Approach to Council
You won't hear me promise that I can fix everything. Not because I don't have ideas. I have plenty of them.
But there is an important difference between campaigning and governing.
One councillor cannot walk into the municipal office and simply decide that something is going to happen. Council decisions involve budgets, legislation, policies, staff capacity, existing commitments, competing priorities and, ultimately, the votes of Council as a whole.
Some ideas that sound simple may turn out to be complicated.
Some things we want may not be affordable right now.
And sometimes, after doing the research and hearing from the people who actually understand an issue, the best answer may look different than the one we started with.
I think residents deserve candidates who are honest about that.
So I won't promise you that I can personally fix every road, solve every service issue, lower every cost or make every idea happen.
What I can tell you is how I would approach the job.
That approach isn't something I developed just for this campaign.
My experiences in the military, law, and leading within our community have all required me to work within policies and rules, research before making decisions, ask questions, communicate with people who don't always agree, and understand that good intentions don't automatically make an idea workable.
They've also taught me that you don't need to be the person in the room who knows absolutely everything. You need to be willing to listen to the people who know more than you do, ask the right questions, and take the time to understand the information in front of you before making a decision.
So, if I am given the opportunity to sit at the Council table:
- I will do my homework.
- I will ask questions, including the uncomfortable ones when necessary.
- I will listen to residents, municipal staff, and the people directly affected by a decision.
- I will look at the cost, the long-term impact, and the alternatives.
- I will explain my reasoning.
- And if new information shows me that my original position wasn't the best one, I will be willing to change it.
To me, leadership isn't having an answer for absolutely everything. Sometimes, it's knowing which questions need to be asked before making the decision.
So, I may not be able to promise you the outcome of every issue that comes before Council.
What I can promise you is my approach.
- My advocacy for our community.
- My respect.
- My attention.
- My integrity.
I can promise to show up prepared, to listen, to ask questions, and to give the decisions entrusted to me the consideration they deserve. Those are promises I know I can keep.
No one person runs a municipality.
If I am elected to Council, I would be one member of a team made up of people who will bring different experiences, perspectives, priorities and personalities to the table.
We won't always agree. And I don't think a good team requires us to.
Some of the most important lessons I learned about teamwork came from my time in the Canadian Armed Forces.
In the military, you don't get to choose everyone you work with. You work alongside people with different ranks, trades, backgrounds, personalities and ways of approaching a problem. Sometimes you agree. Sometimes you very much don't. But the mission still has to get done.
I would bring that same commitment to teamwork to the Council table that was paramount throughout my time in the CAF.
Being a good member of a team doesn't mean staying quiet or agreeing for the sake of agreement.
It means coming prepared.
It means knowing your role while respecting the roles and expertise of the people around you.
It means being willing to speak up when you see a concern, ask questions when something doesn't make sense, and respectfully challenge an idea when you believe there may be a better way.
But it also means knowing when to listen.
It means recognizing when someone else knows more about something than you do.
It means being able to receive feedback and consider another perspective without treating disagreement as a personal attack.
And it means understanding that sometimes your idea won't be the idea the team ultimately chooses.
Council isn't a group of individuals each trying to get their own way. Municipal decisions require people to work together, weigh different perspectives, hear from staff and residents, and ultimately make decisions as a Council.
If I disagree with another member of Council, I can disagree with the idea without disrespecting the person.
If someone presents information that changes my understanding of an issue, I can change my position.
If another councillor brings forward a better idea than mine, I can support it.
And if I believe something is important for the residents I represent, I can advocate strongly for it while still working constructively with the people around the table.
You can advocate strongly for what you believe is right while still being someone others can work with.
Collaboration doesn't require abandoning your principles. It requires knowing the difference between standing your ground because something matters and digging in simply because you want to be right.
To me, strong teams aren't made up of people who always think alike.
They're made up of people who understand what they bring to the table, respect what others bring to it, communicate, adapt, and remain focused on the objective.
At the Council table, that objective should always come back to the same place: Serving Bonnechere Valley.
"Transparency" is one of those words you hear a lot during elections.
But what does it actually mean?
To me, transparency means residents should be able to reasonably understand:
What are we doing? Why are we doing it? What is it going to cost? What alternatives were considered? And, when possible, how did we arrive at the decision?
Municipal government is complicated. There are absolutely times when information cannot be publicly discussed because of privacy, legal obligations, employment matters, or other restrictions.
But "municipal government is complicated" shouldn't become an excuse for residents to feel disconnected from decisions being made with their tax dollars and on behalf of their community.
I also think transparency goes beyond making information technically available.
There is a difference between information being public and information being accessible.
A document buried somewhere online may satisfy a requirement, but meaningful communication means making a reasonable effort to help residents find information, understand what is being considered, and know why it matters.
Residents shouldn't need to become municipal policy experts to understand what their Council is doing.
And they certainly shouldn't need to become detectives just to find information that is already public.
Transparency also doesn't mean everyone will agree with every decision. Sometimes Council will have to make difficult decisions. Sometimes I may vote in a way you disagree with. But even when we disagree, I believe you should be able to ask me why I voted the way I did and receive a respectful, straightforward answer.
That is what transparency means to me.
It isn't promising that everyone will always agree with Council.
It isn't promising that every piece of information can always be made public.
It is believing that, whenever information can be shared, residents shouldn't have to fight to understand what their municipality is doing or why.
