Born and raised in Leamington, Hilda MacDonald was elected Mayor of the
Municipality of Leamington on October 22, 2018. Mayor MacDonald served
as Leamington’s Deputy Mayor for one term and as a Leamington
Councillor for two terms. Mayor MacDonald sits on Essex County Council,
and serves on many local boards as well as the Association of
Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Board of Directors and Ontario Small
Urban Municipalities (OSUM) Executive Committee. Known for her honesty
and fairness, Mayor MacDonald is a fierce advocate for the community that
she loves.
Hold for Podcast
The first half of the show is standardized with each guest talking through these themes.
- The first part begins with you, as we introduce you as the guest. Who are you? What is your day job (if not a full time politician)? How do you engage the community? Why did you run for council? What drives you?
- Who are your people? If you represent a ward/whole community what does it look like (urban, suburban, rural)? Who are your constituents – what do they do for a living, what are the issues you see in your inbox or talking to people week in and out.
- Describe your municipality as a whole. Paint a picture for someone who has not been to your town or community before or has only seen it as a sign on the side of a road. What is working, and what is not, what are you building towards? .
- What is your region, what is in common/different between your community and your neighbours? Most municipalities are a part of some upper tier government, how does your community fit into that upper tier?
- Finally, how does your community and constituents fit into SW Ontario as a whole? Why should someone in Kitchener or London (as examples) care about your community? What should a Torontonian know about your community and why it is important?
The second half of the show is a bit more political/policy related. We may not get to all of these topics and this might not be the order we discuss them in.
- COVID Impacts on Leamington? How did it impact the municipality and community?
- Migrant workers and the outbreaks in those facilities
- Why migrant workers?
- Due to COVID it is possible that what people know about Leamington is largely related to those migrant worker/COVID issues, what was a story that people didn’t hear in 2020 about Leamington?
- Agri-sector is a major employers and driver of local economic activity but there are challenges – Light pollution by-law
- Housing affordability – School purchasing
- Provincial Budget will be on March 24th, if you have any reaction or comment on that? HWY3, Hospital, or the funding etc.
- Where do you want Leamington to be in 10 years? Challenges/Opportunities
- Magic policy wand – change one thing to improve your community, the lives of people in it, what do you change and why?
SW Ontario Council Watcher 