An Algonquin alumni has been re-elected to city council.
Tim Tierney, a grad of the business administration program, won the re-election for the Beacon Hill-Cyrville ward with 86 per cent of the total vote. Tierney polled 7,162 votes, beating his nearest rival Michel Tardif who had 518 votes.
Tierney believes his re-election this term can be credited largely to his success last term, which gained him the support and confidence of voters.
He ran on a platform of increasing the efficiency of the transit routes he fought to keep, increasing community safety and expanding the Cyrville Community Centre to include more space for seniors.
“Algonquin served me very well; I got poached right out of my program,” said Tierney.
Despite the overwhelming support, Tierney found it difficult to adjust to the political life at first. “I don’t mince words too much, and when you get into politics you have to choose words more appropriately. You’re not born a politician, you have to learn it,” said Tierney.
“Algonquin served me very well; I got poached right out of my program.”
Tierney ousted long-time incumbent Michelle Bellemore in the 2010 election after he said voters were tired of a politician who had become too comfortable with his position and presented little change for the community.
The city councillor initially found it difficult to navigate municipal bureaucracy, finding that the default answer to any inquiry always seemed to be no unless you knew somebody.
While politics can be challenging, Tierney says that it is important for young people to get involved and has made it one of his priorities since being in office.
“Just do it, I know it may sound cheesy,” said Tierney in giving advice to Algonquin students interested in politics. “There are no hurdles to putting your name on a ballot; what do you have to lose?”
While just jumping in is possible, Tierney says the best way to be successful at it is to get involved with the community first. Tierney got his start in this way when one high school in his ward appeared on a list for closures.
“We rallied the community and 700 people showed up for a campaign I created,” said Tierney. Surprised with the positive feedback he went on to organize a community campaign to protest the ending of a bus line in the area. After that he decided politics was for him.