You should be able to ask the question. You should be able to find the information. And you should be able to expect an answer.
One of the things I think is incredibly important to remember when talking about Bonnechere Valley is just how different life can look depending on where you live, what you do here, and your individual circumstances.
Someone running a business in the Eganville town centre may experience our municipality very differently from a farmer.
A family raising young children may have different priorities than a senior trying to remain independently in their home.
Someone living on a rural road may have very different day-to-day concerns than someone living downtown.
Waterfront property owners, agricultural families, business owners, seasonal residents, single residents, young people, retirees, volunteers and families can all experience the same township in completely different ways.
And our differences aren't only geographic.
Residents in different financial circumstances can experience the same municipal decision very differently. A cost that may seem relatively small to one household can be significant to another.
Residents living with disabilities or additional support needs, and families caring for someone with special needs, may experience accessibility, recreation and municipal services differently than others.
People from marginalized or underrepresented communities may also have perspectives and experiences that aren't always represented by the loudest voices in the room.
Those differences matter to me. And none of those experiences is inherently more important than another.
It is very easy to look at an issue through the lens of our own lives and assume everyone else experiences it the same way. They don't.
A decision that seems insignificant to one person may have a major impact on someone else.
A policy that works well in one part of the municipality may create challenges somewhere else.
And sometimes two residents can have completely different opinions about the same issue while both having perfectly legitimate reasons for feeling the way they do.
So what would that actually mean for me as a councillor?
It means that when an issue comes before Council, one of the questions I want to ask is: Who will this affect, and have we heard from them?
It means I won't assume that because something works for my family, my neighbourhood or my circumstances, it works for everyone else.
It means making an effort to hear from people beyond those who are already comfortable speaking up.
It means remembering that the people we hear from most often aren't necessarily the only people affected by a decision.
It means considering whether a decision that benefits one part of our township could create an unintended consequence somewhere else.
And it means being willing to seek out perspectives I don't have myself.
I won't pretend that I personally understand every experience in Bonnechere Valley. But I can recognize the limits of my own perspective.
I can ask questions. I can listen. I can make myself available to residents. I can seek out the people who will actually be affected by a decision. And I can carry what I hear with me when it is time to sit at the Council table and vote.
To me, good representation isn't about assuming I know what is best for every person in Bonnechere Valley.
It's about making sure different realities have a place in the conversation before decisions are made.
We are one township. But we aren't all living the same reality within it.
And if I have the privilege of representing you on Council, that is something I will carry with me to the Council table.
You don't have to agree with me.
In fact, if I am elected to Council, I can almost guarantee there will eventually be a decision I make that you disagree with.
There are too many people, perspectives and complicated issues in a community for everyone to agree all of the time. And I don't think disagreement is necessarily a bad thing.
I'm not asking residents to agree with every opinion I have.
I'm asking you to expect something different from me.
Expect me to listen to you, even when we disagree. Expect me to explain why I came to a decision. Expect me to treat you respectfully whether you voted for me or not. Expect me to do my homework before I vote. Expect me to ask questions. Expect me to admit when I don't know something. And expect me to be willing to change my position when better information gives me a reason to.
Changing your mind because you've learned something new isn't weakness. Neither is saying, "I don't know yet. Let me look into it."
I think we would all benefit from a little more room for respectful disagreement in public conversations.
You can challenge my ideas. You can question my decisions. You can tell me you think I'm wrong.
And if I am elected, you will still deserve the same effort, respect and representation from me as the person who agrees with everything I say.
Because ultimately, a councillor doesn't just represent the people who supported them.
They represent their community. All of it.
What does practical decision-making actually mean to me?
Municipal government deals with the things we interact with every day: roads, recreation, waste, water, emergency services, planning, infrastructure and the services residents rely on.
There will always be more things we could do than there is money, staff or time to do them.
To me, practical decision-making means being willing to ask the questions that come before the vote.
What problem are we actually trying to solve? Is there evidence that this is something our residents need? What will it cost — not just to purchase or implement, but to maintain five or ten years from now? Do we have the staff and resources to realistically support it? Are there grants, partnerships or shared-service opportunities that could reduce the burden on taxpayers? Is there a simpler or more affordable way to accomplish the same goal? And perhaps most importantly: what are we giving up or delaying by choosing this?
Every municipal dollar has an opportunity cost. Spending money in one place means that money isn't available somewhere else.
That doesn't mean Council should never invest in something new. Sometimes spending more today prevents a much larger expense tomorrow. Sometimes a relatively small investment can significantly improve a service. And sometimes doing nothing becomes the more expensive choice.
It means looking beyond the initial price tag and asking whether a decision makes sense for Bonnechere Valley as a whole.
I also don't believe good decision-making requires walking into every discussion with your mind already made up.
I will ask questions. I will listen to residents, municipal staff and the other members of Council. I will look for information I may be missing. And when new information changes the picture, I am perfectly comfortable changing my position.
There will be decisions where reasonable people disagree. That's part of representative government.
My commitment is that whether I ultimately vote yes or no, I want residents to be able to understand why.
Fiscal responsibility isn't simply about spending less. It's about making thoughtful choices with the resources we've been entrusted with, protecting the services people depend on today, and considering what those decisions will mean for Bonnechere Valley years from now.
Protecting What Matters. Building What's Next.