Tracy Kingston is well aware of the importance of bringing high-speed Internet to St. Clair Township.
“My 22-year-old daughter tells me we absolutely need it,” the Ward 1 councillor says, adding it will be her top priority if she’s elected Oct. 22.
Kingston, an incumbent, is just finishing up her first term, says she views the experience as a “learning term. There were so many things I didn’t know about…you need to learn the ropes,” she says, adding she’s learned diplomacy is the key to success. “You can’t go in with guns blazing, thinking you know it all.”
Replacing aging infrastructure — especially the Moore Sports Complex — is at the top of her agenda, along with making municipal facilities more accessible.
The small business owner in Corunna wants to find out what residents are looking for from the township, and she’d like to see focus groups created to gather input.
Beautification groups are also on her mind and she’d like the municipality to get behind groups “working on a shoestring budget.
“I hope we can give them more resources and guidance to help them improve the look of our main intersections and streets,” she adds.
Kingston says there’s another question hanging in the air that no one is really talking about. Will St. Clair Township allow a marijuana store outlet here?
“I still haven’t made up my mind on it, whether that is good or bad…I need to talk to more people,” she says.
Kingston says a big concern in St. Clair is its aging population, which when they retire, is going to lead to a lack of qualified people for the workforce and a drop in the number of volunteers.
Kingston is proud to live in the municipality and loves the feeling of “inclusiveness and pride” she gets with interacting with “anyone in St. Clair.”