podcast. This time, Rob and John talking about the history of Centre in the Square, dealing with budget surpluses, and a surprising change of perspective on amalgamation.

With the housing crisis continuing to dominate the local political discourse, Rob is joined by former City of Waterloo Councillor Jeff Henry to talk about his time on council, changes to rental housing regulations and licensing, and how suburbs can be revitalized through great urban planning.

Rob sits down with Scott McMillan to talk about his time as a Waterloo Region District School Board trustee and Woolwich Township councillor.

Former City of Kitchener councillor Geoff Lorentz joins Rob on the podcast. Geoff shares his thoughts on the key decisions that helped transform the downtown core, the challenges of working with teams across city and regional government, and the work to bring the Huron Natural Area to the community.

John Gazzola has seen Kitchener and Waterloo Region grow over his 20 years as councillor for Ward 3 in the City of Kitchener. John joins Rob on the podcast to talk about watching the community evolve over his career, the creation of the Region of Waterloo, and how the city came to own its gas utility.

Tenille Bonoguore's career and life has taken her from Austalia to Canada and back to Austalia again. She joins Rob on the podcast to talk about her transition from journalist to city councillor, bringing Open Streets and the Grand Porch Party to the community, and her work on the city's Vision Zero plan.

Former Waterloo city councillor Angela Vieth joins Rob on the podcast to hear what inspired her to run for office, what is was like to win, and her advocacy for removing fluoride from the city's drinking water in 2010.

Welcome to another episode of Old Grey Mayors with your host Rob Deutschmann. In this episode, we have a very special guest, Cheryl Gordijk, who will be sharing her inspiring story of love, adventure, and public service. Cheryl takes us on a captivating journey as she recounts how she met her husband when he visited Canada, and how their love story led her across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom. Cheryl's journey took her back to Canada, where she found her passion for serving her community. She delves into her decision to run for council in Wilmot Township and the obstacles she overcame during her campaign and time in office. Throughout the episode, Cheryl reflects on her accomplishments during her time on council and the initiatives she is most proud of. She shares anecdotes and lessons learned, providing valuable insights into the world of local governance and the importance of community involvement. Join us as Cheryl Gordijk shares her remarkable story of love, adventure, and public service, and inspires us with her determination, resilience, and dedication to making a difference in her community. This is an episode you won't want to miss!

On this episode of Old Grey Mayors, Rob welcomes community volunteer extraordinaire Angie Hallman. From spray pads to Canada Day celebrations, Angie can be relied upon to help out her community in many ways. Rob first met Angie when they were on the CityNews Kitchener Friday Four segment. In 2018, Angie decided to take the plunge and ran to become a councillor for Wimot Township. She was one of the triumvirate of women who balanced out the previous male-dominated council. Along with her two fellow councillors, the three were the first women elected in over 40 years to Wilmot Council. She served for one term and lost in her reelection bid in 2022. Angie joins Rob to share with us her experiences as a community volunteer and councillor.

In this episode, Rob is joined by former Kitchener city councillor Zyg Janecki. Zyg worked in planning for the City of Kitchener for 30 years before moving to private practice. In 2006, he offered his experience skills and expertise to the citizens of Kitchener, but narrowly lost that election. In 2010, he ran again and was successful and was elected a councillor for Ward 8 in Kitchener. He was reelected in 2014, but lost his reelection bid in 2018.

Jean Haalboom returns to the podcast for the third time to talk with Rob about her time in office, the importance of protecting geographical heritage, and more.

Our latest episode features Rob telling the tale of bringing a new supermarket to Ayr—from the challenges of selecting a site to dealing with developers and grocery chains with conflicting ideas on what the community needed.

How hard can it be to build a new park? Former Waterloo city councillor Melissa Durrell comes back to the podcast to share the stories and challenges of bringing a new park to the Mary Allen neighbourhood in Uptown Waterloo.

Former Regional Chair of Waterloo Region Ken Seiling is back on the podcast. This time, Ken shares his thoughts on regional government reform and bringing the indoor smoking ban to Waterloo Region.

In the final part of the ION light rail transit trilogy, Mike Murray sits down with Rob to talk about construction challenges — from finding hidden concrete and corduroy roads underground to manufacturing delays for the trains themselves. Part 1 - No small tasks with Mike Murray Part 2 - Moving ION forward with Mike Murray

Former Region of Waterloo CAO Mike Murray is back to continue the story of bringing the region's ION light rail transit system to life.

