An open forum is scheduled for November in support of an effort to encourage and support more women seeking elected office at all levels of government.
Guelph-Wellington Women's Campaign School will be held in February 2018 to prepare any potential candidates to run for municipal government.
June Hofland, Ward 3 councillor, said the campaign school is a collaboration from a number of partners, including Zonta Club of Guelph, The Rhyze Project, The People and Information Network and Canadian Federation of the University of Women Guelph.
While mulling over whether she would run in her first municipal campaign in 2006, Hofland attended a similar campaign school for women that was held in British Columbia.
“I was so inspired by the leadership and the women at this campaign school that I cam back and said yes, I was going to put my name forward,” said Hofland.
To her surprise, she said, Hofland was elected as councillor for Ward 3 at the end of that 2006 campaign.
“It was a big surprise because it was the first time I had put my name forward,” recalled Hofland.
Earlier this year, Hofland held a number of meeting with 10 to 15 women leaders in the community who have held some level of elected office.
“From those meetings, came this idea we should also have a campaign school in Guelph, including the county and surrounding communities, to help women that are interested in some kind of political future,” said Hofland.
Helping to organize the campaign school is a way of giving others the same opportunity she had, said Hofland.
“It’s to inspire women, comment and inform and support women who could be vying for political positions or could be interested in supporting someone else that is running in next year’s elections,” she said.
Although the campaign school itself will be held in February, an open forum will be held Nov. 14 at Innovation Guelph, featuring a panel discussion with women who have held elected office and keynote speaker Karen Farbridge, former mayor for the City of Guelph.
A group decision was made to ask Farbridge to be keynote speaker for the event, said Hofland.
“She has years of experience. She won, she lost. She was a councillor, she was the mayor. She has lots of experience and lots of stories to share with women,” said Hofland of Farbridge.
A panel discussion will include fellow Guelph city councillor Leanne Piper, Mississauga city councillor Chris Fonseca and former Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran.
Hofland will co-host the November forum.
The campaign school will address some of the barriers women face when seeking elected office, including family obligations, conflicts with current employment and double standards when it comes to gender roles.
“We did some very extensive research to find out what the barriers were. There were a lot of systemic barriers, said Hofland.
Although the population of Guelph and Wellington County is comprised of about 50 per cent women, Hofland said women are underrepresented in local politics.
Of the 13 elected members of City Council, including the mayor, only four are women.
Hofland hopes more women will be encouraged to run for the upcoming 2018 municipal election, and is especially interested in getting younger women and women with diverse cultural backgrounds involved.
“I believe women have something unique to offer. Women are natural community builders and it would provide gender balance. I believe women bring a different perspective,” she said.
For more information on the Guelph-Wellington Women's Campaign School click here.
