Your Voice in Local Politics. 

A copy-and-paste strategic plan that commits the municipality to being everything to everyone is not strategy. The antiquated and typical approach by municipalities to put forward a vision often creates busy-work and doesn't focus on priorities — because everything is a priority.

Woolwich Township is the growth centre for Waterloo Region and managing how we grow is essential. We need a plan that drills down priorities that are attainable and improve resident lives. We need to be ready for the future with a plan that is strategic, easy to understand and achieves our long-term goals is required immediately in 2023.

Residents in towns and villages are feeling disconnected from local government. Residents feel that local government is out of touch with areas outside of Elmira. Hearing this kind of feedback gives the municipality an opportunity to respond and start meaningful conversations as to how we serve all of our residents. A "Woolwich for Everyone" approach to local government that addresses individual community needs and listening is how we improve our relationships to all areas of the township. That communication is a two-way street where residents are required to be part of the process.

Building trust and understanding in the pursuit of meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities starts with proper consultation. Learning how to engage respectfully in recognizing Indigenous culture and history will lay the groundwork for better understanding and collaboration. Recognizing historical and systemic injustice should not be pandering and performative, it should be authentic. I participated in a talk with Chief Randy Ermineskin of the Cree Nation in May. His talk about his personal experiences in a residential school and the outlook for his people had a profound impact on my learning.  I will continue my journey to understanding and will engage to build relationships with Indigenous communities.

Our township recently made national news for all the wrong reasons. My campaign theme slogan of A Woolwich for Everyone includes the 2SLGBTQI+ community, and all marginalized people. Making connections with all the members of our communities and listening will get us to become the inclusive and diverse communities we desire. I am hopeful by the current groundswell of support from residents and some in the church community to become more welcoming   I am committed to supporting the installation of rainbow crosswalks in our communities. I am committed to supporting inclusivity and diversity training for Council and staff. I am committed to creating an official committee of council to promote inclusivity and diversity throughout Woolwich Township. 

Finding meaningful employment within the community for those with a physical or intellectual disability can be very difficult. To be an inclusive community we need to have disabled people visible and living and working among us. There are very successful examples of organizations doing great work already. I'd like to build on their success.  There are opportunities for the township to help create meaningful employment for disabled people and I will connect with organizations to work together to be more inclusive. 

Physical connections to our communities helps foster inter-community relations, but can be an excellent economic boost to our economies. Walking and cycling off busy roadways on managed trailways has only grown in light of the pandemic. It's healthy for all of us to be outdoors and active. Building out our trail system and connecting our towns and villages is the next step in the evolution of our already great trails. I will start the conversation on a master plan for our trails that will connect our towns and villages.

Woolwich Township declared a climate emergency, signed on to a regional climate plan and committed to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels by 50% by 2030. Council also passed a 0.5% greening levy to fund new environmental initiatives. There is still plenty to do with projects and policies that will advance the commitments we made to the environment.  I will continue to help frame and support environmental initiatives in Woolwich and Waterloo Region that curbs our dependence on carbon-related activities. 

Creating opportunities for our youth to have a seat at the decision-making table is a start to teaching our young people about the local impact of getting involved in government. To date, there has been zero effort to include youth in community decisions.  I will explore the creation of a youth council, will create opportunities for youth to have a say and will make the personal effort to work and mentor youth in our communities.

Affordable, assisted, and attainable housing is top of mind for so many people residing here in Waterloo Region and across Canada. Woolwich Council declared public land surplus and will co-ordinate a build effort for subsidized housing units in Elmira. A second site within Elmira is being considered should this plan come to fruition.  I will continue to support efforts that create more subsidized and affordable housing within our communities.

What makes a community? People. Connecting with more people in neighbourhoods and building those relationships create healthy communities and personal positive benefits. Organized neighbours can tackle issues and concerns close to home and amplify voices to be heard on decision-making. Organizing micro-local events like BBQ's or movie nights and building a sense of community will foster deeper connections to the people in your community. Other benefits include crime prevention, local traffic-calming initiatives, foster more family activities, communication with neighbours, intergenerational connections and more!  Developing a pilot project to empower neighbourhoods will be a priority to help enhance our community connections to each other.

Being open and transparent includes effective communication from Council and staff. How municipalities ask for feedback needs to include all demographics and a cross-section of residents from across the township. Deliberate, honest communication with the public will build trust in local government and give Council the tools to make more informed decisions.

Traffic in and out of Elmira is horrendous now and it's unlikely to get better any time soon. While Council was able to get a bypass on the radar of Regional Council, improvements are a long way off. An Environmental Assessment is underway to study a proposed bypass route and widening the 85 from Elmira to Waterloo. I will lobby and advocate with colleagues at Regional Council to see improvements sooner than the proposed 2031/2041 timeline. 

I have been a member of Region of Waterloo project teams for construction projects within the township. There are a number of Elmira projects within the downtown core that I have been a part of for eight years. As township Councillor, it has been a frustrating experience fighting against cookie-cutter solutions posed by the region that do not work well in rural uses.  I will lobby and advocate with colleagues at Regional Council to improve the relationship with Regional staff so that projects better reflect the needs of our community.

The groundwork for growth in Breslau, St. Jacobs and Elmira is an on-going process. Each settlement comes with their own challenges and the amount of growth projected for Breslau and Elmira will change the nature of small-town living. Building up, rather than out will save important farmland and policies against sprawl with protecting the countryside line is imperative to future growth.  Understanding planning at the Regional Council table and speaking up is crucial. Woolwich Township is projected for half of the growth within the Region, and that growth will largely be dicated by The Region.  It is more important than ever before, to have an effective voice who understands the implications representing Woolwich. 

Modernizing and becoming more efficient at delivering municipal services has to become part of the township's DNA. As a smaller municipality, staffing and resources are limited to take on new initiatives. Modernizing must be based on providing a better experience for residents. It may mean discontinuing seldom-used services in order to enhance other broadly used ones. I am keenly aware of the expectations for excellent customer service delivery and will work to further develop that ethos from the top down starting with Council.