Greg Durocher is a guy that Rob says he could chat with for hours. On this episode of the podcast, Greg shares stories from his time on the City of Cambridge council in the 1990s with insight and ideas for budding and current councillors.

Yvonne Fernandes, former councillor for the Doon Pioneer Park Ward in Kitchener from 2010 to 2018, joins Rob for an interesting discussion about the dynamic around the horseshoe and the politics within the politics.

Rob sits down with former Waterloo councillor Melissa Durrell to talk about her journey from covering local news to running for local office.

Karen Coviello was a municipal councillor in Waterloo from 2006 to 2014. During her time on council, she was a member of the audit committee, a member of the Economic Development Advisory Committee, and Chair of the Finance and Strategic Planning committee for four years. She was also a committee member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, sat on the board of directors for Waterloo North Hydro was a board member with the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, was a board member of St. Mary's General Hospital, and was a committee member of the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation. Because she didn't have enough to do, she was also a member of the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network. She was a professor in the School of Business at Conestoga College. She was treasurer and chairperson at Community Justice Initiatives. She had a regular column in the Waterloo Chronicle for a number of years, and among other endeavors, she co-chaired a group called Real Men Can Cook Waterloo. With all that, it's safe to say that her most cherished community involvement is with the Waterloo Public Library, where she had a long term association including as Chair of the Board of Trustees. She is currently a vice president at Habitat for Humanity Canada and we're excited to have her on the podcast to share her more about her journey in municipal politics.

It's an oddly forgotten part of Waterloo Region history. In 1989, there was a discovery of contaminants in the aquifers under the town of Elmira. Those contaminants were linked to a plant that was then Uniroyal Chemical. The contaminant was identified as the carcinogenic NDMA (nitrosodimethylamine) and it was in the town's only supply of drinking water. Gerry Thompson joins Rob for an insightful conversation on what happened when the contamination was found and what happened next.

We've got Mike Murray back for the last episode of season 2. Mike came to the Region of Waterloo from private business in 1992. After having worked alongside municipalities, and realizing that he wanted to be one of those guys involved in making significant decisions impacting the community, he jumped right into the thick of it initially as the manager of engineering, planning, and water resource protection. He would go on to become the Chief Administrative Officer in 2004 and stayed in that position until 2020. During that time, he worked on many matters relevant to the development of the community. Some high profile projects included the region's resource water protection strategy and rural water quality program, creating the Waterloo Region Tourism Marketing Corporation and the Economic Development Corporation. No small tasks considering you need to convince seven municipalities to come on board. He shares his insights on the Syrian refugee resettlement program, the region's consumption and treatment facility, and, of course, the granddaddy of them all — the region's rapid transit system.

Rob welcomes Gerry Williams back to the podcast. Gerry has a history of service in Waterloo Region that could fill many podcasts. He came to the Region to work as a transportation planner in 1973 and stayed with the Region of Waterloo in various management positions until 2004. The latter part of his time with the region was as the CAO, the chief administrative officer from 1991 until 2004, the big boss. He was here during the very early days of the Region, watching it grow to the dynamic and progressive municipal institution it's become today. During his time, he was involved in some of the biggest issues facing our region that included the first ever Regional Official Plan and the massive servicing project for the Cambridge Toyota plant in 1985.

This episode, Rob welcomes Bob Williams to the show. While Bob was not an elected politician, he's dealt with a lot of them. He earned a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Toronto and then was a tenured professor at the University of Waterloo from 1971 to 2006. His research and teaching interests included municipal government, Ontario politics, and electoral systems. Since his retirement from the University of Waterloo, he has been engaged by more than 35 municipalities to review and develop electoral arrangements. He has served on the Region of Waterloo municipal elections compliance audit committee from 2006 to present. They're the people that, among other things, make sure candidates don't overspend their campaign limits.

Former City of Waterloo Councillor and current CityNews 570 broadcaster Brian Bourke joins us to talk about his time on council.

Bryan Stortz returns to the podcast to talk about his time running the Kitchener This Week newspaper. This is one of our favourite episodes — full of great anecdotes about running a paper, local politics and the media, and more.

Rob sits down with former Waterloo Region CAO Gerry Thompson to talk about developing the central transit corridor, pushing the ION light rail transit project forward, and that A-word — amalgamation.

