A Waterloo City Councillor is front and center of a cartoonist’s joke in the Waterloo Chronicle today.

Ward 7 Councillor Melissa Durrell is singled out and appears to suggest she underestimates the complexity of converting baseball diamonds in Waterloo Park to festival space–a move she supports.

Durrell, who was a guest on the Mike Farwell Show responded to how she is portrayed in the editorial cartoon. “I would never be frivolous with taxpayer’s dollars and I think it’s also really important that we are investing in our green spaces, and so if the message that people are getting from this cartoon is that we need to continue to invest in green spaces, then that’s important.”

Waterloo Chronicle Managing Editor Bob Vrbanac offered up a response to 570 NEWS on whether or not he thinks the cartoon is sexist. “I stand by my cartoonist’s right to have their opinion, I don’t necessary always agree how they do it or express it, ‘Is that a way I personally would have done it?’ No.”

Vrbanac says he did have some reservations about the cartoon, but says his editorial staff are allowed to freely express themselves.

Durrell says she is nothing like the person portrayed in the cartoon. “I’ve never said anything about redecorating Waterloo Park, in fact, I’m not a decorator, I don’t cook and clean, I’m too busy working my two jobs and spending time with my family.”

She adds while the cartoon was problematic, she can also laugh at it.