“South Pender has been part of my life from the beginning.”
Rooted here.
Long before I ever thought about local government, South Pender was simply home - the island was my playground.
I grew up exploring its beaches, forests and shorelines. Those experiences gave me an appreciation for what makes this island extraordinary - and for what can be lost if we don't take care of it.
I had the honour and challenge of serving as North Pender’s trustee for the 2018-22 term. That experience taught me the need to find the right balance for resolving complex problems for the community as a whole. It also showed me that finding common ground can sometimes be a difficult and challenging task.
If elected as your trustee, one of my primary responsibilities is to LISTEN to the ideas and concerns of ALL community members and, where possible, to find the right balance so we can move forward together.
The coastal zone also holds important First Nations cultural heritage and history. The Islands Trust Act requires the Trust to provide meaningful consultation that respects First Nation’s rights and title where First Nations interests are affected. I fully support our South Pender Standing Resolution 2019-015 on respectful and meaningful consultation with representative First Nations.
If elected, I will give priority to the ecological mandate of the Trust as required by the Islands Trust Act. I recognize that change is inevitable. I believe that the guidance in our OCP that growth and development must be gradual and sustainable strikes the right balance for our community. Managing development so that it does not degrade the sensitive ecosystems and protects our community’s rural character is a primary responsibility that I fully support.
As a young boy, I explored the abundant forests of South Pender and marvelled at the mysteries of our beaches. Over the years I have witnessed the many changes that have taken place on our island, some positive and others detrimental to our fragile ecosystems and the rural character and way of life for our community.
If you elect me as your trustee, I will do my best to preserve what is positive about our community and protect what is precious in our environment. I am fully committed to uphold our OCP Vision Statement:
Our South Pender community is committed to preserve the rural nature and natural diversity of our island environment for future generations.
I was honoured at a W̱SÁNEĆ blanketing ceremony in 2024 at the Pender Islands Community Hall
“Community and music are essential to my life.”
I have dedicated my life to the cause of music education - and have helped foster and grow our fertile arts community.
As your trustee I will ensure that Trust resources are directed to protect our freshwater resources from the impacts of overdevelopment and accelerating climate change. I will also ensure that all available water sources needed for fire protection are identified as required by our OCP. I believe that we need a greater focus on protecting the sensitive ecosystems and species at risk along our coastal zone from the damaging impacts of development and climate driven sea rise and that will be one of my main priorities.
When I served as trustee between 2018 -2022, I was very concerned about the extent of the Trust bureaucracy and some of the structural inefficiencies that were not focused on supporting the Trust’s ecological mandate. I helped launch the 2021 Governance Review that charts a path for reforming the Trust governance and administrative processes.
The current Trust Council has largely ignored the Governance Review, expanded the bureaucracy and increased the Trust budget over the last 4 years. If elected as your trustee, I will work with likeminded trustees to implement key elements of the Governance Review, streamline the bureaucracy where inefficiencies exist and refocus Trust programs toward more effective and efficient implementation of the ecological mandate of the Trust.
As your trustee, I will ensure that our Local Trust Committee is accountable for every dollar spent and will work through Trust Council to find budget savings that will reduce your taxes where possible and prudent. As your trustee, fiscal accountability will be one of my main priorities.
I look forward to meeting with as many of you as possible over the next six weeks to hear your ideas and priorities for the coming term and any concerns you have so we can go forward together to support our community’s priorities, to protect our natural environment and to ensure that the Islands Trust is accountable to uphold the ecological mandate of the Trust.
