Rural Women Councillors - 100 Days in Office

Clearing a New Path™

Rural Women Councillors in Ontario - 100 Days in Office

This episode is a conversation with four first-time rural women councilors, all serving in small communities across Ontario. They talk about what their experience has been both before the election, while they were campaigning and now 100 days into their term.

They talk about challenging stereotypes that rural folks may have about women in governance, the importance of clear communication, they talk about the privilege they have and what a privilege it still is to be able to run a campaign and that ALL of them would give up their seats to see more intersectional representation.

Kelsie Van Bellighem is a councillor in Kenora, Ontario

Born and raised in Kimberley BC, and a life-long seasonal resident of Lake of the Woods, Kelsie has been a permanent resident in Kenora, ON since 2017 when she met her now husband. They have two young children and while at the tail end of her maternity leave with her second, she decided to run for council. As a person of privilege and ability she is aware of the need for diverse voices when it comes to governance and leadership. Similar to financial assets, “you don’t want all your eggs in one basket” and she ran on that platform during my candidacy. She is returning to work shortly, as a Member Advisor at the Credit Union in Kenora, and in her last term as Treasurer for the Women’s Shelter, Saakate House.

Lindsay Wilson is Deputy Mayor in Ingersoll, Ontario

Lindsay Wilson has spent the last decade working in rural community economic development. She often focuses on advocating for the full representation and participation of women in their communities. In 2021, she volunteered to launch Municipal Campaign School Oxford- a grassroots effort to support women running and winning their campaign. In 2022, she was elected as the Deputy Mayor of Ingersoll, the first woman to serve in the position.

Alysson Storey is a councillor in Chatham-Kent, Ontario

Born and raised in Chatham, Alysson returned to her hometown after working in the private and public sectors across Canada and Europe. A communications and strategic planning consultant, Alysson found herself thrust into an advocacy role almost overnight. Outraged by the deaths of a close friend and her young daughter in a preventable crossover collision on Highway 401, she founded Build the Barrier, a grassroots group of volunteers lobbying for improved safety standards on Highway 401 west of London, Ontario. This experience of public advocacy was an unexpectedly transformative one, and led to her running for Mayor of Chatham-Kent in 2018, where she placed second, and was successfully elected as Councillor in 2022.

Kate Leatherbarrow is a councillor in Woodstock, Ontario

Kate Leatherbarrow, small business owner and first time sitting councillor in the City of Woodstock brings a punch to the table! Herr passions for community engagement and women in politics led her to where she is today! If she's not slinging coffee at one of her two coffee shops, or chatting with a neighbour about an upcoming council meeting, you’ll most definitely find her with her family of 6! She is so honoured to be elected in a time where more and more women are entering politics, and it is critical that we hold the door open for others!

Leatherbarrow, along with Lindsay Wilson, founded the Municipal Campaign School of Oxford County, which encourages women and other diverse voices to become involved in local politics. Communication is number one on Kate’s agenda.

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