RM OF CORMAN PARK — On the verge of stepping down as the Reeve of the RM of Corman Park, a position she has held for the past 12 years, Judy Harwood is left wondering where the time has gone.
In truth, Harwood had chosen not to run for re-election some time ago, and began informing the people around her of her decision soon after.
But even then, the actual end to her time as reeve still seemed far off. Now, she’s participated in her final council meeting as of Nov.18, and the swearing-in of the new council is set to take place on Nov. 25.
“I don’t know where the time has gone,” she said.
Prior to her election as reeve, Harwood had served as a councillor for the RM from 1994 to 2000. She had also continued to aid the municipality in the intervening years by serving on bodies like the district planning board.
In 2012, the RM had entered a period of instability marked by numerous disputes on council, and Harwood was part of a group of individuals seeking to replace Mel Henry, who was reeve at the time, and put an end to the chaos.
“Our RM was in a little bit of disarray, to put it mildly,” Harwood said.
This group had reached out to a number of prominent individuals seeking someone to run against Henry, but had no takers. Eventually, Harwood decided to put her name forward while driving back from a work-related trip.
“I’d been on district planning and I’d been on council for six years, so I felt pretty comfortable (running again),” she said, adding that she also had experience serving with numerous other municipal and provincial boards.
Harwood defeated the incumbent by more than 1,000 votes, which she called a “clear message from the residents of Corman Park that they wanted change.”
Harwood won’t say that there was no opposition to her leadership, or that council never disagreed with her. But she felt confident in what she was doing, and she had the support of an amazing administration.
“I think we worked hard through the next year just to start working together and being a team,” she said.
“I also said to the team at the time that I don’t demand your respect; I’ll earn it. I’m a big believer in that.”
At the time of her election, there was also a push to split the RM of Corman Park into north and south halves, which she personally opposed.
“Right now, there’s 296 RMs in the province and we need less, not more,” she said.
Harwood said she went to Regina and made a pitch to the appropriate ministers not to split up the RM. Thankfully, they were amenable to her arguments.
Another challenge that soon arose was an effort to reduce the number of divisions on council, as there were some councillors representing significantly fewer people than their counterparts.
“It was time to re-align and redesign the divisions, and it worked out very well,” she said.
When asked about other major changes that council has had to deal with, Harwood highlighted the challenges that have arisen from joining the Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth (P4G), as she believes it has added red tape, particularly for developers.
But it hasn’t always been negative. Harwood indicated she is proud of the part she played in establishing the Gordie Howe memorial near Floral, where the legendary hockey player was born.
She also expresses pride in having a fairly diverse council with differing perspectives as opposed to a group of all farmers or lawyers. Having that diversity will be important as the RM continues to grow.
“What Corman Park offers is diversity. People who want to live here may only want half an acre; others would like 10 or 80 acres and to run some horses, as I do. So we’re very diverse, and you can see why it’s such a popular area to move into.”
One last accomplishment she would like to mention is her attendance — over the past 12 years, Harwood believes she never missed a council meeting.
“I’ve been very proud and honoured to be the reeve for 12 years. It’s afforded me the ability to meet so many people,” she said, adding that she wants to thank her family for their continued support over the years.
“I’ve just enjoyed the ride. I really have.”
