I am proud to have spent most of my life in the Kawartha Lakes. I grew up on lake Scugog, went to public school at Doc Hall, high school at St. Thomas, and graduated from Fleming frost campus. Since college and for the last 15 years, I have worked as a heavy equipment operator and a licensed crane operator. My wife and I have two wonderful children. I travel to Toronto and the surrounding area often for work; and for a brief period, we lived in Kitchener. But home has always been the Lindsay area; our families and friends are here, and this is the community I want to serve and make an impact on.  

Why I’ve decided to run:

I have always had a desire to run for council, but I was never sure it was attainable - it seemed only older or retired people had the time. Several of my friends have encouraged me to run and have helped me realize that it is possible for a younger candidate to run and hold office, and that my differences from other candidates are a strength not a weakness. I follow City of Kawartha Lakes council meetings and when the by-election was called, I decided to launch my candidacy - knowing that I can bring a fresh and different perspective to council. I believe a more diverse council will lead to better outcomes for residents of Ward 5 and for all local citizens. I know I can be an asset to the community and council to help with the immediate and future issues facing the community. 

Issues:

One of my concerns is with the rapid rate of development in the area. We are building new homes which is great as more people in the area will bolster the community. At the same time however, we seem to be neglecting the infrastructure that all these new homes and residents will need. I see the homes being built but not the sewers or water pipes being upgraded. Can our water supply and treatment plant handle the increased demand? If we build 8000 homes in Lindsay that could mean 8000(plus) additional cars will be commuting around town. Are we prepared to handle that volume by making necessary investments in roads, bridges, pedestrian infrastructure, etc.?   

My other concern is with the affordability of housing. It does not help our community to build houses no one can afford. I would like to see more initiatives to help first time home buyers get into the local market. We have already had success with these kinds of initiatives in the past and I would like to see more. Another aspect of this concern is how expensive rent has become. I would like to encourage the building of apartment buildings instead of the current cookie cutter house rentals.

I would like to try and address the current homelessness and drug issues on our streets. We need to develop a plan with the long-term goal of getting people off the streets and the drugs out of our community. We should be pursuing help from higher orders of government to help municipalities develop facilities and shelter to help those struggling with addiction and mental health, and who are in desperate need of safe and secure housing.   

My last goal would be to bring more jobs to the area. For a community to be healthy and prosperous it needs good well-paying jobs. I will make this a top priority, and I will work with council, staff and all relevant partners to ensure everything possible is being done to bolster the region’s job market.  

Over the next couple years, I would like to see the council focus on jobs, infrastructure and making housing affordable for our community. I feel these things go hand in hand as success in one area will lead to success in the others. To succeed, we will need everyone to band together and work for the common good of our community in these trying times. I feel many of my concerns for our community apply directly to ward 5 and to the whole municipality. The street I live on has been riddled with potholes from the new homes being built, there are several homeless camps in the area and much of the infrastructure in ward 5 desperately needs to be upgraded to handle current and future demands.