It's an election year...but let's get to work!

On January 4th, people all across Ontario began registering as candidates for the fall 2010 Municipal elections. Without a doubt, municipal government is an extremely important and yet often overlooked level of government that people should pay more attention to.

It was three years ago that the current council began its' work. That means there is almost one year left in the term.

As a Councillor, I have made a decision to focus on the remaining 10 months of my term and to do the job that I was elected to do three years ago. Over the next 10 months, we have a lot of work that needs to be done; we have only begun work on the 2010 budget, a budget that will see impacts to roadwork, recreational infrastructure, services and programs throughout the Township of Wilmot.

I have always said that being on Council is a job that you can only do as long as you love doing it. I absolutely love serving this community and doing the work that I've been elected twice to do. It is extremely rewarding and I want to continue to be a great role model for my children.

It is a fact that I have not yet made a decision as to the direction I will take in the fall of 2010. My wife Amy and I will sit down together closer to the summer and consider what is best for our family, my career and the Township. Having said that I also see a few risks in registering as a candidate this early as well as a risk declaring an intention not to seek re-election: as there is still 10 months left in this term I want to be able to focus on doing my job for as long as possible and I don't want people to interpret decisions I make actions I take to be part of a grand re-election plan. Accordingly, let's focus on working, and not politicking.

There are a number of projects that i have taken on and have a particular interest in which I would like to focus on over the next 6 months. To be fair to the community and to myself, I have to focus on finishishing what I started!