New to politics but a life-long fan of Collingwood, Steve Perry sees his bid for a seat on council as a way to give back to the community he's always loved.
Perry decided to make the leap into local politics by running for one of the seven councillor seats at the suggestion of family members, including his father-in-law George Christie.
Perry worked as a large press operator for Hallmark Cards when he lived in Newmarket, and started his own business after Hallmark moved manufacturing out of Canada. His company, Directors Cut, was a digital filmmaking school with a focus on summer camps, school break camps, and day camps for municipalities and schools in Canada and into Florida and LA at the school level. He sold the business in 2015 and now works at Premier Kitchens in Collingwood.
He is a volunteer for the Blue Mountain Snowdrifters snowmobile club. He and his wife, Linda, have lived in Collingwood for 10 years.
“I really enjoy volunteering, it’s very satisfying, and I want to step it up to another level,” said Perry.
He decided in the final week of nominations to put his name in for the councillor election, and spent some of the early weeks getting to know the local issues by talking to residents.
“My perception of council in the past has been that it seems fractured,” he said. “Some of my most enjoyable experiences, whether it's working or volunteering, or doing an activity with family is teamwork. I get great joy out of working as a team and accomplishing a goal.”
He said he would like to see more respect around the council table, recognizing that the people who get elected have submitted their name to the ballot because they want to make or help make Collingwood an even better place than it is.
“I really believe that, but I think somewhere along the line, not for everybody, those values get lost and it becomes more of a personal thing,” he said. “I think council and the town would benefit so much more if council worked as a team … there’s no one person more important than the other.”
His main motivation for running, he said, is his love for the town. It’s something he thinks is an important quality in a town councillor.
“If council loves the town, they’re going to work harder for the population,” he said. “They’re going to take every decision seriously. I’m going to take every decision seriously and I’m not going to vote on something if I’ve not done my research … until I fully know and understand it.”
One such decision for Perry, will be the next steps for the Terminals redevelopment. The current councillor chose a developer and proposal and gave staff the authority to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the developer, but little has been made public about the specific plan for the concrete building and surrounding parkland.
“A lot of people are worried about access … they don’t want to lose any of the parkland,” said Perry. “I think there’s a lot of tough decisions to be made there.”
Over the next four years, Perry said he’d like to see the town moving toward building a “full-blown” recreation centre with multiple hockey rinks, a pool, a gym, and a running track, with maybe a soccer field or two, and a bricks-and-mortar building.
He wants the town to do more linking of sidewalks and multi-use trails to create an off-road network that pedestrians and cyclists can use to get around town.
“The trails are amazing, I’d like to see a lot more of them linked,” he said.
In general, he’s heard concerns about crossing the town’s busier streets like High Street and First Street and wants to look into safer crossings.
“I do have a passion for this town and a desire to do what’s right for the town,” said Perry. “I’ve got a lot of family that lives here. I just want it to be a place that people want to come to, a place that people want to live. I just have a true love of this town.”
This is Perry’s first municipal election as a candidate.
There are 12 candidates running for the seven available councillor seats for Collingwood in the 2022 municipal election taking place Oct. 24. The candidates include: Christopher Baines, Steve Berman, Ian Chadwick, George Dickenson, Deb Doherty, Cam Ecclestone, Brandon Houston, Kathy Jeffery, Steve Johns, Steve Perry, Chris Potts, and Rob Ring.
You can find out if you’re on the voter list by visiting the town website here.
Advance voting started Oct. 8 with internet or paper ballot voting options available. You can vote at the library in-person starting Oct. 8, or online anytime after Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. Library voting will take place Saturday and Wednesday, Oct. 8-22 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting will close on election day, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m.
