Who is Debbie?

I am proud to have served as Kitchener’s Ward 9 City Councillor since 2018.

I grew up in Kitchener, went to elementary and high school here, and attended Wilfrid Laurier University.

My husband, Peter, and I live in Ward 9. We raised our family in Kitchener. It has been our home for most of our lives.

For over 25 years I have taught politics “from the local to the global” at WLU.

I have been active in the community my whole adult life and have worked closely with Spanish-speaking organizations in particular.

My experience includes:

managing operations at a large Canadian company
teaching university courses in Political Science and Global Studies.
leading a neighbourhood association
serving on City of Kitchener committees and local boards.

These roles have helped me understand many aspects of life in our city. They have shown me that inclusion and equity need more than talk, they need action.

As your City Councillor, I use all these experiences to represent Ward 9 with the kind of action residents tell me they want.

I will continue working to make sure everyone in our community can take part in decisions and change.

Issues Debbie Has Supported

✅Mill St development

✅Bike lane through Rockway Gardens

✅Saving the building at 16-20 Queen St North

✅Declaring a climate emergency

✅Inclusionary zoning

✅Renoviction bylaw

✅Opposing Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPs)

✅Geothermal energy on new builds

✅Geothermal generated district energy plants for large new complexes

✅Affordable housing definition to be redefined as 30% of a full-time minimum wage

✅Fully installed EV chargers in all new builds (not just EV ready)

✅Green Development Standards

✅Holding the countryside line

✅Food sovereignty - more investment in community gardens

✅More parkland

An Extensive History of Community Involvement

Vice-Chair of the Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee
Vice-Chair of the K-W Multicultural Centre Board
Kitchener Horticultural Society, board member
Downtown Business Improvement Area, board member
Enova Energy Corporation, board member
Heritage Kitchener committee
Downtown advisory committee
UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies’ advisory committee
Women’s Hispanic Association
Edith MacIntosh Shelter Community advisory committee
Victoria Park working group
Waterloo Regional Labour Council (WLUFA delegate)

PhD in Political Science
Western University, London (2009)
MA in Political Science

York University, Toronto (2002)
BA in Political Science/Sociology

Wilfrid Laurier University (2001)

Who is Debbie?

Issues Debbie Has Supported

An Extensive History of Community Involvement

Education