When the newly-elected Sarnia city council meets on Nov.
When the newly-elected Sarnia city council meets on Nov. 15, five of eight councillors will be incumbents from last term, one will be former councillor Anne Marie Gillis who is back after giving up her seat in 2018 for an unsuccessful run at the mayor’s job. And two councillors will be brand new.
Chrissy McRoberts and Adam Kilner ran on largely similar platforms that emphasized better communication, a good working relationship with the rest of council, more affordable housing and improved morale for Sarnians.
Just a few days after being elected, The Sarnia Journal’s Cathy Dobson sat down with the two of them at Dog Eat Dog, a gift shop owned by McRoberts in Mitton Village. They talked about election night and what comes next.
This interview has been edited for brevity.
Question – Congratulations to you both. You were among the top vote getters this election. Can you take us back to the moment you realized you won a seat on council?
Answer – Chrissy McRoberts: We were having a watch party here at the store and I tried not to listen to the numbers as they went back and forth. When a friend said I’d won a city/county seat my first time (running), I felt disbelief. I am not a person with a comfortable income and as a business owner, my time is taken up quite a bit, so I’ve now gone and hired an employee. Council has become as much a priority for me as my store is.
Answer – Adam Kilner: I was at Maud’s (Variety), where I love going, and my phone started blowing up with messages that I was in. I called my sister (Kirsty Holmes) who has been part of my campaign team and she told me the numbers and I felt complete shock. With no polls, you don’t really know what to expect. I was quite surprised by the sheer volume (Kilner topped the polls for the four city seats). And I appreciate that for both Chrissy and me, we have affirmation…that we can bring something really unique and invigorating for this community. I’m excited about that.
Q – For those who don’t know yet, tell us a little about who you are and what you hope to bring to the table at council meetings?
A – Chrissy: I was born and raised in Point Edward. I own Dog Eat Dog, which is eight-and-a-half years old and is a community-based business. I want people to come in here and not only shop and buy, but it’s also like a barber shop where we can have conversation. I keep these two stools by my desk…so people can spend more time talking. …I’ve learned I am very convincing and a great fundraiser…I can be loud and in people’s faces but it’s always for something genuine and good. I can’t fluff. I always say it like it is.
A – Adam: I am a United Church minister at Dunlop United Church on Rosedale Avenue and I bring governance experience to the table, team work, the ability to develop partnerships and I understand budgets. My work in the community has always been about building up boards (of directors), building up communities and building up people.
Q – What do you regard as the top three issues that you personally want to tackle as a city councillor?
A – Chrissy: Geared-to-income housing; mental health and building the community. The business of council has focused on people that have homes…and the crisis in our town is that there are people who don’t even have homes. A – Adam: The key issue is affordable living in this community, which includes affordable housing. We need to be talking about creating conditions through our bylaws for more inventory. Infrastructure is also very key; and the last issue is making Sarnia a walkable city, a connected community with places that people access safely, easily in their own neighbourhoods.
Q – Describe how you envision Sarnia four years from now as this term on council winds down. Where will we be on the issues you care about the most?
A – Chrissy: I want us to be more compassionate. We’ve come through Covid, some didn’t make it but we’re here and everything that happened on the last council is now in the past. Now we have a chance to start fresh…I want us to have compassion for those who need it the most. I want to see tiny homes, or at least our homeless to have somewhere to go. We need to look after those who are most at risk and we have not been doing that. We build a budget but we seem to do it for those who have. I would hope I will represent the have-nots, speaking to everyone but always reaching out to help the ones who do not have. We need that.
A – Adam: I think Chrissy and I both bring a spirit of generosity to the table, so I think we are going to work very well with other councillors, even though we don’t always agree. Sometimes you have to let bygones be bygones. I think when people look back at this term, they will find a council that really enjoys being together but is also willing to do the heavy lifting of understanding everybody else’s perspective in the room. I think we’re going to spend time on that. By the time we’re done, I’m expecting at the very least to have some mechanisms in place to move us forward on things like tiny houses…And I hope people hear my voice and that they feel heard.
Q – Do you believe Sarnia should go into debt in order to improve our infrastructure?
A – Chrissy: Yes. You cannot have a house and pay the mortgage off as fast as you can if the foundation is crumbling. What good is a house if it is not liveable?
A – Adam: Yes. Not all types of debt are bad. We need to be investing in our roads and our sewer system.
Q – You mention Sarnia’s lack of affordable housing frequently. How serious do you think the problem is for Lambton College’s international students and what can be done about it?
A – Chrissy: Affordable housing should have been discussed extensively when the college met with the city and said we’re going to bring in international students. There was no plan. When rents blew up, we didn’t have enough affordable housing so even people who have lived in Sarnia their whole lives have nowhere to go. The college has to step up. The college has a lot of money coming in and needs to build a building for those international students.
A – Adam: We are well past a tipping point. I’m watching people my own age (39) be priced out of the city on a regular basis. Fundamentally we want to be a welcoming place and a place where people can feel like they aren’t just living paycheque to paycheque…I really want to see a conversation with city developers, councillors, real estate agents and folks who are unhoused. Let’s have a symposium. We all need to hear each other. Let’s have summits. Let’s start talking about the elephant in the room: housing.
