Council Candidate Penelope Duchesne Talks Chatham-Kent Sports

CKSN asked all candidates running for Chatham-Kent council and mayor, to give us their backgrounds in sports and recreation, and describe their goals and views for not only sports and recreation in Chatham-Kent, but making Chatham-Kent a healthier, and more active place to live.

The Chatham-Kent Municipal election day is October 27, 2014.

Here are council candidate Penelope Duchesne’s responses. Duchesne is running for council in Ward 6 – Chatham.

1. Background in sports and recreation:

I served on the board of director with the Chatham-Kent Women Center for 4 years. While on the board I realized that Chatham has a lot of poverty, health and mental issues. I believe in health and recreation and that the municipality has a mandate to help these families with, for example, free swims and affordable/free access to recreation. I am born and raised in Montreal where you could bike, walk, run, and rollerblade freely and safely across the city. I have long noticed that Chatham-Kent has great assets but bicycle paths is not one of them. I also notice a lack of public swimming pools.

2. What specific ideas or goals do you have for Chatham-Kent, to improve or maintain recreational programs and facilities, and support our athletes and sports organizations? Or to help build opportunities for future growth in these areas?
I think Chatham-Kent needs real bike paths with a beginning and an end, not just lines on the street. I also strongly believe that we should maintain and upkeep our public pools. Children need to learn how to swim.

3. How will you work to make Chatham-Kent a healthier, more active place to live?

Maintain and upkeep our actual facilities and then make plans for more with keeping in mind the population needs. We need to be careful with spending and avoid over budget projects that neglects other ones.

4. Anything else you’d like to add? 

I love walking, biking, rollerblading, dancing, and swimming. I believe that we should work on a safe way to freely bike rollerblade and walk to downtown or elsewhere in Chatham. For example, a sidewalk of one of the bridge could be made biker friendly as well as some sidewalks on dangerous streets with a priority to the pedestrians. Because I love walking I noticed that some drivers might need some law enforcement or/and education when they ignore the safety of people either walker, biker etc.

What did you think of Council Candidate Penelope Duchesne’s responses? Let us know in the comments below!