What matters

Open Government and Transparency

I believe residents should be able to see how their local government reaches important decisions.

Transparency is more than posting an agenda or putting a report somewhere on a website.

Information needs to be available, understandable and easy to find.

Information Before Decisions

Whenever possible, residents should have access to important reports, plans, costs and background information before Council makes a major decision.

People cannot provide meaningful input if they do not have the information Council is using.

Public consultation should happen early enough that residents can actually influence a decision, not after most of the important decisions have already been made.

Explain Decisions Clearly

Council will sometimes make decisions that not everyone agrees with.

That is part of local government.

But residents should be able to understand why a decision was made, what information was considered, what it will cost and what happens next.

Clear information builds trust, even when people disagree with the final decision.

Questions Are Part of Good Government

I believe councillors should be able to ask direct and sometimes difficult questions.

Residents should be able to do the same.

Asking for clarification, questioning a cost or challenging an assumption should not automatically be treated as criticism of staff or Council.

Respectful questions can identify problems, improve decisions and help everyone better understand the issue.

Closed Meetings

There are legitimate reasons why some matters must or may be discussed in a closed meeting. Privacy, legal matters and certain land negotiations are examples where confidentiality can be necessary.

But I believe Council should make every reasonable effort to conduct the public's business in public.

When a meeting needs to be closed, I believe residents should be given as much information as reasonably possible about the general subject being discussed without revealing information that needs to remain confidential.

Simply citing a section of the Community Charter may satisfy a legal requirement, but it does not always tell residents very much about why their Council is meeting behind closed doors.

For example, where it can legally and responsibly be disclosed, residents could be told that Council will be discussing a land matter, an employment matter, legal advice or another general subject, along with the section of the Community Charter that allows the discussion to be closed.

When information discussed in a closed meeting no longer needs to remain confidential, I support reviewing it for release and making as much information public as the law allows.

Closed meetings should protect information that genuinely needs protection. They should not become a substitute for open discussion.

Follow Decisions From Start to Finish

I would like residents to have a simple way to follow important Council decisions.

Where the information is available, residents should be able to see what was proposed, what Council decided, how Council voted, what stage the work has reached and whether it has been completed.

Much of this information already exists in agendas, minutes and reports. We can do a better job of bringing it together so residents do not have to search through months of documents to find out what happened.

Accountability Includes Me

Transparency also applies to the people asking for your vote.

I believe residents should be able to look back at what I said during this election and compare it with what I actually do if elected.

I would keep a public record of my main commitments and periodically report on where they stand, including what I supported, what I brought forward, what has been completed and what has not happened.

One councillor cannot promise every outcome. Council decisions require a majority.

What I can be accountable for are the questions I ask, the motions I bring forward, how I vote and whether I follow through.

Open government does not mean everyone will agree.

It means residents can see what is happening, understand why decisions are being made and hold the people they elected accountable.