And then there were two.
Right after Darrin Canniff announced he would seek the mayor’s chair this fall, Alysson Storey came forward to announce that she too is running for mayor.
It’s not a decision she takes lightly.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I always wanted to contribute more to my community in a more formal way in a leadership role,” she said. “I believe I have the experience and skill set and enthusiasm to do that.”
Storey, a champion of the Build a Barrier campaign for Highway 401, among other interests, sees the population decline in Chatham-Kent as something that must be halted.
“It’s no secret that one of the biggest issues we’re facing is population loss. That’s a real concern. The last census really raised some red flags to me. We lost about six per cent of our population overall,” she said.
But inside that figure is the fact that we’re losing young adults – ages 20-34 – at an even higher rate.
Storey thinks more can be done to stop the loss.
“We need to figure out why it’s happening and what we can do to stop it. If we’re losing folks in the prime of their family life and business life, we don’t have a strong future without that demographic here,” she said.
Storey believes it will take a community to lure that demographic back to C-K.
“There are different groups and departments and people working on it, but I think there needs to be a more collaborative effort,” she said. “We have a lot to offer them, but clearly that message isn’t quite getting through yet.”
To help deliver the message, Storey said she’d like to speak with other members of council, administration and members of the community to come to an agreement on how to best do it.
To her, dialogue, especially the ability to hear other people’s opinions, is important.
“A role as a leader is to listen … and surround yourself with great people and hear what they have to say,” she said. “I think my track record proves I can get the right people around the table. We can achieve our goals.
“If you’ve got passionate, intelligent, courageous people who want to work hard, you can achieve anything. I know we can do that in C-K.”
Storey believes it is time for a fresh approach to municipal government. She said the relationship between the municipality and senior levels of government has become strained.
“The last several years, the relationship between the municipality and the MP and MPP has suffered,” she said. “I know our MP and MPP and want to work more closely with them. I’ve got those relationships already well established.”
Storey said her work in lobbying for the concrete barrier along Highway 401 helped her realize how important working with the provincial and federal governments is.
“A lot of municipal issues are directly tied to provincial policy and provincial politics. If we don’t have a strong relationship with our provincial and federal counterparts, we’re not going to get anything done,” she said. “The province can provide a lot of funding and support. That’s who provides the lion’s share of the funding. A positive relationship there has got to benefit us.”
Storey said her time working for the municipality as manager of culture and special events provides her with added insight in how the municipality works.
“I have close to a decade of municipal government experience. I managed a multi-million-dollar budget. I have a strong background in how the municipality operates,” she said. “I feel I have the right experience and the right approach at the right time.
“I can hit the ground running.”
