From wild street parties to rat infested houses, the new Kingston municipal government hopes to solve campus issues by bridging the gap between Queen’s students and Kingston residents.
The new government was elected on Oct. 24. Bryan Paterson was re-elected as mayor of Kingston for the third time in a row with decisive win, receiving 74.29 per cent of the vote.
Conny Glenn won the race for District Councillor for Sydenham, the district where most Queen’s students live. Glenn garnered 35.10 per cent of the vote, beating the incumbent councillor, Peter Stroud.
Vincent Cinanni won the Williamsville seat with 44.67 per cent of the vote.
The election saw a 30.56 per cent voter turnout—a dip in participation compared to the 2018 election, which had a 41.3 per cent voter turnout.
In his campaign, Paterson emphasized expanding on the relationship between students and City Council by focusing on student-centric and local issues. He also wants to expand high-quality student housing and address the issue of unsanctioned street parties.
The University created the Queen’s University Street Party Task Force in early 2022 to address unsanctioned street parties, in collaboration with the City of Kingston.
Paterson wants to create a “culture of smart innovation,” by expanding people’s access to family doctors, investing in new technology and energy efficiency, and creating more jobs in Kingston.
Glenn—who is also interested in addressing unsanctioned street parties, student housing, and homelessness—sat down with The Journal to discuss the relationship between students and the municipal election.
She said the new government hopes to focus on “getting to know each other a little bit.”
“If [students] feel like we’re taking care of them, they’re going to want to take care of us.”
Glenn said she wants to discourage excessive partying while maintaining mutually beneficial policies for both Queen’s students and Kingston residents.
She also attributed the perpetuation of disruptive student behaviours to other issues within the community, such as the “abysmal” off-campus housing conditions.
Her Good Neighbours initiative would involve licensing landlords to maintain cleaner and safer off-campus living conditions for students, she said.
“If we want students to respect the neighbourhood then we need to respect how they’re living.”
Glenn also hopes to address homelessness by focusing on providing better access to mental health resources and “deeply affordable housing,” she said.
Tags
Bryan Paterson, Elections, Kingston, mayor, municipal election
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