Old Grey Mayors

We have something a little different on this episode of the Old Grey Mayors podcast. Luisa D'Amato a longtime journalist at the Waterloo Region Record, joins Rob to talk about her career and insights into journalism. D'Amato discusses her early influences, including Bernard Levin and her education at Columbia Journalism School, recounting her experiences covering social services, investigative jou...

In this episode of The Old Grey Mayor’s Podcast , host Robert Deutschmann reconnects with Geoff Lorentz, a veteran of municipal politics with 34 years of service, including 21 years on Regional Council. Geoff discusses his journey from being appointed to Regional Council under the old double-elect system to becoming a councillor through the direct election process. The conversation reflects on sig...

In this episode of The Old Grey Mayor’s Podcast , host Robert Deutschmann speaks with Jenn Pfenning, a farmer, advocate, and former Wilmot Township councillor. Jenn shares her journey from working on her family’s organic farm to becoming involved in local politics. They discuss her experience on council, the role of community engagement, and the complexities of balancing advocacy for sustainable a...

Jeff Henry returns to the podcast to talk all things municipal budgets, from managing capital projects to the costs of upgrading infrastructure in older neighbourhoods.

Karl Kiefer joins Rob on the podcast to talk about his journey into local politics. Inspired by the amalgamation of Preston and Cambridge in 1973, Karl ran for and was elected to Cambridge City Council. He shares stories on community involvement, recreational facilities, and managing public funds and resources.

Former City of Kitchener councillor John Gazzola is back on the podcast. This time, Rob and John talking about the history of Centre in the Square, dealing with budget surpluses, and a surprising change of perspective on amalgamation.

With the housing crisis continuing to dominate the local political discourse, Rob is joined by former City of Waterloo Councillor Jeff Henry to talk about his time on council, changes to rental housing regulations and licensing, and how suburbs can be revitalized through great urban planning.

Rob sits down with Scott McMillan to talk about his time as a Waterloo Region District School Board trustee and Woolwich Township councillor.

Former City of Kitchener councillor Geoff Lorentz joins Rob on the podcast. Geoff shares his thoughts on the key decisions that helped transform the downtown core, the challenges of working with teams across city and regional government, and the work to bring the Huron Natural Area to the community.

John Gazzola has seen Kitchener and Waterloo Region grow over his 20 years as councillor for Ward 3 in the City of Kitchener. John joins Rob on the podcast to talk about watching the community evolve over his career, the creation of the Region of Waterloo, and how the city came to own its gas utility.

Tenille Bonoguore's career and life has taken her from Austalia to Canada and back to Austalia again. She joins Rob on the podcast to talk about her transition from journalist to city councillor, bringing Open Streets and the Grand Porch Party to the community, and her work on the city's Vision Zero plan.

Former Waterloo city councillor Angela Vieth joins Rob on the podcast to hear what inspired her to run for office, what is was like to win, and her advocacy for removing fluoride from the city's drinking water in 2010.

Welcome to another episode of Old Grey Mayors with your host Rob Deutschmann. In this episode, we have a very special guest, Cheryl Gordijk, who will be sharing her inspiring story of love, adventure, and public service. Cheryl takes us on a captivating journey as she recounts how she met her husband when he visited Canada, and how their love story led her across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom...

On this episode of Old Grey Mayors, Rob welcomes community volunteer extraordinaire Angie Hallman. From spray pads to Canada Day celebrations, Angie can be relied upon to help out her community in many ways. Rob first met Angie when they were on the CityNews Kitchener Friday Four segment. In 2018, Angie decided to take the plunge and ran to become a councillor for Wimot Township. She was one of th...

In this episode, Rob is joined by former Kitchener city councillor Zyg Janecki. Zyg worked in planning for the City of Kitchener for 30 years before moving to private practice. In 2006, he offered his experience skills and expertise to the citizens of Kitchener, but narrowly lost that election. In 2010, he ran again and was successful and was elected a councillor for Ward 8 in Kitchener. He was re...

Jean Haalboom returns to the podcast for the third time to talk with Rob about her time in office, the importance of protecting geographical heritage, and more.

Our latest episode features Rob telling the tale of bringing a new supermarket to Ayr—from the challenges of selecting a site to dealing with developers and grocery chains with conflicting ideas on what the community needed.

How hard can it be to build a new park? Former Waterloo city councillor Melissa Durrell comes back to the podcast to share the stories and challenges of bringing a new park to the Mary Allen neighbourhood in Uptown Waterloo.

Former Regional Chair of Waterloo Region Ken Seiling is back on the podcast. This time, Ken shares his thoughts on regional government reform and bringing the indoor smoking ban to Waterloo Region.

In the final part of the ION light rail transit trilogy, Mike Murray sits down with Rob to talk about construction challenges — from finding hidden concrete and corduroy roads underground to manufacturing delays for the trains themselves. Part 1 - No small tasks with Mike Murray Part 2 - Moving ION forward with Mike Murray

Former Region of Waterloo CAO Mike Murray is back to continue the story of bringing the region's ION light rail transit system to life.

Greg Durocher is a guy that Rob says he could chat with for hours. On this episode of the podcast, Greg shares stories from his time on the City of Cambridge council in the 1990s with insight and ideas for budding and current councillors.

Yvonne Fernandes, former councillor for the Doon Pioneer Park Ward in Kitchener from 2010 to 2018, joins Rob for an interesting discussion about the dynamic around the horseshoe and the politics within the politics.

Rob sits down with former Waterloo councillor Melissa Durrell to talk about her journey from covering local news to running for local office.

Karen Coviello was a municipal councillor in Waterloo from 2006 to 2014. During her time on council, she was a member of the audit committee, a member of the Economic Development Advisory Committee, and Chair of the Finance and Strategic Planning committee for four years. She was also a committee member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, sat on the board of directors for Waterloo North...