Originally published by Inside Halton as part of their 2026 Municipal Election coverage. You can read the original feature on Inside Halton.
Here are my responses:
What is your occupation?
I am a public policy and infrastructure asset management professional with over 13 years of relevant municipal sector experience acquired in Ontario.
I have administered federal funding programs for 440+ Ontario municipalities for 7 years, delivered technical assistance and coaching to 80+ Ontario municipalities, and advanced infrastructure asset management programs working as staff at 4 Ontario municipalities including Halton Region.
I currently serve on the Board of Directors for Asset Management Ontario (AMONTario), and as a Canadian Vice-Chair for the international ISO Technical Committee on Asset Management.
I invite you to learn more about my unique multi-faceted experience and professional background in detail here.
Do you live in Ward 3?
Yes.
What (if any) is your previous political experience?
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.
What are your priorities if elected?
- Scaling infrastructure first to manage growth while ensuring developers pay their fair share when approving new subdivisions. This, in addition to expanding non-residential tax base, will help limit future tax increases for homeowners.
- Optimizing transit routes and improving connectivity to schools, hospitals, employment hubs and places of worship to reduce traffic congestion.
- Establishing minimum acceptable service levels across all neighbourhoods, and delivering equitable services for all ages, from free transit for seniors and expanded youth programs to climate-resilient infrastructure and enhanced by-law enforcement to uphold shared community standards.
- Championing upstream investments in community housing, long-term care homes, community paramedicine program and homeless shelters to avoid the consequential downstream policing and healthcare costs. This proactive approach will free up policing resources to target organized property crime and auto theft.
- Implementing objective and transparent decision-making criteria developed in consultation with the community. This involves quarterly audits of Council decisions against these criteria by a new youth task force. By empowering our youth, we will be developing our next generation of community leaders. This approach also guarantees that Council remains accountable to the very generation that will inherit the long-term consequences of any short-sighted decisions made during the next term of Council.
