Hardy bringing an energy plus attitude to Ward 4 re-election effort

By Craig Westcott

Serving on council turned out to be as rewarding as Melissa Hardy imagined it, so the Ward 4 representative and mother of two is running again this fall to keep her seat in the CBS Town Hall.
“I love learning new things, and the residents, I really think, they just want a voice,” said Hardy, who also works as a project manager with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. “When you’re listening to people and you’re genuine and you’re sincere and you’re really trying to help them get a resolution to whatever their issue is, I think that’s all that anyone is asking for. Are you able to do everything for everyone? No, but they know you tried and that’s where you build those connections with the residents in CBS. And that’s what I’m about, I’m about building connections and trying to help move a platform forward.”
Hardy, who grew up in Foxtrap, was a political newcomer when she beat out two other contenders for the Ward 4 title in 2021. With the recent addition, after many years, of water and sewer services in Seal Cove, Hardy’s ward, which runs from the west side of Legion Road in Kelligrews to the boundary with Holyrood, is undergoing the fastest change in town, especially in terms of housing development. 
With more residents, comes more phone calls. But Hardy doesn’t seem to mind.
“We’ve got lots of concerns from garbage pickup to water and sewer to snow clearing to development – like, ‘How can we get creative to get a development up here and still be in the regulations?’” Hardy said. “So, there’s lots and lots of conversation. Some residents are open to change, and some residents haven’t seen change in so many years so it’s a little bit new to them. But if you’re doing the right things for the right reasons, I think people are receptive.”
Hardy said the ward saw a lot of good things knocked off its bucket list the last four years including the extension of the T’Railway, upgrades to Seal Cove basin, and the replacement of the old trestle.
“Those types of things are big heavy items,” she said. “And we’ve got the dome coming. But now I’d like to see a little more water and sewer, which as you know is very, very costly. So pretty much for my end of town now, that’s going to be a big push.”
While water and sewer has finally pushed into the west end, there’s still some areas there that don’t have it. Now that the Town has pretty much finished its sidewalk installation within 1.6 kms of schools, Hardy is hopeful it will be able to put more resources into completing those water and sewer lines.
“And I’d like to see more commercial development in our end of town as well,” she said. 
Hardy said she is able to juggle the work of a busy ward with being a mother of two girls and a project manager at Hydro thanks to a supportive family, including husband Jamie Hardy. She is also on the board of directors of Visions Employment, which helps find jobs for people with exceptionalities, disabilities and other issues, and on the board of CBR Minor Hockey.
“If you have the right support systems in place, you can do pretty much what you want to do in life,” said Hardy. “My husband and my girls love coming to all the council events. And Olivia and Emily can’t wait to go knocking door to door in the campaign. It’s really a family thing what we do together. The kids will sometimes come on a visit with me if I’ve got to visit a resident, if Jamie is at something. If you have those supports in place, you can really make a difference in this world.”
Hardy said she is thankful to all those residents who provided her with the opportunity four years ago to advocate for them on council.
“I’m hoping that I will be able to get in again and do a little bit more,” she said.