1. What has been your biggest revelation about serving Airdrie?
My biggest revelation about serving Airdrie as a Councillor was the significant amount and number of questions that I would need to be asking. When in the seat of Council, it is important to ask critical questions and lots of them. Many of these questions arise during Council’s prep time, receiving reports and presentations, and when meeting with community. The role of Council has been very different for me from when I previously worked for municipal government as a member of the administrative team. In that role, I was providing information and answers, with data and research to Council. This shift took a short bit to get used to. Overall, this added to the revelation of an opportunity in speaking similar languages with context and allowed me to dig deeper with questioning, regarding implications, impacts, clarification, and connectivity of the material in serving Airdrie.
“The right question is already half the solution of a problem.” – Carl Jung
2. What do you see as your biggest success to date?
For me, a major success has been alignment with the rest Council team. Working together to find common ground, shared values, and mission to serve Airdrie wholeheartedly. Each Council member has strengths in serving Airdrie, with different perspectives towards making strong decisions. Co-creating alignment with a vision that allows the mission to be well executed for Airdrie’s sustainability is one of our greatest strengths. Our strategic focus areas for this term concentrate on infrastructure, recreation, and a unique combination of economic development, cultural planning, and community building. We are focused on these areas and believe we are executing on them with well, supported by an incredible Administrative team. I would also say that our biggest success overall, is the people of Airdrie! It truly is the biggest success for Airdrie to have our residents, businesses, non-profit organizations, and volunteers showing up in meaningful ways, every day. That is our biggest success to date and I am so proud to be part of it.
3. What do you feel is your biggest challenge moving into the next year?
I feel the challenge next year is continuing to balance our growth with infrastructure demands while strengthening our economic ecosystems. Airdrie has been in ‘catch up’ mode over a significant period of time and there is much needed infrastructure to support the intentional growth of this city. This will involve every decision to be made while reviewing competing priorities, financial realities, long-term planning, while servicing a wide range of diverse needs with residents in Airdrie. The biggest challenge is deciding what is critical to move Airdrie on a path of sustainability. Over the next year and term, we will need to be providing investments in infrastructure to support growth and continuing to build a strong business environment. It will take a village with many moving parts and I know that Airdrie is ready for it.