Keegan Gray Is Running for Councillor in Westport
Local property manager and businessman Keegan Gray is running to be a councillor in Westport. He is the fifth person to enter the race for one of the four seats on council.
Gray is originally from South Africa. He and his wife, Rachel, moved to Westport five years ago from Toronto, where he worked for Tridel, the biggest property management firm in Canada. His wife’s ancestors in Westport and the area go back at least five generations. Her grandfather, Dr. Hamilton, was the village doctor. So was her great-grandfather.
“It was about to skip a generation, and then my wife and I moved here. So I find that pretty cool that we can keep it going.”
Gray is also a new father. His daughter is 19 months old. He and his wife love Westport and see a lot more families in the community now than when they first moved here.
“I want my daughter to grow up happy and not to have to leave here to go find work and stuff. So I want to be a voice for younger and new families in Westport.”
He said Westport needs more activities for kids, something that would also benefit older villagers who want their grandchildren to visit. He’d also like to get young people “volunteering more and getting more involved in Westport and making our town better.” He thinks that having someone on council they can relate to will help.
Gray has a degree in economics. He finds that “on social media, people want a lot of things. But if you actually follow the council meetings, the village doesn't have the money to get those things.”
He said finding ways to make money for the town is one of his main motivations in running for council.
“We're a small village, and there's only so much money we can get from taxes and things like that. And I just see an opportunity there that I would like to put my hand up and push for.”
He would boost tourism in ways that would benefit local businesses, that could lead to more amenities and attractions, and could supplement Village resources.
By way of example, he suggests that hosting a high-profile event to raise money, like the globally renowned Colour Runs where participants douse each other in coloured cornstarch, could draw a lot of families and kids, “make our town look good and bring in money at the same time.”
He said an event like that could have funded the new ramp to the library.
On the issue of development, he thinks it is “going to happen whether Westport wants it or not.” He predicts that 20 years from now there will be a Tim Hortons in Westport. He feels the village needs to be ready for that, “so that all these family-owned stores downtown don't lose out to bigger chain stores that will slowly sneak their way in here once we have the numbers.”
Gray runs the property management company that looks after a number of local buildings, including the old Bank of Montreal building. He said they are working with a broker to try to get some form of bank or credit union in the village. He also owns the golf simulator business beside the post office and a barge company that does construction work on islands.
He said rental housing is a problem in Westport. When he puts an apartment up for rent, he gets applications from more than 80 people. He said he can bring a lot of experience and expertise to bear on housing.
At the same time, he acknowledges that what he is not bringing to the table is experience on council, although he observed that there is a lot of experience on council already. He is ready to spend the time needed to listen, learn and understand.
“I don't want to be that guy that comes in and causes a commotion and challenges everything and says this is wrong. Just from watching council meetings, I've started to understand more about what actually is needed and goes on,” he said.
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