1. Why should eligible voters cast a ballot for you?
I have five promises for voters, the first four of which would be difficult to live up to were I a member of a traditional party.
1. I will never decide on a policy until I have listened to local voters.
2. I will host no fewer than 100 round-tables in my first term.
3. I will provide an accountability update every eight weeks.
4. I will work with local leaders to craft unique, non-partisan policy ideas.
5. I will criticize leaders and parties and ideas, but never my opponents.
I came to GP in 1991. Like many, I didn’t plan to stay. But 28 years later, I’m still here. And though I’ve done my best to give back, more still needs to be done to ensure future generations have a wealth of reasons to plant roots here.
People are more than votes and tax dollars. The people I’ve been blessed to meet here — the teachers and nurses, roughnecks and pipefitters and waitresses and artists and athletes and accountants and retirees who make up our great city — each have needs that they hope their community can meet, along with gifts they’d love to offer.
I want to be your MLA so that I can help all residents feel like they’re offering something valuable to a community excited to offer the same in return.
2. If elected, what is the first thing you would want to accomplish?
This question implies a quick win. While I certainly believe in strong starts, the best changes take deep time. The most important milestones won’t be reached quickly. It’s going to take thoughtful, enduring commitment.
That said, there are four things I plan to accomplish in my first eight weeks:
1. I will personally thank all those in the legislature, regardless of party. What they do requires more work than most know, which deserves our thanks (even when we disagree with outcomes). I will begin by honouring their efforts, ensuring they always have a reason to listen when I seek to work with them.
2. I will write my first accountability update, ensuring that you have the right information to judge my performance as your rep.
3. I will host my first round-table with GP locals. (More than just the first one, hopefully.)
4. I will look up at the Alex Janvier paintings (of the sun rising and setting) in the legislature and say aloud these words: “One person’s sunrise is another’s sunset, and neither are wrong from where they stand.” My plan is to do this often, reminding myself that we all want the same things, and are more likely to get them by working together than by criticizing one another.
