Northcrest deserves better - and better is absolutely achievable. Imagine a city where rising investment actually produces rising results: safer streets, smoother roads, services that work, and a community that's visibly moving forward. That's not an unrealistic dream - it's what smart, disciplined, accountable governance delivers.

Getting there means bringing genuinely new thinking to challenges like homelessness, public safety, transit and traffic. Not just spending differently, but thinking differently - asking harder questions, demanding measurable outcomes, and refusing to accept that expensive and ineffective is simply the cost of doing business. Every tax dollar has the potential to do more. The question is whether we have the will and the skill to make that happen.

I do. My courtroom background has taught me to challenge assumptions, dismantle weak arguments, and build better ones. My earlier work in community economic development taught me that the most persistent problems aren't solved by spending more on the same approaches - they're cracked open by finding smarter, more sustainable ones. And building my own businesses from scratch taught me that every dollar has to justify itself in real results. That's the standard I'll bring to every vote: not "did we follow the process?" but "did it actually work?" Northcrest, and our City, deserves nothing less.

Northcrest is growing - and that's genuinely exciting. Our ward has been designated for intensification because people want to be here, businesses want to invest here, and this community has real momentum. The opportunity in front of us is enormous. The question isn't whether growth will happen. It's whether we'll be ready for it.

Done right, smart and proactive planning transforms that growth into something remarkable: roads and infrastructure built for the future, green spaces that anchor our neighbourhoods, community hubs that bring people together, and development that enhances rather than erodes the character of where we live. A Northcrest that grows well is a Northcrest that thrives - for us, and for the generations coming after us.

That's a vision worth fighting for - and fighting for it means having the discipline to plan ahead rather than react, to invest strategically rather than in crisis mode, and to hold ourselves accountable to the future we've committed to build. I've spent my career doing exactly that - developing strategy under pressure, executing through adversity, and pushing through hard problems to the right outcome. That's the energy and the accountability I'll bring to the Council table, every single day.

Peterborough has an extraordinary amount going for it - and it deserves representatives who will fight to make the most of every opportunity, at every level of government. Municipal issues don't stay neatly inside municipal boundaries, and effective advocacy means being willing to take Peterborough's case to the province, to federal partners, and to every table where this city's future is being shaped.

That means pushing hard for the infrastructure funding this city needs and deserves. It means ensuring Peterborough's voice is heard when provincial or federal decisions affect our communities. And it means tackling long-deferred challenges with the urgency they warrant - like the GE Vernova brownfield on Park Street. One of the largest contaminated sites in the region, sitting largely dormant with its future unresolved, represents both a challenge and a genuine opportunity: for remediation, for revitalization, and for a bold vision of what that land could contribute to this city's future. It's time for Peterborough to stop waiting and start advocating - loudly, clearly, and with a plan.

I know how to build a compelling case and make it stick. I know how to apply sustained pressure and not walk away from a problem because it's complicated or inconvenient. Peterborough has always punched above its weight. I intend to help it keep doing exactly that.

The best decisions come from the best conversations - and the best conversations happen when everyone who should be at the table actually is. An open, accessible City Hall isn't just good governance practice. It's the foundation on which everything else is built. When residents can genuinely participate in the decisions that shape their lives, and when elected representatives debate openly and decide transparently, the outcomes are better. Full stop.

That's the environment I'll work to create and protect. In my years of volunteer leadership - on boards, as Musical Director, as President of a community organization - I've seen again and again that the best outcomes emerge when people feel genuinely heard and trust that their voice matters. I'm not running to join a room where decisions are already made. I'm running to throw the doors open, bring the community in, and make sure the real conversation happens - every time, on every issue that matters to Northcrest and our City.

The most exciting thing about getting municipal governance right is what it makes possible - a city that works better for everyone, that's more resilient, more inclusive, and more prepared for whatever the future brings. Thinking broadly and long-term isn't a luxury or an afterthought. It's how good decisions get made.

That means building genuine, respectful relationships with First Nations communities - not as a legal obligation to be minimally satisfied, but as a foundation for better, wiser decision-making. It means ensuring that minority communities don't just have a seat at the table but a real voice in shaping outcomes. It means keeping our environmental future front of mind, because the decisions we make today will define the city our children inherit.

The most innovative and durable solutions consistently come from seeking out perspectives beyond the obvious ones. I know this from experience - my career began working at the margins, creating opportunity for youth and those most at risk, and those years taught me that the communities most often left out of the conversation frequently have the most to contribute to it. That instinct - to look further, listen wider, and build something better together - is at the heart of everything I want to bring to this role. Northcrest, and Peterborough, are worth getting this right.