Counselling Centre director Karrouze joins Ward 1 race

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This article was published 17/09/2022 (1252 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The longtime executive director of The Counselling Centre in Brandon has thrown her hat into the ring as one of the first women to declare their candidacy for city council in this fall’s municipal election.

Heather Karrouze is looking to succeed Coun. Jeff Fawcett (Assiniboine), now a mayoral candidate, as the representative for Ward 1.

She joins four other candidates — Kevin Chambers, Jeff Plas, Richard Bruce and Jo-Ann Pasklivich — on that district’s ballot, making that ward the most contested in the entire city.

Running for public office is something Karrouze said she has considered for many years and now seems like the best time to put her name forward.

She described herself as a passionate person who thrives on advocating for others and someone who loves learning.

“I think an important part of serving on city council is being a good listener, an active listener, and learning as much as possible about whatever issues you happen to be dealing with at the council table,” she said.

Karrouze’s time in Brandon started in 1978, when she came to the city to earn two bachelor degrees, in arts and education, at Brandon University. In 1991, she returned with her husband Mo (who has since died) to found a small business, Hairistocracy Salon and Spa.

After her own experience and success in that realm, and with her children taking over operations at the salon as they raise their own children, Karrouze said it’s important for Brandon to not only remain a good community to grow a family, but to become an even better one.

“I’m passionate about the neighbourhood and want to serve,” she said of Ward 1, where she’s lived for the last 20 years. “I think the issues that concern me are not unique to Ward 1, necessarily, but obviously affect the entire city. Community wellness is hugely important to me, and there are a lot of facets that make a community well and thriving.”

She has traffic concerns centred on two areas in the ward: the intersection of 18th Street North and Braecrest Drive, and in and around the corner of Knowlton and Kirkcaldy drives near Kirkcaldy Heights School.

For the former, she said increased traffic passing through the intersection, in part due to housing developments, is creating snarls and she’s concerned about the absence of a safe crossing there.

To improve the situation, she suggests the city needs to finally build a roundabout that has been proposed for years.

For the latter, near the school, Karrouze said she is concerned about the safety of children going to school, or playing in the nearby field, with no school speed zone along Kirkcaldy Drive.

Although she said she believes drivers have been careful around kids, she’d like to see traffic calming measures, such as a speed reduction, to make sure no one gets hurt.

Regarding the nearby Sportsplex, she said the aging structure is an important part of the community, though future development around the city should try to incorporate more green space and other recreational opportunities for families in their own neighbourhoods.

When it comes to the hotly-debated wastewater infrastructure project to build new lift stations and forcemains in the city’s southeast, she said the project is “an important investment in the future.”

“To save $30 million takes too long,” she said. “So, this infrastructure, these improvements need to happen sooner. So, the loan is a logical move for the city. At the end of the day, that investment will generate significant tax dollars, which can pay for the loan and other programs in the city.”

Working with The Counselling Centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, Karrouze said she saw first-hand a greater need for mental health services, particularly for young people struggling with anxiety at a time in their lives where connections to their community and friends are important.

She praised the province for instituting a 24-7 help line for people with mental health needs, and the United Way for their financial support of her workplace.

Election day is Oct. 26.

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