Seeing a need to engage young people in local government decisions that affect them, Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie has been meeting kids at their schools.
Guthrie held town hall meetings with high school students this week, telling them city hall needs their input on local issues like changes to public transit and the development of skate parks — important city developments with a youth focus.
He was at Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute on Tuesday, and at St. James Catholic High School on Wednesday, as part of Youth Week.
At St. James, Guthrie told about 100 students that he and other members of city council receive a lot of input on important civic matters from a great many people. But very few of them are young people. Guthrie said he wanted to come face-to-face with students and let them know that their input is welcomed and necessary.
An extensive report on public transit’s future is coming in the next couple of months, he said. Young people are big users of the service, and so their feedback on the report is vital.
The new Silvercreek Skatepark is slated to open within a month, Guthrie said.
“Do we just need one?” he asked the students. “Maybe we need more. We need input from people like you who might be using those kinds of facilities.”
He asked the student to be mindful of the issues that impact them, and to feel free to email their thoughts to him or any member of council. That input has an influence on what and how decisions are made.
Guthrie gave a brief synopsis of how he came to run for mayor and win the office. And then he opened the town-hall meeting to audience questions. The students were quick to throw up their hands.
Guthrie was asked if he thought about running for public office when he was in high school. He told the students that his interest in provincial and federal party politics was piqued during his high school years, while helping his father Frank out during election campaigns.
“I always had a bug in me to lead, as a servant to the people, and to help find a solution,” he said. “I always had that outlook of trying to help people, something that was engrained in me from my parents.”
One student asked the mayor what he thought of Uber, the ride hailing service. Guthrie told the teens that he was not very impressed when Uber came in without announcing their arrival through official channels. Doing so is “just polite,” he said.
“But I have no problem sharing my opinion,” he said. “I absolutely embrace the sharing economy. Competition is good. Choice is power.”
This week, two students were chosen to be Mayor for the Day by Guthrie. Amy Greatorex, 18, of John F. Ross, and Lexi Braund, 15, of Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute got the job, and spent Wednesday shadowing the mayor.
They accompanied the mayor during Emergency Preparedness Day, took in a meeting with an Invest in Guelph official, and got an insider’s glimpse into the reshaping of the downtown.
“We got to offer our opinions and any ideas we had as students on how we want to see Guelph, because we live here as well,” said Greatorex. “It nice to have a voice like that.”
Both said they were impressed with Guthrie’s ability to interact with the public, and especially impressed by how well he related to young people. And they gave his social media skills a big thumbs up.
“We’re the new age coming in,” said Braund. “We are going to reshape and rebuild the community. So I feel that by interacting with the mayor and hearing his ideas, it really helps us see better things for Guelph.”