On this episode, Rob is joined by Linda Terry, a community organizer and former executive director of the the Social Planning Council of Cambridge and North Dumfries. Linda has spent her career working to solve poverty-related issues including affordable housing, living wages, and age-friendly communities.

Mike Murray joins Rob to share his journey from engineer to Chief Administrative Officer for Waterloo Region.

Bryan returns to the podcast to talk about his time as an alderman for the City of Kitchener and shares his Seven Secrets for electoral success.

Joining us for his first appearance on the podcast is Don Travers. Don served on City of Kitchener council in 1979 and the Waterloo Regional Council from 1981 to 1989. A lawyer by trade, Don has made giving back part of his mission through support for many different community organizations. Don shares how he managed serving as an elected leader and growing his law firm at the same time.

Our guest today hasn't held public office – yet. Fauzia Mazhar has been an active and vital member of our community for over 20 years. Fauzia has worked with The Working Centre, House of Friendship, the Kitchener Downtown Health Centre, and more. In part of one of our interview, Fauzia shares her and her families journey to Canada, how she got her start in helping people find work, and working with social support agencies and charities to help them support new Canadians.

Rob welcomes Jean Haalboom back to the podcast to talk about the history of saving and renovating the Waterloo County Gaol, the oldest Waterloo County buildings in existence.

Wayne Roth joins Rob on the podcast for the first time. Wayne was the Mayor of Wilmot Township from 1997 to 2010. During his 13 year run as Mayor, he oversaw a number of civic projects for the fast-growing township. Most importantly, the amazing Wilmot Recreation Complex and Aquatic Centre. On this episode, Wayne shares the story on what it took to build the complex – and how the township used some great financial sense to keep the project on budget.

Bryan joins Rob to talk about how the Region of Waterloo's emergency plan from the SARS outbreak in Toronto helped shape how the Region responded to welcoming Syrian refugees and the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Jane Mitchell returns to the (virtual) Old Grey Mayors studio to talk about two topics that have been top of mind for Waterloo Region residents in the last few months – daycare and conservation authorities.

We're kicking off season 2 with our good friend Bryan Stortz. Bryan recently retired after twenty years at the Region of Waterloo as Director of Communications. He sits down with Rob to share stories on the birth of the ION, negotiating to get GO train service and how he got into public service.

Todd Cowan returns to the podcast for another great episode. Last time he was on, Rob and Todd discussed casinos. This time, they're digging deeper to discuss the in's and out's of gravel pits in Waterloo Region.

Jean Haalboom was the first councillor elected to the newly created Doon Pioneer Park area in Kitchener in 1997. In 2000, she was elected to the Waterloo Regional council and ended her political career with 20 minutes to go before the deadline in 2014. Rob and Jean served as council together from 2010-2014 and worked together at the Grand River Conservation Authority. Haalboom has been committed to protecting our heritage long before it was "cool".

Former Waterloo Region Chair Ken Seiling makes his record fourth appearance on the show with a great discussion about police services in Waterloo Region.

Rob welcomes Richard Christy back to the podcast to talk about his path to being Mayor of Kitchener.

We're joined by Ken Seiling (on a physically-distance safe Zoom call) for another great conversation with Ken Seiling.

Doug Craig makes his record-setting third visit to the Old Grey Mayors podcast to talk Cambridge's place in the region, the size of Regional government and more.

Jane Mitchell started her career in public service as a Waterloo Region District School Board from 1990 to 2000. She was then elected to the Region of Waterloo Council representing the City of Waterloo from 2000 to 2018. Jane was also the first women chair of the Grand River Conservation Authority from 2010 to 2015. Jane joins Rob for a chat about how she got into politics, her experiences representing her constituents and the inner-workings of how things got done (and sometimes didn't get done).

In this episode, Rob talks with former Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig about taxes and infrastructure. Craig's focus is on how municipalities can't provide services and repair infrastructure when property taxes kept at or below rate of inflation.

Richard Christy was mayor of the City of Kitchener from 1995 to 1997 and lead the city through the beginning stages of its downtown revitalization. Rob and Richard discuss that part of the city's history - plus how Richard got into politics, moving from Ottawa to Kitchener, and why he thinks the downtown malls of the 80s and 90s hurt local businesses.