If we compare serving as an elected official to running a restaurant, my 13 years of relevant experience in the municipal sector looks like this:
- I spent over seven years with an “association of restaurants,” actively advocating on behalf of owners, developing policy positions on the common challenges they face, and finding practical solutions.
- I worked as staff in multiple kitchens, learning the daily grind everywhere from fast-paced city franchises to seasonal town diners. My role was not just limited to the kitchen; it involved understanding every operational aspect of the business.
- I managed the government grants that keep local restaurants fiscally sustainable when operating costs and rents are too high, and customers cannot afford to pay higher prices.
- I collaborated directly with provincial inspectors to draft the exact operational and safety compliance codes that every restaurant is now legally required to follow.
- I sit on regional communities of practice, national working groups, and international committees that set the gold standard for how to run a sustainable, high-quality restaurant.
So, while I have never owned a restaurant business myself, do I have the relevant experience to step in and manage one successfully?
I believe I do.
I decided to run for the Regional Councillor position in Milton Ward 3 because of this unique, multi-faceted background. My career has focused on public policy design, delivering capacity-building initiatives, administering federal funding programs, developing regulatory requirements, optimizing municipal infrastructure portfolios, and helping municipalities adopt international best practices.
These specific skills are exactly what is needed to scrutinize technical staff reports and lead advocacy efforts with other levels of government so that Milton gets its fair share of funding.
I do not plan to run for Mayor in the future, nor do I have any ambition to enter provincial or federal politics. I am passionately focused on the municipal sector. I am running for Council to do a specific job, and I have the technical ability to actually deliver on my promises.