The Region of Queens experienced a lot of “firsts” when council was sworn in last week.

In the region’s 24-year history, Mayor Darlene Norman is the first woman to ever hold the top post in the municipality.

At 29 years old, District 3 Councillor Maddie Charlton became the youngest person ever elected to council.

Norman and Charlton join District 4 Councillor Vicki Amirault, to account for the largest number of women on Queens council.

Mayor Norman sees this as people’s attitude’s becoming more progressive.

“People in Queens are not looking at gender,” said Norman. “They’re seeing people for who they are. They’re looking at their personalities and their strengths and it’s not who’s got the skirt and who’s got the pants.”

Norman says she’s never allowed herself to be pigeon-holed because of her gender.

“I grew up with three brothers and no sisters so I climbed the biggest trees and hunted and did what my brothers did. I never really felt that I was second shoe because I was a woman. But yet I realize that the world sees it that way, often,” said Norman.

Charlton says she was aware she was the youngest person campaigning to be on council but was pleasantly surprised by the reaction from people on the doorsteps.

“I was overwhelmed by the support I got from people,” said Charlton. “They were so excited that someone younger was running. People would often talk about how they wished people would. But given the current way council is run, it’s really hard for someone to be able to go to those council meetings in the daytime and work.”

Fortunately for Charlton, she is self-employed, operating her own hair salon out of her home. She says her clients have been very understanding about scheduling their appointments around council meetings.

Charlton said a few people did challenge her ability to maintain her family life and keep up with her council responsibilities, but they were in the minority.

“And I know that, had roles been reversed and my husband had been out campaigning that he would not have been asked that,” said Charlton.

She doesn’t take it personally and believes the question is all part of a learning curve for everyone in the municipality.

Charlton is hoping residents will be more involved in the work council is doing. To that end, she would like to change council meeting times to allow more people to engage with council.

“People just feel like they don’t know what’s going on. I would like to see more evening council meetings,” said Charlton. “At one point that’s how it always was, there weren’t daytime council meetings, they only happened in the evening.”

Charlton says live-streaming council meetings has been a great way for the public to be aware of what is going on and she would like to see that continue.

Mayor Norman feels the make up of this council is a good mix of older and younger people, each bringing their own perspectives to the discussions.

She says council will need to prioritize updating the their land use zoning and planning but aside from that, she will look to councillors to bring what they’re hearing from the community to the floor to determine the course they will take over the next four years.

“That’s really the role of the mayor, is to unite a group of people, bring them together to a common decision and accept that decision,” said Norman. “If I don’t agree with something but the majority of council agrees with it, even as the mayor, I will accept that decision and go forward with that decision, because that’s what a true council does.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson