On the Issues

My family put down roots in Georgian Bluffs 17 years ago because we wanted to raise our kids somewhere that believes in hard work and looking out for your neighbour. I want to show up for that. Since being appointed in November 2025, I’ve found the job is about the details. I read the reports, walk the sites and ask the question nobody else asked. I like that work, and I’m asking for your vote to keep doing it.This is an important moment for our township. We have real pressures including aging roads and bridges, growth, and the rising cost of living. I remain optimistic. Georgian Bluffs has what it takes, and the next four years will shape where we end up.Residents call me about lake access, rezoning appeals and severances, and I take the time to understand each issue. I listen first, talk it through, then decide how to present it for the best result for residents and the municipality.I bring more than 25 years of experience in technology and operations and a habit of answering emails and picking up when someone calls. I want to help steer Georgian Bluffs in the right direction, with honesty and integrity.

I’m currently a councillor with the Township of Georgian Bluffs, appointed in November 2025.I also serve on several volunteer boards. Notably, I’m deputy chair of CMHA Grey Bruce, which is a governance role, and on the board of the WOAA. Past experience includes Chatsworth Minor Hockey, Keady Community Board of Management, Saugeen Shores Soccer, Tara Minor Soccer, the Township’s Property Standards Committee, and several more. On each one, the job comes down to keeping an open mind, respecting fellow board members, considering the people who use the service, managing the money, working as a team and making the tough calls.Professionally, I’ve held many roles in technology. The past 10 years have been in leadership, covering sales, operations, vendor management and service delivery. Today I’m an independent consultant helping technology companies improve their operations.That experience, and the flexibility of my work, make me a good fit for council. The flexibility means I have the time to do the job properly and attend all meetings.

Being effective isn’t just keeping the wheels on. It’s seeing around the corner and steering us in the right direction.I do the work. I read the reports, ask for the trade-offs, and separate what we need from what would be nice. Then I decide. Municipal process is slow at the best of times, and the cost of doing nothing can be higher than the cost of a move that isn’t exactly right. I’d rather decide with the information we have than ask for another study just to delay. Where a decision can’t be undone, I’ll take the time to get it right. I’m willing to try things, as long as the mistakes are low impact.I’m a good listener, to residents and to the other councillors. An open mind and real curiosity mean I have all the facts before I reach a conclusion.I also see myself as a teammate. One person can’t do everything well, so I look for what needs doing and fill the gap. I dive in to the parts I’m not sure are getting enough scrutiny, so nothing gets by without scrutiny.

I’ll start with what the township controls and what it doesn’t. The County and school boards set their own shares of your tax bill, and the township’s share is a bit more than half. Many issues the province should be solving are landing on municipalities. That’s not an excuse. It’s a call to action, and delegations to provincial ministers, including joint delegations, are one way to secure funding for specific projects.With food and fuel costs rising, it’s unreasonable to keep asking ratepayers for more, even as it costs more to run the township. I’ll push to keep increases modest, predictable, and only when required.But cost of living isn’t only the tax rate. Fees, permit delays and the price of taking part in community life add up too. I’ll ask that user fees, recreation costs and approval timelines get the same scrutiny as the tax rate, so families and seniors can still afford to take part and builders and small businesses aren’t paying for months of delay. For people without a car, transit connections matter too.The bottom line is that we have to watch every dollar and avoid raising taxes wherever we can.

People care about value for their dollar, and that includes taxes.The 2026 budget passed a 4.76% township increase, under council’s 5% target, which was set before I joined council.I don’t take a tax increase lightly. It’s especially hard on people on fixed incomes. These increases are driven by inflation, road and bridge costs, and catching up on infrastructure that was put off. Those costs are real, but we need to be more creative in what we invest in and how we pay for it. Are there grants available, even if we have to use them creatively? Is there waste we can trim?If a fellow ratepayer asks, can we justify the value for the dollar? I’ll aim to hold future increases to a minimum, and only to what we can defend. I’ll keep asking for a clear explanation of what each tax dollar buys. People deserve to see the value, not just the bill.Steady planning is also kinder to taxpayers than one big increase after another. That’s why I want asset management and long-range budgeting to be a priority for council.

Affordability. It sits beneath everything else we talk about: taxes, housing, and whether our young people and seniors can stay here.Costs are going up for everyone, including the township, and our roads, bridges and recreation facilities still need to be maintained. At the same time, a housing shortage pushes young people to leave and makes it harder for seniors to age in place.I will focus on three things. First, hold township increases to only what we can justify line by line. This may mean putting non-essentials on hold. Second, bring in outside money and share resources so each local dollar goes further. There are many grants that we haven’t explored yet. Third, make it easier to build affordable, smaller homes on existing lots, which adds housing for seniors and for young people starting out.We already have the plans, including a 2024 asset management plan and a 2025 to 2030 strategic plan. Now we need to finish what’s in them and report back to residents on what got done. The next four years are the time to do it.

Rural people need to get to villages and cities for work, appointments and enjoyment, and some don’t have their own transportation. That matters for our economy and for equity.An inter-county system should be a web connecting cities, villages and hamlets. That might mean airport-shuttle-sized buses and on-demand service rather than fixed routes, connecting to hubs in small urban centres instead of door-to-door service. If we drop the idea of city-sized buses driving empty down rural roads and focus on meeting the need, we may land on something affordable.For Georgian Bluffs, that could be a small vehicle that picks you up in a place like Shallow Lake and gets you to the Owen Sound terminal for your transfer, on one fare, with a phone number to book, not just an app. Start small, count riders, and expand where it’s working. We may grow to apply the same principle to inter-County transit.Funding should come from the counties and riders, plus provincial or federal grants. An affordable user-pay model is fair to taxpayers and users. If the township is asked to contribute, residents should see what they’re getting.

We need to maintain our infrastructure responsibly. Every road, bridge and building has a lifecycle, and fixing something at the right time costs far less than replacing it after it fails. The township’s 2024 Asset Management Plan covers over $400 million in assets and gives us lifecycle data for most. I want that data driving what we fix and when.We also need to bring in other people’s money. I’m a big proponent of chasing every grant available, especially for big projects. Our recreation upgrades were almost 50% covered by the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund. There are many more grants on the table. We need to be ready and flexible to apply for any available grants at all times.I like sharing equipment with our neighbours and the County rather than each of us buying our own. Minto and Niagara-on-the-Lake received AMO’s 2026 Municipal Innovation Award for theirs. Minto leased a grader from Niagara-on-the-Lake instead of buying one, and Niagara-on-the-Lake leased a tractor from Minto. I’ll push for us to investigate efficiencies like that.Last, save before we spend. Building reserves steadily is cheaper than borrowing in a crunch, and it spares residents a big increase when something breaks.Not everything can be done at once. When something has to wait, residents deserve to hear that plainly, with a date.

The best tool for Georgian Bluffs is to craft legislation and the best time to start is now.Georgian Bluffs might be an attractive target for an AI data center. We have great access to the power grid and plenty of water. It’s not unlikely that we are on a corporation’s short list for potential locations. We will want to analyze the opportunity against the costs very carefully.Once the impacts are known, Georgian Bluffs should pass appropriate bylaws. It’s possible to create restrictive bylaws that give the township the right to approval on a case by case basis. It is possible to create bylaws that outright reject AI data centers. We need to do what’s in the best interest of our residents, is environmentally responsible, and respects our way of life.Preserving our rural way of life and protecting the environment matter to residents here, and large AI data centres aren’t a natural fit with either. I want rules strong enough to reflect that.

I think there’s a lot we can do to add housing without changing what makes this township rural. Wells and septic are the real limit on housing in much of Georgian Bluffs, and any plan that ignores servicing isn’t a plan.Within those limits, housing here doesn’t have to mean another subdivision. It can be a backyard suite, temporary housing for a family caring for a parent, or a tiny home under clear and reasonable rules. It also means housing for seniors, so people can downsize and stay in the community, which frees up family homes.New growth belongs in our hamlets and villages where services exist, not scattered across farmland and shoreline.We can also take cost and delay out of the process without spending taxpayer dollars. If a backyard suite is already permitted in our zoning, people shouldn’t need a rezoning, with its fees and months of waiting. A quick meeting with staff before someone applies means they know the requirements from day one.Affordability means rentals as well as ownership. The County holds most of the affordable housing funding, so if our zoning and sites are ready, we can get projects built here on our terms.

Most arenas have a 50 year life expectancy, and ours are generally at that age or older. They’ve been repurposed to suit our needs, and they’ve served us well, but we can’t assume that continues without a plan.The Township continues to maintain our only ice-surface arena in Shallow Lake in excellent condition. Just this year, we invested in new AODA compliant doors. Continued investment in this arena is essential as it sees the most use.Facilities should support what residents want, whether that’s pickleball, a community gathering place, or to host a buck and doe. Due to our vast geography, facilities seldom overlap as each recreational facility supports the local community. Recreational facilities are expected to cost the township money in exchange for bettering the quality of life of our residents. As long as they do that job at a reasonable price, I support maintaining them in the most cost-effective method.If a facility should get beyond the point of economical maintenance, I would recommend that we pursue grants and partnerships with community groups and volunteers to fund replacement.

I’d support opting in only if the staff analysis shows a clear benefit to the township and residents can see that proposed locations protect schools and neighbourhoods.Georgian Bluffs currently opts out of retail cannabis. In July 2026, council directed staff to analyze the economic development impact, and I voted in favour of that research. It’s important to understand this issue well, because opting in can’t be reversed.Since it’s a one-way door, I want the decision made after the staff analysis and public input. I’d ask that the analysis put a real number on the revenue the township would actually see, because it may be modest, and local consumers can already get cannabis easily from stores in neighbouring municipalities.On one side are jobs, business profitability and displacing illicit sales. On the other are concerns about proximity to schools and public health. Both deserve a fair hearing.