The Platform
From 2022 Campaign
I have spent the vast majority of my life here in Paris, having moved here when I was 8 years old and visiting frequently when I lived in Brantford before that. I love this town of ours: kayaking in the Nith and the Grand, walking through our stunning trails, eating at our superb restaurants, and just enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the town.
In recent years, these aspects of Paris have begun to change. Our forested areas have been slowly cut down and replaced with developmental sprawl mandated by the provincial government. Our downtown now is busy, loud, and difficult to traverse either on foot or by car, and this trajectory does not seem to be reversing direction. While I understand that we are a growing community, and that there are demands from the federal and provincial governments, I refuse to believe we cannot preserve our small town charm. I believe we, and I as one of your Ward 2 councillors, can preserve what we love about our community while still advancing towards our collective future.
Please find below my platform and how I plan to restore Paris to the town I grew up in, and fell in love with, while moving forward into the green future that awaits us!
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is a key priority of mine, as, if they are lost, we cannot replace our forests, our rivers, or our land. We also cannot stop the approval of developments of our land, with the new mandate the provincial government received in last month’s election. What we can do in our beautiful community is implement a Green Development Standards plan, which will mitigate the reckless pursuit of suburban sprawl that has plagued our community this past decade, and ensure individuals and families can enjoy our natural wonders.
In Summary:
Implement a Green Development Standards plan to protect our environment
Enhanced composting and recycling programs
A Green Development Standards plan will hold developers to:
Increasing the density of builds, reducing the footprint of the development whilst still meeting the province’s development targets
Requiring developers to include more parks and green community spaces
Creating bird-friendly architecture to encourage our wildlife to stay local
Requiring detailed environmental studies to prevent development from damaging our wildlife
Revitalization and Affordability
Paris has a rapidly growing population and we need businesses to support that population. A lack og employment opportunities here in the County, in a diverse range of fields, does not benefit us.
I, myself, do not and cannot work in our beautiful town, as we do not have scientific or technology sectors in the County. This is also true for my peers, as many people I grew up with have left Paris to find work elsewhere. As councillor, I would work hard to bring more businesses and industries to into the County, so that future generations of Parisians can build a life where they grew up.
As a two-fold measure to combat the affordability crisis, I would advocate to end the exclusionary districting in Paris for new developments. This means requiring commercial spaces to be built in, and along side, housing developments like our beautiful downtown. This will encourage the new neighborhoods to be more walkable, create more spaces for new businesses, and provide more attainable housing.
In Summary:
Encourage more local business
Encourage diversified businesses so that those who grow up in the county can work locally
Eliminate exclusionary zoning
More attainable and affordable housing
Culture, Heritage, and Inclusivity
Our heritage, arts, and culture make Paris the community that it is! More events mean there’s more to do with your family and friends, and tourists will spend more time and money in our town. We need to ensure that our artists have the resources they need to thrive.
To that end, I’ll work hard to see that Lion’s Park has family-friendly events year-round; that the downtown can be a hub for local merchants and craftsmen to sell their goods at local markets; and that the Walker Press building can finally be put to use for the sake of the community. All this can be done while seeing new buildings constructed that reflect Paris’ rich architectural heritage.
In Summary:
Encouraging events all spring, summer, and fall in Lion’s Park
Work with the community/developers to turn Walker Press building into an artistic/cultural retail space
After traffic calming measured are implemented, pursue having markets/events every weekend in the summer in the downtown. Permanent patios instead of parking
Development encouraged to meet community fit and feel
Transportation and Infrastructure
Our community is at its breaking point in regards to transportation. Our downtown is plagued by traffic slowdowns and unsafe conditions as a result. I would look to solve this issue in three ways
We must first re-petition our provincial government to reconsider investing in traffic calming infrastructure, such as the Green Lane bypass in Ward 2. This piece of infrastructure is vital to redirect traffic away from the core of Paris, and finally enable the two halves of Ward 2 to be connected to each other without travelling through another Ward.
We must also continue to expand our County's access to public transportation. I would look to expand the hours of Brant Transit, reach out to the city of Brantford again to highlight to them the mutual benefits of merging bussing systems, and to negotiate with the provincial government and companies like Via Rail and GO to expand their rail services to Paris. These measures can ease traffic, and bring more tourists in on weekends to support local merchants!
We also need to improve the walkability of our town. We need more sidewalks and more pedestrian directed crosswalks (akin to what we used to have in our downtown), as well as address safety concerns due to the traffic in town.
In Summary:
Expand public transit
Pursue a commuter train station
Increase brant ride availability
Reapply to expand bus lines with Brantford
Improving walkability
Reducing traffic through downtown, re-pursuing Green Lane bypass to connect both sides of Ward 2
Improve Local Representation
Local governments affect your lives on a daily basis, and it’s important that you actually know what’s going on, and that your councillors actually reflect the communities they serve! If elected, I pledge to host community events so I can hear your opinions and concerns. I also promise to write to you monthly about the work that’s been done. I will also work to ensure that your vote matters in every election, by shifting municipal elections to a single transferable vote system.
My constituents will always be my #1 priority, and I’ll never make you think otherwise!
In Summary:
Pursue with the council/provincial government moving our municipal elections to a ranked ballot system: Single Transferable Vote
Hosting of regular community gatherings to stay in touch with the desires of the community
Direct communication
Wide office hours, quick response to digital communications
Monthly blog posts reviewing progress in the community
A easily searchable list of my voting record on issues presented at council to promote visibility and transparency