NOTL's next Lord Mayor: Zalepa excited to ‘work collaboratively for the community’

When Gary Zalepa woke up Tuesday morning realizing he will be the next lord mayor of Niagara-on-the- Lake, he says it seemed “really kind of surreal.”

He didn’t get a lot of sleep, unable to turn his mind off after learning he had won the right to take the seat at the head of the council table for the next four years. “It’s very exciting, and also very humbling,” he says.

Zalepa was raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake, has known and looked up to many of the mayors of the past, and has appreciated all they have done for the community, he says. Taking on that level of responsibility is not something he takes lightly, and is “a little nerve-wracking,” he admits, but at the same time, he is looking forward to what he views it as a great opportunity to bring those on the next council together to work collaboratively for the community, and he is excited to lead that charge.

“This community is very blessed for a number of reasons,” says Zalepa. “This is an amazing opportunity for us to come together to work on the issues that are really important to people. It’s great to have the chance to do that.”

He’s also hopeful the next four years will be a time to move forward in a positive manner. “I definitely want to help find that collective path forward. It’s going to have to start with council and with leadership setting the tone for the community, and that starts by working respectfully for everybody.”

Zalepa says he has great respect for the previous council and lord mayor, and all they’ve done for the community, working tirelessly at a job that isn’t easy. “Elections are about options and choices, not necessarily who was right or wrong. We need to find a way as a council to listen to all the different voices, to listen effectively and hear where they’re coming from, with empathy and understanding. And then we need to make the decision that council feels is best for the community in an open and transparent manner. That’s how you move forward to raise the community dialogue.”

Asked about the negativity often seen on social media throughout the campaign, he says, “councillors and leadership need to set the tone and lead by example, and hopefully it will start to spill over and improve the level of discourse.” Social media is complicated, he adds, and people “tend to forget how we publicly engage with people face to face. I’m not sure that can be fixed.” The way to overcome it is to continue to talk and listen to others with respect. “We have a special community of people who are very caring and very supportive, and even when talking to those who have different opinions, we can say ‘we appreciate what you’re doing, and thank you for listening.’”

Zalepa has already started to think about and talk to staff about bringing first-time councillors up to speed, and to him that includes consulting with them about how they would like to proceed, and what they think they need. He would like part of the orientation process to include a strategic planning meeting with councillors to talk about their priorities, “so as a council we can rally and set goals and priorities essential for us to focus our energy on. We don’t have the luxury to do absolutely everything — we need to focus as a group on three or four issues . Their priorities will likely have a common thread — I heard that at candidates’ meetings — but we need to come to together to use that as a guiding star for the next four years.”

If councillors chat and debate their priorities as a group, he says, “then we have a plan we’ve created together, and that’s gong to be important.”

As delighted as he was with the election results, and impressed that NOTL ranks high against other municipalities in the province on voter turn-out, Zalepa said he was surprised to see it was less than 50 per cent, lower than the 58 per cent of 2018. “We’ll have to take a look at that and see how we can improve,” he says.

When walking on Queen Street Monday, Zalepa ran into a young boy with his mother. In Grade 4 at St. Michael Catholic Elementary School, he boy said his class had held a mock election, “and he said he had really enjoyed it. He also said he had voted for me,” Zalepa laughed. “I applaud the teachers for doing that, planting the seeds for their students when they’re young.” He said he hopes to look at ways the town can encourage schools and students to become more engaged with the municipality, so kids will be more likely to vote when they’re old enough.

“We see other places in the world where people have their right to vote commandeered by force and threats of violence. It’s a wake-up call here for us to engage as a democracy and be grateful we do have this transitional ability, and not take it for granted.”

On that note, Zalepa said he is grateful for all those who volunteered to help run the election, along with town staff, and for all the work they did at polling stations, making sure votes were tabulated. “We have a stable process here, and I’m grateful for that.” To residents, he says, “regardless of who you voted for or who you’ve chosen, there is a common value, and that’s the passion we have in caring for this community. That’s the common thread, that’s our starting point for building the future of this community for our children.”