Marianne Meed Ward

Marianne Meed Ward (born January 4, 1966) is an American-born Canadian politician and journalist. Meed Ward was elected as mayor of Burlington, Ontario in the 2018 municipal election.[1] Meed Ward is the first female mayor of Burlington since Marry Munro in 1978.

Her Worship

Marianne Meed Ward
29th Mayor of Burlington, Ontario
Assumed office
December 1, 2018
Preceded byRick Goldring
Burlington City Councillor for Ward 2
In office
December 1, 2010 – November 30, 2018
Preceded byPeter Thoem
Succeeded byLisa Kearns
Personal details
Born (1966-01-04) January 4, 1966
Greeley, Colorado, U.S.
Spouse(s)Peter Ward
Children3
ResidenceBurlington, Ontario, Canada
Alma materCarleton University
ProfessionPolitician, Journalist

Meed Ward was sworn in as mayor of Burlington on December 3, 2018.[2]

Career in politics

Meed Ward first entered politics by running for Ward 1 councillor in the 2006 municipal election losing to Rick Craven. In 2007, Meed Ward ran as the Ontario Liberal Party candidate for Burlington, coming second to PC candidate Joyce Savoline by only 1824 votes,[3] and receiving 37.81% of the vote. After 2007 Meed Ward returned to journalism, before deciding to run for election municipally. After moving to downtown Burlington (Ward 2) Meed Ward ran for municipal council again in 2010, defeating incumbent Peter Thoem. She was re-elected in 2014, before running in 2018 for mayor, and defeating incumbent Rick Goldring.

Career in media

Meed Ward worked for Faith Today magazine from 1989, becoming managing editor in 1996. She resigned her position in February 1999 following a 'change in direction' at the magazine. She launched her own communications business, Meed Ward Media, providing writing, editorial, consulting or teaching services to a range of clients including Chatelaine, Vision TV, Ryerson University, Tyndale College, CHCH TV, Crossroads Communications, and the Toronto Sun where she served as a weekly columnist covering faith and ethics, and later covering the 905 area of the Greater Toronto Area.[4] She stood down from the position to contest the 2010 election.

2018 Municipal Election

Meed Ward was up against two-term incumbent Rick Goldring. Meed Ward campaigned on stopping overdevelopment in Burlington, specifically downtown. She had also campaigned on addressing traffic congestion, flood risk, protecting the cities tree canopy, tax reform and building trust between the community and council.[5] Meed Ward won the 2018 municipal election with 23,360 votes and receiving 46.04% of the vote.[6]

Personal life

Born in Greeley, Colorado to a Canadian father and American mother[7] Meed Ward grew up in Kingston, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario before moving to Ottawa, Ontario where she earned a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University in 1989. Meed Ward currently resides in Burlington with her husband Peter and their three children Miranda, Nick and Alexandra.[8]

References
  1. "Councillor beats out Burlington incumbent in contentious mayoral race". Toronto Sun, October 23, 2018.
  2. Bkila, John (2018-11-22). "Residents invited to the new Burlington council's inaugural meeting Dec. 3". InsideHalton.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  3. "CBC.ca Ontario Votes 2014". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  4. "Toronto News - Latest Headlines & Breaking News". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  5. Grover, Rosie-Ann (2018-11-18). "10 questions with incoming Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  6. "2018 Election Results - Official". www.burlington.ca. 2018-10-31. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  7. Peters, Ken (2010-11-05). "Burlington elects a former Miss Canada — and a political pit bull". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  8. "globeandmail.com: Candidate biography: Meed Ward, Marianne". v1.theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
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