It didn’t take much convincing when Karl Kiefer got a phone call in August asking if he’d be willing to carry the torch from late Ward 1 councillor Donna Reid through the end of the term.
The former regional councillor for Cambridge announced his retirement from municipal politics in the lead up to last fall’s election, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
And he’d earned it after eight years as a regional councillor and 23 years as a Cambridge city councillor in two Preston wards.
But he also missed the opportunity to serve the community, and as a friend and colleague of Reid's for decades, understood what she brought to the council horseshoe in terms of experience and a level headed approach.
“I always had tremendous respect for her work and contributions to the community and right now, personally, I feel it’s important to have continuity on council and to replace the experience that Donna brought to the table,” he says.
Some of the issues Reid successfully brought forward in her last two terms include solidifying a location for the city’s consumption and treatment services site at 150 Main St., getting naloxone kits into all city facilities and ensuring free feminine hygiene products were available in all city washrooms.
Kiefer says Reid’s legacy for helping the city’s marginalized communities is something he's happy to continue to stand up for now that she’s gone.
“I thought about it and I thought, well, you know I’ve got the experience to offer,” he says. “If the people of Ward 1 would like to have me I’d be glad to fill out the term.”
The nearly life-long Prestonite used to represent part of the ward that now overlaps into Ward 1, and he says he’s familiar with the issues and the people in that part of the city.
His experience as a regional councillor and on the police service board also plays into one of the biggest issues the city is facing, and he says advocating for a solution to the homelessness and affordability crisis should include better supports for mental health and addiction services.
It would be one of his main goals if he returned to city council, he says.
“You need the proper facilities and services to be able to address it and it’s not just a Cambridge problem, this is happening in every city,” he says of his hope to bring a strong voice to the table to advocate for more provincial support.
Kiefer says he’d also use his connections and experience to push for more money from the region to help address the issue here.
“Money is the name of the game and that’s what’s needed, and that’s not what’s happening.”
To help achieve that goal, he'd like to see a better relationship between the city and its provincial representatives.
“There should be a closer connection with the MPPs for Cambridge. I don’t see much of that happening,” he says.
He’d also like to see better collaboration among council members.
A recent attempt by councillor Ross Earnshaw to join other municipalities in asking the province to declare homelessness an epidemic failed to get full council support because of what opposing councillors said the motion didn’t address at the local level.
But Kiefer sees symbolic motions like those as being effective at drawing greater attention to the issue, regardless of how it's perceived in the community.
“Something like that should be unanimous,” he said.
As a committee member on Hockey Helps the Homeless for the last five years, Kiefer was instrumental in getting some of those fundraising dollars into the Cambridge Shelter Corp.
And although he admits he hasn’t been paying too close attention to the city horseshoe since his retirement from regional council last fall, the council decision to spend $19 million to replace the Riverside Park dam was one issue that piqued his interest.
Kiefer was part of early decisions to do something about the crumbling heritage structure over a decade ago.
“Back in the day…I think we’d put $7 or $8 million away to deal with it and then, and, of course, it never was dealt with," he says. "Now it’s at a price so high, it’s got to be looked at to see if it makes sense to pursue it.”
As much as he’d like to see the dam replaced, it’s in the best interest of the city to examine the cost more thoroughly, he says. “Holy smokes, that’s a lot of money.”
It’s another example Cambridge is all too familiar with where time is the enemy, he says.
Asked about his exit from regional council and the controversy that swirled around his vote in favour of a motion to extend council benefits for life, Kiefer offers a humble "C'est la vie."
The motion carried with yes votes from fellow Cambridge councillors Helen Jowett and Kathryn McGarry, but after receiving a volley of backlash from constituents across the region, the decision was later reversed by the incoming council.
Asked what he learned from the experience, Kiefer recognizes the optics may have been bad at a time when affordability for the average taxpayer was and is a critical issue, but he believes it’s all part of the compensation package, which includes consideration for full-time service, that every council in the province will have to explore to attract the right people to the role.
He says he knew it was a motion that should have been tabled well before the end of the term, but kept getting pushed off for various reasons.
“I have to respect the decision at the end of the day,” he says, noting that after sitting on city council for 23 years he gets no pension because the city wasn’t part of the OMERS pension plan back then.
“I didn’t get into this game, and I’m still not getting into this game so I can benefit off the taxpayers. That’s not my main goal here,” he says.
“We’re heading toward a situation where you’re probably going to see full time councillors at some point. It won’t be in my lifetime. But that’s not why I got into it.”
For more information on Kiefer, visit his website.
The City of Cambridge Ward 1 byelection will be available to eligible voters through internet voting beginning Oct. 30, until Nov. 13, and at two advance polls on Nov. 1, and Nov. 4, and four locations on election day, Nov. 13.
The city says Ward 1 residents should expect to receive their Voter Notification Letter in mid-to-late October.
The four candidates running for the office of Councillor in Ward 1 include Karl Kiefer, Helen Shwery, Michelle Goodridge and Richard Kaufman.
For a full listing of advance in-person voting dates and locations, visit the 2023 byelection web page.
