I was born and raised in Chatham-Kent to parents who came here from Norway to join the local farming and health-care communities.
My extended family and I live near Clear Creek Forest outside of Highgate.
I earned my secondary teaching qualifications in Christchurch, New Zealand and am now employed with two school boards as a secondary French and Visual Arts teacher.
I have a passion for world travel and have been blessed with an array of international experience both professionally and personally. I am a member of the board of directors for The Mary Webb Centre.
I envision a continuously healthy and happy Chatham-Kent whose council makes decisions in the best interest of as many residents as possible, and embraces the ideas and suggestions of the people they represent, with a focus on the fair division of services and facilities.
Would you support a tax freeze or rollback if it meant reduced staff or services?
No
Would you support an OPP costing study?
Yes
Would you support examining a volunteer-only fire service if the provincial arbitration system isn’t overhauled?
Yes
Do you believe we should continue our ongoing efforts to attract economic investment from China?
Yes, with the specific intent to bring business to the new industrial “condo” in Blenheim
Would you support contracting municipal services to the private sector if those services can be delivered more efficiently?
Yes, but only if more efficient with properly binding contracts.
Would you support investigating amalgamation of fire/ambulance/police services to reduce costs?
Yes
Would you support a municipal tree-cutting bylaw if it contained incentives for woodlot owners to retain/increase tree cover?
Yes
Do you believe we need a municipal ombudsman or ethics commissioner such as London and Windsor have added?
Yes
Would you consider developing a usage benchmark for municipal offices, arena and libraries and closing those that don’t meet the standards?
No. Small libraries are not costing a lot in the “big picture”. Libraries provide a safe space for children and youth in abusive circumstances and many are used for this. (Something the service reviews are missing!) Students who don’t drive or have access to the Internet are also using these spaces for schoolwork. We need to start recognizing how libraries are used for other purposes aside from lending material and build on this to facilitate them into becoming improved community spaces. Smaller communities deserve to keep their libraries.
Do you support development of a community-wide multipurpose recreation centre?
No. We need to curb spending on large dollar projects until we address bigger problems faced by the municipality. Imagine how small communities will react if their library is closed and they then see a large multipurpose reaction centre be built in Chatham. We need to start considering our smaller communities when making these decisions.
Do you support an adopt-a-park program in which service or volunteer groups assume some maintenance (grass cutting) of some municipal facilities?
Yes
Do you support investigating a reduction in the number of municipal councillors?
Yes. Why have we not considered the results of the Community Governance Task Force Study yet? We should have more wards, fewer councillors and make it a full time job.
Platform
I want a council which can make informed, evaluated, and sound decisions which are meeting the needs of the community at large. Circumstances change and will require us to adapt, therefore we need sustainability and resilience in order to promote stability.
Council’s decisions have an impact. Those decisions affect our daily lives and ability to operate. Those decisions also affect our image and reputation to prospective residents. Municipal governance has a responsibility to promote a healthy & balanced Chatham-Kent for not only the existing communities, but also for those looking for an affordable and prosperous place to live, work, have business and raise families.
We need to face our challenges head on and employ strategies that address the areas needing improvement, first, before venturing into large spending projects. We are a community of communities and Council is responsible to the whole municipality.
We need transparency and public engagement to encourage the public to get involved with their local governance. Councillors need to engage with their residents and represent their voices.
