My Story

My partner and I moved to Squamish from Hamilton, Ontario in 2009, drawn by the mountain beauty and small town feel. As someone who discovered snowboarding and mountain biking in their 30s, Squamish was a natural place to settle — though these days I find little time for those activities.

Software development continues to be my primary source of income. Among other things, music has been a long-time passion of mine, and as a co-founder and continuing volunteer for Amped in the Park I have developed enough skill to also work as a live sound tech (and also frequently volunteer in that capacity).

Over the years, I have served on the boards of Squamish Arts, Tourism Squamish, the Chamber of Commerce, and Inside Edge (Squamish's Knowledge-based Industry Association) — even serving as chair for the latter two. Extending beyond Squamish, I spent time as the chair of the BC Green Party during the era of the CASA agreement with the John Horgan NDP government.

Beyond board participation, I love being part of community events, from running sound at Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival and many other community events requiring audio support, to putting in time on SORCA trail days, helping out with Our Squamish bike valets, and participating in the Brackendale Fall Fair, Balding for Dollars fundraisers, and Spawkwus Feather Park Showdowns.

My long involvement with the Chill Foundation Youth Development Program — both while in Ontario and continuing after we moved to Squamish — has helped me retain an important perspective on the challenges we face every day.

Given all of this, it was inevitable that I would end up spending many Tuesday evenings watching Council meetings with former Alderman and Council watchdog Terrill Patterson — and that I would eventually end up on Council myself.

I've been fortunate to have colleagues who come to meetings well-informed, well-prepared, able to debate vigorously and respectfully. I am not afraid to be on the losing end of a 6-1 vote when it's the right thing to do, but I'm also not afraid to compromise and give other ideas a try when that is the better path. I bring dedication to our community, determination, experience, and a track record of using every avenue available to work on the things that are important to Squamish. I vote my conscience, while considering the impacts of my decisions on the diverse range of people in our community.

Although they can't vote yet, the decisions we make today will have a lasting impact on the youth in our community tomorrow. Giving Squamish's youth a voice for their future was a lot of work, and an immense pleasure. This year's participants gave me hope for our future, and if re-elected, I hope to dedicate my time to the Youth Council once more.

My participation on Squamish Council has also allowed me to serve as a Director for the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Hospital Board. These bodies help ensure that Squamish and our wider region are working together on common goals. This work includes things like securing the majority of the funding for Squamish Hospital's new CT scanner, and pushing for decisions that avoid creating more congestion on Highway 99.

Many of Squamish's challenges are shared by communities across BC, and many of these challenges result from provincial decisions and requirements. It's important, but not sufficient, to only pull together as a region. Council and my elected peers across the Lower Mainland have elected me as the 1st Vice President for the LM LGA.

The LM LGA lobbies the province for solutions to issues shared by local governments representing nearly 70% of BC's population. Advocacy topics include everything from asking the province to fulfill its obligations on housing, homelessness, and addictions, mental health and health services, and support for seniors. We advocate for restoring investment in infrastructure and transit, especially while the province is determined to enforce housing growth targets on communities. There's a very long list of other topics where we're asking the province to step up to its responsibilities. While we push the province to do better, we also serve as a platform for communities to share solutions for common problems. The LM LGA is not a magic solution for all of Squamish's challenges, but it is an example of how I use every tool available to tackle the challenges we face.

While I am fortunate to be elected to Council, I am also a citizen of Squamish. Just like every other member of our community, my colleagues and their families, my partner and I bear the same tax increases, depend on the same services, and deal with the same benefits and challenges of growth and affordability.

I don't have the luxury of ignoring these issues, but I do have an obligation to address them within the constraints imposed by the province, with consideration for the long-term impacts of our decisions, and with an awareness that a solution for one citizen can be a problem for another.