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Mavridis thrilled to be one of four women on council

Maria Mavridis and Nick Ruller, both elected to the next term of council, relax at Cork’s Monday night.
Maria Mavridis and Nick Ruller, both elected to the next term of council, relax at Cork’s Monday night. (Penny Coles)

Newly elected Niagara-on- the-Lake town councillor Maria Mavridis is looking forward to getting down to brass tacks with the new session of council next month. “I am so happy with everyone that got in,” she says. “I’ve had great relationships with all of them. I think we have a great team moving forward.”

A bit exhausted after campaigning for the position, she gives her friends, family and supporters a lot of credit for their help. “I couldn’t have done it without them,” she says of her campaign team. “You can’t get anywhere on your own. And we have an amazing community. People were reaching out to me offering to help. It was an amazing experience getting to know all the residents, too.”

She began Monday night at Corks, the Queen Street restaurant she runs with her family. As results were coming in, she popped over to the NOTL Community Centre. But when the town website crashed, she headed back to the restaurant to calm herself down. “I just needed to be with my family,” she says. “About 10 minutes after Betty (Disero) arrived to announce that she had lost, we got the final results. That’s when I saw that I had slid right in there for the win.”

She admits it was disheartening to discover Disero would not be returning as lord mayor. “I’ve seen her put so much into this community,” says Mavridis. “I’ve witnessed her late at night answering her phone, responding to emails. She put a lot of heart into her four years. It was hard to see, but that’s democracy, I guess.”

Mavridis doesn’t agree with those who say the current council has been divided. “I watched every meeting,” she tells The Local. “It wasn’t just council that was divided. I think it was mostly frustration for two years during COVID. Everyone was trying to deal with it in their own personal life, and they had an entire community to worry about. I’ve seen them all get along outside of the chamber.”

She’s also thrilled to be among the four women who make up half of the councillors elected or re-elected Monday. “Isn’t that amazing,” Mavridis marvels. “I’ve worked with Wendy (Cheropita) on all sorts of stuff. I’ve gotten to know Sandra (O’Connor) through the campaign process. She was great at explaining things and guiding me on stuff. And Adriana (Carter-Vizzari) is a rock star. It’s going to a nice level of representation on council.”

She says she is looking forward to working with council to finish things started by the current administration. From there, working on a new tourism strategy in tandem with a new master transportation plan is an important item on her list. “I can’t really say what I want to do in the first 100 days,” Mavridis insists. “It’s about how we will all move forward all together as a team to set our goals. It’s about what we want to accomplish together.”

The Niagara District Secondary School graduate plans to continue helping local nonprofits and charities through her event planning organization Anchor Niagara, while taking her community service to the next level on council.

“This commitment is for the greater whole,” she says. “It will affect change for the future. I can’t wait to get started.” And she has a new level of respect for how hard past councillors and mayors have worked to earn their seats in the council chamber. “It’s been a long eight weeks,” she admits. “I tip my hat to anyone who has ever put their name in there. It is a lot of work.”




Mike Balsom

About the Author: Mike Balsom

With a background in radio and television, Mike Balsom has been covering news and events across the Niagara Region for more than 35 years
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