I’m running now because I love Owen Sound and when I love something I work to care for it. Our community is facing a number of challenges and I want to be part of the team working to meet them. I’ve been disappointed in the approach of the current and recent councils on a range of issues from community engagement and housing action to the climate crisis. I figured I could keep writing letters to the editor and sending resources to Council or I could put my name on the ballot and try to support the work our community needs.

I think that the way council works with each other, the community, and other municipalities and levels of government needs to improve. I want to see our conversations at Owen Sound City Council prioritize quality of life in the city and not measure our success only by the tax rate. We could be doing more to partner with neighbouring municipalities and lobbying for the support we need from the provincial and federal governments. How we work will determine what we produce. I believe that the best possible decision on any issue will come from effective community engagement, thoughtful debate, and deep research. We can help to ensure that type of outcome by also assessing issues using a triple bottom line approach that measures fiscal responsibility alongside social and environmental costs and benefits.

Personally, as someone who was born and raised here with deep family roots. I’ve got a solid understanding of where Owen Sound has been and what it is like to live here for people of all generations. I’ve also volunteered extensively with community groups beginning when I was in middle school at Strathcona. Recently my volunteer work has mostly been with Summerfolk where I’m on the promo committee and weekly radio show called Georgian Bay Roots, the Roselawn Bowling Club where I’m a board member responsible for promotions and grant writing (we secured more than $90,000 in grants this year), and as a MC at various community events from Earth Day to Ride Don’t Hide and Summerfolk.

Professionally I bring experience as an entrepreneur, facilitator, program manager, network coordinator, and freelance writer. I know how to research issues, build consensus across diverse groups, and communicate effectively. I can look at issues from multiple perspectives, learn from other’s experiences, seek creative solutions, bring projects in on budget, and raise awareness and understanding on complex topics.

I want this to be a community where people can live well with dignity and equity regardless of their age, income, race, religion, or anything else. I envision a city government that collaborates with individual members of the community, community groups, neighbouring municipalities, and other levels of government to meet our local needs. I envision a community that is building resilience to meet the challenges of the climate crisis, affordability crisis, our fiscal constraints, and the challenges they all bring. I envision a community where everyone has a safe place to live, enough food to eat, the ability to move around, and a sense of belonging.

Homelessness and poverty are issues here. They increase suffering and reduce the ability of individuals to participate fully in our community. I think that City Council needs to consider the impact of every action on the most vulnerable and act accordingly. I don't think City Hall can end homelessness but it absolutely has a role to play in reducing suffering here with effective housing policy and by partnering with organizations to provide things like warming centres, bathrooms, etc.

I really believe in the work of the poverty task force on that front https://povertytaskforce.com/ and I think that the City would do well to partner more actively with them

The drug poisoning epidemic is a problem that is amplified by stigma. There are a lot of possible solutions, most of which a municipality can't implement on their own but that we could be voicing support for like decriminalizing possession. offering safe consumption sites, supporting drug testing (so folks know what's in what they're taking), and addressing the underlying suffering that so often leads to addiction.

Locally the drug and alcohol strategy is doing great advocacy work on those issues

https://drugstrategy.org/ I think we should be taking their lead.

I think that development is necessary. I do not think that all development is good development. The most recent Council waved development charges for purpose built rentals but did not include any stipulation for a percentage of affordable housing. The project at the former RCA building alone waved 3.5 million dollars in development charges but without a guarantee of affordable housing the people most in need of housing locally (which includes the elderly and young families) will be excluded from this development if they can’t pay market rent which is increasingly difficult. If the City is going to wave fees and give money to developers then we need to make sure that community needs are being met in exchange. Similarly, I think that we could be using development charge exemptions to incentivize denser, more affordable, and more environmentally friendly forms of development. I also think that Owen Sound needs to find ways to support more creative non-profit and cooperative housing developments.

Compact mixed-use development that mixes commercial and residential uses is the best way to make more walkable, sustainable, and vibrant cities. We need to make sure that our zoning supports this kind of best practice.

I think that short-term rentals need to be regulated.
My greatest concern with short term rentals (STR’s) like Airbnbs is their impact on the housing crisis as investors buy property and convert long-term rentals into the more profitable STRs. This removes housing stock from the market making it harder for folks to find places to live in our community. . These are known as non-owner occupied STRs. They also reduce community bonds and relationships when people don’t know their neighbours. I also recognize that some people successfully rent portions of their principal residences to offset the costs of homeownership in an increasingly unaffordable market. Additionally, we’ve seen energetic discussion recently about the strain for neighbours as well as our emergency response and community services when STRs are managed poorly or attract boisterous renters. It should be noted however that disturbances are not uniquely the result of STRs, property owners and long-term renters can also be bad neighbours.

Many communities have wrestled with the proper way to balance the costs and benefits of STRs. (See this website for an incomplete list https://www.ocrma.ca/str-bylaws/). As with any issue, I think our best response as a municipal government and community is to accurately assess the scope of the issue locally, learn from what has worked other places, facilitate conversations to hear the needs, concerns, and desires of the people of Owen Sound, and develop a robust regulatory framework. Regulation lays out what can happen and where. Enforcement follows up to support the boundaries and requirements of the regulation. If we aren’t creating mechanisms to support our bylaws then the bylaws are meaningless.

Personally, I’m in favour of licensing short and long-term rentals so that we have accurate data about what is happening here - to my knowledge there is no local data on how many STRs are operating or what type they are - as well as additional financial resources to enforce the guidelines and regulation we develop as a community. All of this should be focused on making it easier for folks to have and to be good neighbours while protecting the rental housing market from inflation driven by speculators and investors.

Check out these articles from Municipal World for some more background on the issues and possibilities surrounding STRs
https://www.municipalworld.com/feature-story/short-term-rentals-local-regulation-strategies-part-1/

https://www.municipalworld.com/feature-story/short-term-rentals-10-best-practices-for-enforcement-part-2/

https://www.municipalworld.com/feature-story/short-term-rentals-the-big-picture-part-3/

I would be disappointed to not see the City create a Housing Action Plan with significant community input so that we better know what the housing ecosystem currently looks like (number and types of units and their uses), the current policies and practices the City has in place that impact housing, best practice from other communities, the current need, and so we have a clear plan for how all of the tools at our disposal as both a municipal government and community at large can work together.

I would also be disappointed to not see the development and adoption of a formal framework that lays out a triple bottom line analysis so that we know how Council is making decisions and whether those decisions are consistent with the lenses we claim to be using.