Council's Work and a Pen

This pen says a lot about City Council’s work.

Just last week, I was door knocking. A senior gentleman took me for a tour of his wood shop. He knows he only has a few years left in his house with a work space. He dreads losing his hobby as has happened to so many of his friends. This senior’s big desire is to donate his tools to a shop available for public use. But he told me he was getting nowhere sharing his vision.

Several days later, I learned about a well-organized group pursuing the same goal (www.makegp.org). A challenge ahead of them was gathering resources. But I knew someone they didn’t.

I went back to the man’s house to get him connected with the group. The smile on his face was priceless! He insisted I take this hand-crafted pen as a thank you.

I have many reasons to seek a seat on Council. I want to help build a budget that works for residents. I want to be a part of strengthening regional partnerships. I want to ensure we have the infrastructure and plans needed for decades of prosperity. I want to create a safe community for all of us. But more than anything else, I want to create a connected community. I want to help people come together to make Grande Prairie better.

If I get elected, I look forward to using this pen at Council meetings. The pen will remind me of what the job is about. Council needs to do the hard work of going out to listen to people’s hopes, concerns, and ideas. Then it needs to act on what it hears to get people working together. Doing the hard work of collaborating with our community is how Council can best help our city.

No matter what happens on October 16th, I am thankful for this gift. It’s a reminder about the impact we can have just by listening to others.