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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1985. PAGE 21.
Grey Reeve Leona Armstrong talks about women in politics
Grey Township Reeve Leona
Armstrong was one of two politicians
who recently spoke about the role of
women in municipal politics to the
Women Today quarterly meeting in
Exeter.
Also speaking at the event was
Exeter Deputy Reeve Lossy Fuller.
Leona entered the political arena
jn 1974. A friend stopped in at her
farm kitchen on the morning of the
last day to file to suggest she be a
candidate in an up-coming election.
He said "Just sign this nomination
paper to run for Grey Township
Council. I'll pick it up this afternoon
and look after the rest." By the time
he came back, Leona had decided to
try. She won, and has been winning
elections ever since.
Leona served two terms as
councillor, one term as deputy
reeve, and will stand for re-election
as reeve this time out. She plans to
make a second run for the county
warden's chain of office, hoping to
follow in the footsteps of her father,
the late Harvey Johnston, who
served as Huron County warden in
1952. Besides, she noted, Grey has
not had a warden since 1945.
Leona related one incident where
her gender was th'e cause of
temporary misunderstanding. It
occurred the first time she attended
an on-site drain meeting in the
northern limit of Grey shortly after
she had been elected councillor. She
was sitting in her car, protected from
a raw, biting wind while waiting for
the engineer when a man came over
and said, "We don't need any damn
reporter at this meeting". The
property owner had assumed she
was a reporter for the Listowel
Banner, and apologized after he
realized his mistake.
The interested parties examined
the drain, then crowded into the egg
room of a nearby henhouse to escape
the cold. Further discussion of drain
repair was carried on at high volume,
with everyone shouting to be heard
above the noise of the hens.
As Grey Township's 200 munici-
pal drains are a constant and
important part of council delibera-
tions, Leona took the OAC drainage
course four years ago. She knows a
great deal more about drains now
than she did when she first entered
municipal politics.
Leona has also discovered that
being reeve is a time-consuming job.
Her phone starts ringing about 8
a.m. She may be stopped on the
street two or three times during a trip
to town, buttonholed by constituents
who want to discuss township
business.
She has learned not to pop a
chicken into the oven, set the
temperature at 450, dash out on an
errand and plan to be back in an hour
to turn the heat down. A charcoaled
fowl and a smoke-filled kitchen are
mute but effective teachers.
Leona stressed the fact women in
politics must have the support of
their families, who will overlook the
occasional shirt not ironed, or meal
not cooked.
Leona enumerated the principles
that guide her political life: an
honest day's work, live within the
budget, sacrifice for goals, and
respect for one's word. She revealed
she had stopped seeking advice from
one person after being asked each
time "Do you want an honest answer
or a political one?" To her, the two
should not be mutually exclusive.
Leona closed the formal part of her
presentation by saying that when we
postpone involvement we may never
accomplish our intentions and be left
with regrets for deeds undone.
The second panelist, Lossy Fuller,
also entered municipal politics in
1974. She had been closely following
news reports of Exeter council
events as she typed them into a word
processor at the Exeter-Advocate
where she was employed part-time
as a typesetter.
Reeve Helen Jermyn, the first
woman to sit on Exeter council, and
the town's first woman reeve, had
issued a plea for more women to take
part in local politics in the forthcom-
ing election. While talking about the
issue with a group of friends, Lossy
was challenged by the question
"What are you doing to serve your
community?" She put aside her
excuses - she should be 10 years
older, politics might interfere with
family responsibilities - and filed her
nomination papers with the full
backing of husband and children.
She not only won, she did very well at
the polls.
Lossy vividly remembers her first
council meeting, held in a stuffy little
room with no windows and no
ventilation. She sat beside a man
who smoked cigars throughout the
session. As a rookie councillor, she
was assigned to look into day care
grants and dog control. (The dog
catcher had just resigned.)
Lossy confessed she went home
prepared to resign too. The next day
she talked to Bruce Shaw, the newly
elected mayor, and decided to stay
on. She is glad she did. She soon
authored a successful motion still in
effect banning smoking during
council meetings.
Lossy moved by acclamation to the
deputy-reeve position in the last
election, and will seek re-election in
November.
Lossy explained that all Exeter
council and committee meetings are
open. The general government
committee is responsible for finance
property and social services, and
roads and drains also encompasses
sanitation. Most issues are thor-
oughly aired at committee level, and
recommendations brought to the
regular twice-monthly council ses-
sipns.
Lossy said she feels quite comfort-
able at meetingsevenifshe is the
only female, as everyone is treated
equally. If councillors go out for
coffee after a meeting, she makes
sure she gets her own bill; she
doesn't want anyone to feel obligat-
ed to pick up her tab just because she
is a woman.
In closing, Lossy posed her
question to her listeners," What are
you doing for your community?" and
reminded them that "it is no more
difficult for a woman to get elected
than it is for a man."
Because of their positions on
councils, both women sit on Huron
County Council where the reeves
and deputy reeves of the county's 16
townships, five villages and five
towns meet together to govern the
county. Both expressed great satis-
faction in serving at the county level,
and felt their sex was an advantage
rather than a handicap on many of
the committees.
In response to questions, Leona
and Lossy said campaigning was not
very expensive and figured costs
shouldn't exceed $200. They advo-
cated newspaper ads, having cards
printed, and going door to door
soliciting support.
Although only 10 names of people
on the tax roll are required on a
nomination paper, Lossy advised
getting 12 to 14 in case any of the
signers turned out to be ineligible.
Neither woman has been defeated
in an election. However, Leona said
the last time she ran as reeve she was
opposed by a man who had never
served on council in any capacity.
She still finds hard to accept the fact
270 people voted for someone with
no previous experience in municipal
affairs.
Lossy confessed that as a self-
admitted "stubborn, headstrong"
person, accepting defeat on a motion
she feels strongly about is difficult,
but once the vote is over she accedes
to the majority view and the
argument is left behind as council
once againbegins working together.
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