One Minute Plus

I was thrilled to see how many people made their way into the Caledon Community Centre last night for the All-Candidates Debate co-hosted by the Peel Federation of Agriculture and the Caledon Chamber of Commerce. A few hundred people filled the seats with the remainder lined across the back of the room.

Definitely the largest crowd this girl has ever stood before. A little scary but so exhilerating at the same time. And simply wonderful to know that so many people care enough about local government to come out and listen.

With over 20 candidates the evening’s hosts needed to enforce strict time constraints which meant most candidates received 2 questions with a one-minute time restriction. I felt challenged to answer the question “What unique experiences, skills or networks do you offer that will help bring positive change for the Town?” in one minute, so you’ll find my “one minute plus” answer here.

I think if you ask people who know me what my best skills are they’ll talk about organizational skills and leadership skills. After my husband and I moved to Bolton 20 years ago I found myself involved, as usual, in School Councils, and sunday school teaching. But from there my volunteerism bloomed.

In the space of a decade I founded the Nonprofit Community Connections Networking Club, Green T Environmental Awareness and Our Caledon Our Choice. OCOC gathered a petition of over 2300 signatures and, petition in hand, delegated Town Council communicating our message that Bolton residents felt we’d had enough growth for the time being and wanted our Council to adhere to the population forecasts in our Official Plan.

So while those organizational and leadership skills my friends talk about are definitely part of my make-up I feel very strongly that a unique skill I can bring to Council is an ability to be an initiator – to get people to take notice of what’s important, join in, become engaged, and work to make a difference.  Over the next 4-year term a strong Council will be needed to ensure the future we want.