Welcome to my campaign & a few thoughts about why I'm running in Ward 2
Welcome to the first in a series of posts I’ll be writing over the election period in hopes of hearing my ideas and polices with you, as well as giving voters a chance to get to know me better. If you’d like to receive these posts in your inbox, please sign up for my newsletter as I will be sharing them there as well.
As we head into the election, one of the most asked questions I’ve gotten is not just why are you running, but why are you running in Ward 2 specifically. With such a large field it’s understandable why this has become such an important question to voters. While I believe The County often seems to be a large community, so seeking a seat in one geographical area or another may not seem to matter when the decisions made often affect us all in some way. But each ward still brings its own challenges and needs, Hallowell especially, given its large size and diversity of residents across different, smaller communities and social economic backgrounds within the ward.
So why Bloomfield and Hallowell? The obvious reason first - it is where I grew up. It’s where I went to school, the parks and tucked away spaces of the village are where we explored as kids. Throwing concerts many decades later inside of breweries that were once abandoned buildings we would try desperately to get inside as bored kids brings me an extra bit of joy - a mark of the changes that have come in the years since then. Fawcettville, and other areas surrounding the village are where my friends lived, Macaulay Mountain, right on the edge of ward 2, holds an extra special place in my heart. I spent much of my twenties building, maintaining and riding the woodland trails. I still remember the first time I crossed the old tank tracks and the feeling of place it gave me knowing at one point my grandfather had very likely stood in the same spot during his time training at the base in WWII, something we found out shortly after deciding to embark for the county. The dunes is my favourite early morning bike desintation, sitting on the waters edge contemplating and grounding myself in the nature around me. Endless treks along the Millennium Trail between the three towns of Wellington, Bloomfield and Picton by bike. Hallowell, the village, and the natural green spaces and neighbourhoods around it, are at the end of the day my touchstone. It is the place, after living across three countries and three provinces, I have returned to time and time again; called back to the water and nature and familiar spaces that remain both the same and ever changing. There was no other option for me when looking at where to run for council - there is no other place that I feel so deeply and firmly connected to. Even now, living in Picton to be close to amenities, to work and school for my kids, there is no other ward I would want to have a chance to represent and help thrive in this upcoming council.
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