The Region of Queens experienced a lot of \u201cfirsts\u201d when council was sworn in last week.<\/p>\n
In the region\u2019s 24-year history, Mayor Darlene Norman is the first woman to ever hold the top post in the municipality.<\/p>\n
At 29 years old, District 3 Councillor Maddie Charlton became the youngest person ever elected to council.<\/p>\n
Norman and Charlton join District 4 Councillor Vicki Amirault, to account for the largest number of women on Queens council.<\/p>\n
Mayor Norman sees this as people\u2019s attitude\u2019s becoming more progressive.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople in Queens are not looking at gender,\u201d said Norman. \u201cThey\u2019re seeing people for who they are. They\u2019re looking at their personalities and their strengths and it\u2019s not who\u2019s got the skirt and who\u2019s got the pants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norman says she\u2019s never allowed herself to be pigeon-holed because of her gender.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d said Norman.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was overwhelmed by the support I got from people,\u201d said Charlton. \u201cThey 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\u2019s really hard for someone to be able to go to those council meetings in the daytime and work.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I know that, had roles been reversed and my husband had been out campaigning that he would not have been asked that,\u201d said Charlton.<\/p>\n
She doesn\u2019t take it personally and believes the question is all part of a learning curve for everyone in the municipality.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople just feel like they don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on. I would like to see more evening council meetings,\u201d said Charlton. \u201cAt one point that\u2019s how it always was, there weren\u2019t daytime council meetings, they only happened in the evening.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019re hearing from the community to the floor to determine the course they will take over the next four years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really the role of the mayor, is to unite a group of people, bring them together to a common decision and accept that decision,\u201d said Norman. \u201cIf I don\u2019t 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\u2019s what a true council does.\u201d<\/p>\n