As we head into this election, I think residents deserve more than campaign promises. They deserve the opportunity to look at the records of the people asking for their vote and decide for themselves whether those records demonstrate the leadership, collaboration and results they want from their next Council.
This isn’t personal. It’s about accountability and asking fair questions — particularly of candidates who have held municipal office before.
Collaboration: If they previously demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to work constructively with colleagues, what has changed?
Leadership: If their approach contributed to division and dysfunction rather than finding common ground, what has changed?
Results: If their record shows limited progress on the issues they now promise to address, what has changed?
Conduct: If the way they handled disagreement damaged relationships, staff morale or the municipality’s reputation, what has changed?
Accountability: If they are asking for another opportunity to lead, have they demonstrated that they can recognize their own mistakes, learn from them and take responsibility for their part in the outcomes?
These are fair questions to ask of anyone who has previously had the opportunity to serve. And if someone characterizes being asked to defend their record as an attack, what does that say about the record?
Municipal government is complicated. Leadership requires more than identifying problems or making promises. It means working respectfully with council colleagues, understanding the processes, collaborating with staff, building relationships with other levels of government, finding funding, and following through.
Knowing what needs to be done is not the same as knowing how to get it done.
Look at the record. Look at the results. Look at how people have led and how they have conducted themselves when faced with difficult decisions and disagreements.
I invite residents to look at where we started, where we are today and what we’ve accomplished together. That’s the record I’m asking you to consider.
Promises tell us what someone says they will do.
A record tells us what they have demonstrated they can do.
And for those who have served before, perhaps the most important question isn’t simply what will you do?
It is “What has changed?”
