Values, Priorities and the need for a balanced council

"There is a curse. They say: May you live in interesting times."

Terry Pratchett, Discworld 1984.

There is no denying, we do indeed live in interesting times. Trade Wars, unstable ecnomic outlooks, a rapidly rising cost of living, and cliamte change effects increasing each year. With all that is going on around the world it can be hard to focus on local issues and needs when everything feels overwhelming and often times hopeless, but this exact issue is why I am running for council.

I found myself increasingly making my circle of activism and advocacy smaller over the last few years, and the pay off in terms of visible, measurable results has been both rewarding and more successful in any previous actions I've been involved in. Deepening community ties and working to make the direct and immediate spaces around me better for others is something that both drives me and keeps me going in times of hardship and struggle. It is also what has been guiding me when looking at the issue we face at a local level when trying to narrow down a set of clear priorities that I would approach on council.

They are listed here below:

• protection of natural green spaces & farm land

• food security

• affordable & attainable housing

• transit and active transportation

• community mental heatlh and well being

• a four season economy & year round employment

• community based solutions

• support for the arts & small business

• a sustainable, resilient future for the next generation

Over the next few weeks I will be expanding on these topics and why they are important to the community through my blog. I also wanted to touch on the need for varied priorities when it comes to our goverment. I met someone recently while door knocking who said they weren't sure my priorities were the same as theres - and that's okay! We all live different lives, experience different hardships and end up with different needs throughout our lives. The issues I would focus on are all community based needs, things that ensure the residents of the county have a better quality of life and continue to have oppurtunites to live, work and thrive here. I would bring a strong background of community building, placemaking and often under represented community voice to council - that of a single parent, a member of the working class tourism industry, an artist, a renter, someone who has faced food insecurity in my lifetime. There are other members of council and candidates that bring strong corporate backgrounds and financial expertise, or a knoweldge and drive to build infrastructure. I believe that the strongest council is one where all these needs and perspectives are represented, in Ward 2 you get two votes (as in Picton and Amelisusburg). I would ask voters to consider the value of a balanced goverment; whenlook to the list of all the candidates priotires and of course select the one who best reperesents yours. But when chosing the second vote, consider who among your friends and neighbour may need some of those other priorities brought to attention and cast a vote for a stronger community.