| Gloria Kovach B.Ed, MScN | |
|---|---|
| Guelph City Councillor | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1991 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Conservative Party of Canada |
| Residence | Guelph, Ontario |
Gloria Kovach is a Canadian politician. She has been a city councillor in Guelph, Ontario since 1991, and is a former president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
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During her tenure on council representing Ward 4, Kovach has been a member of the Guelph Police Services Board, the River Run Centre Board, the Fire Allocation Committee, the Social Services Committee, the Finance, Community Services, the Museums Board, the Guelph General Hospital Board and currently chairs the newly formed Governance and Economic Development committee. In addition to her experience on council, Kovach is active in community volunteer work, including with the board of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, as a breast awareness trainer for the Canadian Cancer Society, dragon boat racer, volunteer for Communities in Bloom, past vice-president of the Westhills-Parkwood Gardens Neighborhood Association, Speed River cleanups and other community initiatives. She is a member of the Guelph Legion, Branch 234, and a member of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce.
On July 15, 2010 Kovach filed her nomination papers for the October 25, 2010 municipal election in Guelph, and successfully ran for re-election as a councillor representing Ward 4.[1]
In February 2007, Kovach declared her intention to seek the nomination for the Conservative Party of Canada for the Guelph federal electoral district. The Conservative nomination meeting, held on March 20, 2007, at the River Run Centre in Guelph found Kovach on the losing end of the vote that saw Brent Barr, a local businessman, garner the nomination of the party.
Immediately following her unsuccessful bid for the nomination, she was removed from her position as president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. The federation issued a statement indicating that her removal had nothing to do with her performance as president of the federation, but provided no reason for her removal. Kovach speculated that she was removed due to her affiliation with the Conservative Party.[2]
In December 2007, Kovach was named the new candidate for the Conservative Party after controversy erupted when former candidate Brent Barr was removed. The local press wrote that there was "considerable speculation on the possible role Kovach may have played in Barr's ouster and whether she will vie for the position again."[3] The Conservative Party subsequently held an open nomination contest, during which Kovach garnered the nomination unopposed (acclaimed).[4] In March 2008, incumbent Liberal MP Brenda Chamberlain announced her intention to resign her seat effective April 7, 2008. A by-election was scheduled in the riding for September 8, 2008, but this was subsequently pre-empted by the issuance of writs for the 2008 federal election. On election day, October 14, 2008, Kovach was defeated by Liberal nominee Frank Valeriote, although she did manage to decrease the Conservatives' margin of defeat from nine percent to three, coming in a close second. She was one of only five Conservative nominees in Southwestern Ontario not to be elected.[5]
In September 2009 Kovach announced she will not run in the next federal election as the conservative candidate. She has stated she will continue to serve the citizens of Guelph on City Council.[6]
Due to her community involvement, she has been recognized in Guelph as a "Woman of Distinction" Nominee,[7] and received the YM/YWCA 2006 Peace Medal in recognition for her community work, especially her work with the Canadian Federation of Municipalities to improve relationships between Palestinian and Israeli communities.[8]
Kovach has been recognized by the United Nations for her work building sustainable communities in Jinja, Uganda, and in the Czech Republic.[9]
On December 31, 2007, the Guelph Mercury announced that Kovach was that paper's "Female Newsmaker of the Year" for 2007.[10]
| Guelph municipal election, 2010 - Ward 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Cam Guthrie | 2,381 | 31.91 | ||
| (x) Gloria Kovach | 1,979 | 26.52 | ||
| Christina Boumis | 1,694 | 22.70 | ||
| (x) Mike Salisbury | 1,199 | 16.07 | ||
| Steven Petric | 207 | 2.77 | ||
| Total valid votes | ||||
| Guelph - Canadian federal election, 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Frank Valeriote | 18,977 | 32.22% | -6.17 | |
| Conservative | Gloria Kovach | 17,185 | 29.18% | -0.57 | |
| Green | Mike Nagy | 12,456 | 21.15% | +12.43 | |
| New Democrat | Tom King | 9,709 | 16.49% | -5.51 | |
| Marijuana | Kornelis Kleverling | 172 | 0.27% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Philip Bender | 159 | 0.27% | N/A | |
| Communist | Drew Garvie | 77 | 0.13% | -0.05 | |
| Animal Alliance | Karen Levenson | 73 | 0.12% | N/A | |
| Independent | John C. Turmel | 58 | 0.10% | N/A | |
| Marxist–Leninist | Manuel Couto | 29 | 0.05% | ||
| Guelph municipal election, 2006 - Ward 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | David Birtwistle | Cam Guthrie | Gloria Kovach | Mike Salisbury |
| Website | ward4news.ca | gloriakovach.ca | ward4guelph.ca | |
| Status | Incumbent | Incumbent | ||
| Votes | 1244 | 1805 | 2623 | 1999 |
| % | 16.22 | 23.53 | 34.19 | 26.06 |
| Guelph municipal election, 2003 - Ward 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | David Birtwistle | Mark Briestensky | Don Irving | Gloria Kovach | Steven Petric |
| Status | Incumbent | Incumbent | |||
| Votes | 1,990 | 600 | 1,516 | 2,370 | 467 |
| % | 28.66 | 8.64 | 21.83 | 34.14 | 6.73 |