I recently sat down with several people running for Sarnia City Council for longer conversations about the city, the issues facing it and how they approach the work of council. I’m sharing those conversations one at a time. This one is with Honie Chumko.
Honie and I were neighbours in Mitton Village, so much of our conversation was about the neighbourhood we shared. She spoke about how her children encouraged her to run, and how her own experience of poverty and homelessness shapes her support for housing. We also got into public washrooms, access to mental-health care and her idea for a kayak lending library on the waterfront. I particularly enjoyed that idea: something simple that would let more people enjoy the water without having to buy anything. Throughout the conversation, we kept coming back to what it would mean to build a city where people can meet their basic needs and have opportunities to connect with each other.
I’m also running for council, so my own views and experiences are part of these conversations. These are a handful of candidates I chose to sit down with, rather than a comprehensive interview series with everyone running.
Whoever gets elected will have to make decisions together. I wanted to spend some time listening and talking through ideas, and give people a chance to hear the kind of conversation they might otherwise only have with a candidate over coffee.
My conversation with Honie is embedded below.
Originally published in The Sarnia Journal.
