When former City Councillor, Jenna Sudds, was successful in being elected as a Member of Canada’s Parliament, a number of colleagues, friends, neighbours and Kanata residents reached out to me to ask me if I would consider filling the now-vacant Ward 4 spot on Council. I didn’t consider it at first as I quite enjoy the life I have right now—teaching occasionally, serving on many of our city’s impactful boards and gradually working on my Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology online. However, I thought about it longer and, given the encouragement of the people whose opinions I respect, I decided that I could and I would. Given that I only take the required courses for my program when it fits into my schedule, I have a flexible end date for the degree I am taking. (I plan to be a psychotherapist for children and youth sometime in the next 5-10 years.) Frankly, most people in my family live to be 100, so I have always tried to plan my life on that 100-year time line. So, I can do this now. And, given the decades I have chosen to serve my community in so many different capacities, my experience would make me an excellent candidate. Moreover, I feel that even with only 11 months remaining in the term, I feel that I could bring the concerns of Kanata North residents to the table as I did as a school trustee and Chair of the OCDSB. Meaningful consultation for me meant meeting with all of Kanata’s school council chairs and community associations once a month. I looked forward to doing that again.
