Amidst the orange bodies of the New Democrat supporters and the manic hustle of local and national news crews setting up their lights and cameras at the Sik-Ooh-Kotoki Friendship Center, a tall, strong and intelligent looking woman stands out from the crowd as she shakes hands and emanates a sense of purpose.
Cheryl Meheden is Lethbridge’s federal New Democrat candidate and, like the rest of the crowd, is awaiting Thomas Mulcair’s arrival where he will go on to announce the NDP’s proposed mental health initiatives.
Meheden stands with NDP supporters behind Mulcair as he makes his announcements, even in the background, Meheden is a woman of impressive stature. Meheden also carries an equally impressive resume, one that she feels has readied her for public service.
“I’ve worked for the federal government in what used to be called unemployment insurance or Canada employment, I’ve also worked for some private not-profit organizations and in-service delivery in my community.” said Meheden. She goes on to describe her experiences working with immigration and directly with refugees, her multi-national retail firm experience and more recently, her adventure into small business ownership with local grocery store, Urban Grocer, in the London Road neighbourhood.
Meheden’s smile grows as she talks about the community hub that grew organically out of refreshing the local corner store. “My goal was not to become wealthy off of the neighbourhood grocer, it was to be able to make a positive contribution to my community,” said Meheden. “We put a big kitchen table there and put some chairs around it and it became this gathering place. We have a really great group of people that come and go and sit there and it became habitual for some people.”
Meheden who is a wife, mother of three and soon to be grandmother, speaks eloquently and simply when discussing the issues that she feels are important to Lethbridge, particularly for the student population. Job creation and opportunities for youth are the focus of her discussions, pounding home the harsh reality that student debt is a heavy burden to bear if you cannot secure a good job to pay your way out of the financial hole that higher education digs. This is an area where Meheden feels that there is a better way of doing things when it comes to the Canada Student Loans Act.
“Maybe we need to look at more of a granting system than of a loan system and maybe we need to reward success, so if you graduate then there’s some sort of remission on your loans. There are ways to do this that don’t result in students having $26,000 worth of debt when they graduate.”
As someone who feels connected with the student population in Lethbridge through her teaching position at Lethbridge College, Meheden says she feels the anxiety of her students about life after graduation. When asked how enthusiastic her students are at the prospect of voting in the upcoming election, she laughs and shakes her head. Meheden says even the students she knows who love her classes are apathetic about ticking the boxes on a ballot on Oct 19.
Sarah Ferarri is one of Meheden’s students and is adamant about the fact that Meheden doesn’t bring up her personal involvement in the election itself, but does encourage students to get out and vote.
“She talks about the election, but she doesn’t talk about her in general. She doesn’t want to be persuading people to vote for her.”
Back in Meheden’s campaign office, the hustle of working towards election day is obvious and her team are practically buzzing with anticipation and optimism. Jennifer Takahashi is one of the many volunteers who make up Meheden’s orange crusaders for the Lethbridge campaign office. Takahashi who immigrated from the United States 10 years ago is only too happy to list off the reasons she believes that the NDP are Lethbridge’s only hope for a better future.
“I love what the NDP represents and knowing that my child has the opportunity to grow up under that government, under a government that cares about its citizens first and foremost,” said Takahashi.
Takahashi compares the Lethbridge West MLA Shannon Phillips and Meheden as both being great representatives at the provincial and federal level, a loud voice in a chorus of federal representatives. “They are both very strong, they are not going to back down, if there is something that they believe in, they are going to fight for it.”
As election day nears and the campaign machine pulls into top gear, life gets busier for Meheden. When asked what she does to take time out from the mania of running for office, Meheden smiles and you can almost see her mind fall into stillness behind her eyes.
“Every morning the first thing I do after I get out of bed is walk the dog, so we go for a nice walk in the coulees. Those short moments allow me to refuel.”
That quiet time may become more precious if the residents of Lethbridge vote Meheden into office as their voice in Ottawa on Oct. 19, a challenge Meheden says she is ready and waiting for.