POLICY FOCUS
Civic Technology, Communication, and Governance
We are revolutionizing how Stratford connects and operates. By modernizing our procedural bylaws for remote access, launching civic education, and creating informal spaces for dialogue, we are building a more accessible city hall. Our vision integrates tiered community support and smart technology to streamline internal workflows and accelerate public data access, ensuring our government is as responsive as our residents deserve.
Key Proposals
Implement Remote Participation
Help implement the remote participation changes from Stratford's completed procedural bylaw review. Stratford has now finished its first comprehensive procedural bylaw review since 2007. The work now is making sure what was approved actually gets built, real remote and electronic participation infrastructure, not a policy that exists on paper but never gets used, and a genuinely streamlined committee structure rather than the same process with new language. I want to be part of turning that review into working practice. I also want that same infrastructure extended past meeting attendees to future candidates and councillors themselves, since I want to be a voice for young parents who currently can't picture serving on council alongside raising a family. The same technology that lets a resident join a meeting from home should let more people run for office in the first place.
Tiered Community Grants
Restructure Stratford's Community Grants Program into clear funding tiers. I want to introduce distinct categories within our community grants program: a smaller tier for new, small-scale community initiatives and pilot projects, and a larger tier for projects that have been running for a couple of years, proven themselves, and are ready to grow, each awarded for a defined term rather than an open-ended annual entitlement. Right now, the program doesn't distinguish between a group testing a new idea and a group that's received the same grant every year for a decade, and it should. I also want a rule that grant dollars go toward programs and projects, not administrative overhead like staff salaries or rent, and that receiving a grant one year is never a guarantee of receiving it the next.
Lead Civic Education
Lead civic education efforts so residents know which level of government is responsible for what. I want to bring the same thinking that led me to found a civic technology company focused on government transparency into how Stratford communicates with residents, starting with clearer, plain-language updates and better digital tools so people can follow what council is doing without first needing to understand municipal process. A confused public can't hold the right level of government accountable, and civic education is where that starts.
Smart Tools, Faster Service
Adopt technology that frees up staff time for the work only people can do, and speeds up what the public can see. I want Stratford actively evaluating new tools to automate the routine, repetitive parts of staff workplans wherever it makes sense, so the time that gets freed up goes toward actually implementing the major projects and plans already in motion, rather than paperwork a system could handle instead. The same shift should show up on the public side. A resident asking about a file should be able to get a fast, clear answer on where it stands and how it got there, the history and the current status together, instead of only hearing about a decision once it's already made.
Council & Director Nights
Establish monthly informal council and director nights. I want to create a rotating, informal evening where a small group of councillors and a city director meet residents outside the formal council setting, to hear what's on people's minds and explain what's been happening on their files. Formal council meetings aren't always the easiest format for two-way conversation, and this closes that gap.
Modernize City Government
Support our efforts to restructure the Community Grants Program into clear funding tiers and adopt productivity-enhancing technology. Together, we can free up staff for human-centric work and make city data more transparent for everyone.