The last term of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s council marked a milestone in gender equality for the town’s government: for the first time this century, there was gender parity at the council table, with four female councillors and four male councillors.
NOTL’s incoming council will have only one woman among its six council seats.
Coun. Sandra O’Connor was the only woman elected from a field of four female council candidates. She’s the only incumbent returning to council — Adriana Vizzari and Maria Mavridis did not win seats, and Wendy Cheropita did not run in this year’s election.
As well, Andrea Kaiser, who was NOTL’s regional councillor this past term, ran for lord mayor and lost.
While some in this roster say they have faith council will move forward in a positive way despite the change, others voiced concerns about what they say was bias and unfair scrutiny during the election campaign.
O’Connor said she supports diversity on council, whether based on gender, age or experience.
Based on the platforms of her new colleagues, O’Connor is not concerned.
“I think that I have the respect of my fellow council colleagues.”
O’Connor said it would have been nice to have more female voices on council, but those elected will move forward as best they can.
On topics such as social issues and family life, O’Connor said her male colleagues are likely to speak up as well.
With the town preparing to accept applications for members of its eight municipal committees and boards, O’Connor said she hopes this will provide opportunities for more female voices in the municipal government.
She hopes council will form new committees that provide opportunities for more female voices.
Former councillor Wendy Cheropita also supported the formation of committees.
“I may apply for a committee because I think it’s good to have some of the age, experience and gender balance,” she said.
Cheropita said she was happy to see new faces on council and a range of ages among those elected.
“I do prefer a balance of experience, of age and gender. So for me, it’s never just about gender. It’s about all three of those,” she said.
Cheropita said women are more successful than ever before in history, not because their success was forced.
“It’s because of merit,” she said. “I’m still a proponent of picking the best candidate.”
Kaiser, who lost to Vaughn Goettler in the mayoral race, told The Lake Report she does not believe in reserving a certain number of council seats for women simply because they are women.
“I realize people lose elections and that is OK,” she said. “I have always believed that people should be elected or awarded positions, jobs because of merit and ability.”
However, Kaiser said she was disappointed with her experience running for mayor in NOTL.
“After this particular election, it would be difficult for me to as happily encourage women to get into politics,” she said.
Kaiser said men approached her on multiple occasions and encouraged her to step away from politics to focus on other ventures.
“I found it a little patronizing,” she said. “I wonder if I had been a male candidate, if my ability in terms of time and my business success would be scrutinized as a negative versus a positive.”
Kaiser said that while a minimum number of women on council is not necessary, the town should foster a community where women feel safe and welcome to get involved in politics.
“That was not my experience,” she said.
The Lake Report reached out to councillors Vizzari and Mavridis for comment. Both provided written statements, however, in Vizzari’s statement, she criticized The Lake Report for its coverage during the campaign cycle.
On Oct. 23, Vizzari formally complained to The Lake Report about a front-page story that covered a council candidate forum held on Oct. 15, during which elected candidate Steve McGuinness asked if the two incumbents would “betray your trust again,” due to their votes in 2024 in favour of the Parliament Oak hotel project.
The Lake Report led the story with his comment and ran the following headline for the story in its Oct. 22 edition: “Candidates turn up the heat: ‘Will they betray your trust again?'”
Responding to the post-election request for comment, Vizzari asked that her statement be published in full. In her statement, she said having only one woman on council was disappointing.
“We need to ask how we got here,” Vizzari said.
“I don’t believe we can ignore the role local media played during this election. I raised concerns about one-sided reporting, particularly a highly charged headline published in the final edition before voting day, which gave little opportunity for those targeted to respond.”
Coverage during the municipal election campaign did not contribute to a fair environment for women seeking elected office, she said.
In response to Vizzari’s formal complaint, editor-in-chief Richard Harley wrote in an email to her that he disagreed with her characterizing the headline as an indication of the newspaper’s partiality.
“That voting record was directly relevant to an election in which you were seeking another term,” he said. “Residents were entitled to consider it, candidates were entitled to challenge it, and the newspaper had a legitimate reason to report that challenge.”
Mavridis initially asked her written statement to be printed in full, before agreeing to let The Lake Report select excerpts and quote it while providing the context.
In it, she said having only one woman on council is disappointing, “not simply because of gender, but because of the different perspectives and lived experiences that may now be missing from the table.”
Mavridis said that during her four-year term, she learned that being an independent, outspoken woman who challenges the status quo is not always popular.
Citing a Facebook post by someone involved in McGuinness’s campaign, Mavridis described being referred to her as having a “pity party.”
“The “pity parties” comment appeared to reference my decision to stand up for myself after being told to step aside because of my anxiety,” she wrote. “Another man followed that comment by saying, ‘She will be well-advised to keep her trap shut for the remainder of the campaign’. And then followed that up by calling me a pathological liar.
“Think about that. A woman speaks up for herself, and the response from men in our community is to belittle her and tell her to be quiet,” Mavridis wrote.
