Trevor Allen
Stephen Kamperman was fresh out of high school and coaching volleyball when he was named the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation coach of the year. He says winning that award at such a young age propelled him into thinking he could do so much more for his community. Now 39 years old, he’s running for the District 1 (Waverley–Fall River–Musquodoboit Valley) council seat.
Kamperman, who grew up in Oakfield, has always been involved in sports; it’s an aspect of the district he’d like to improve. “The sporting movement in our district is huge and I know they need more fields,” he says, adding that he’d like to work on getting more soccer fields and playgrounds for the area.
He says he’s passionate about his community and has invested both time and resources in it, including seven years as a volunteer firefighter. “Community groups need more help and I loved doing community. So, I just want to get more of the community back to being involved.”
Going door to door on the campaign trail, Kamperman hears Fall River residents complaining about how their tax money is spent. “They don’t even have Metro Transit. They don’t have a sidewalk that walks to their transit bus, they have to walk in deep snow uphill,” he says, listing some of their complaints.
Speeding is another issue that concerns people. Kamperman would like to see more speed bumps on streets, but getting them can be difficult. “My district has some HRM roads and some provincial roads,” he says. “So that’s an issue because the province isn’t willing to do it and the HRM is.”
The high cost of city water compared to wells in District 1 is another problem he’d like to fix. “Water was just brought to Fall River last year, and now it kind of needs to get more expanded into the subdivisions.”
Kamperman says if he becomes councillor, he would go to community events in the district to learn about the main concerns different groups have. “I want to get their number one off their list,” he says. “I just want to help every small little street, every small little community as much as I can.”
He says District 1 residents need an honest representative as a council member. “And then someone in that seat can hold the rest of council accountable for why the taxpayer dollars in our district aren’t getting spent here, and are kind of going toward city centre,” he says, adding that he’s the one for the job.
Kamperman describes himself as a goal-getter and a solution provider. “It may not be the solution everyone wants, but there’s always a solution,” he says, adding that every community matters to him. “I’m not shy in any way. So, I think I can definitely push council to hear the suburban voice a little bit more.”
