Council has spent quite a bit of time over the past few months reading resumes and interviewing a slate of absolutely fantastic applicants for the position of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Naturally I can’t talk about any of them individually, but one thing that stood out from the candidates that were interviewed is that theyContinue reading “Management vs Leadership”
Tag Archives: Brighton Ontario
Multiple Representation in Politics
In my day job as a REALTOR®, “multiple representation” refers to when the same agent or brokerage represents both sides of a transaction. It’s an important issue, because when the same agent represents two parties at the same time they have opportunities for a conflict of interest, or simply favouring one side over the other.Continue reading “Multiple Representation in Politics”
The Year Ahead: 2024
At this time of year we see a lot of “a year in review” reflections, but I’m even more of a fan of thinking about the year ahead. First of all, because we humans tend to be terrible at thinking about the future, and it takes practice; and secondly, because it’s an opportunity to reflectContinue reading “The Year Ahead: 2024”
How We Budget
It’s budgeting season again, and counting the 2023 budget (which was completed early in the year) and the Lower Trent Conservation Authority budget (which was completed this week), my third time through the process this year. I’ve noticed a few approaches to budgeting that, while common, concern me. Hold the Line The first is theContinue reading “How We Budget”
What’s a Wetland?
2023 in Brighton municipal politics has been dominated by one development proposal. We held public meetings in January to get a look at the proposal, and the matter will finally be defined this week, on December 11th. I don’t normally talk about matters that are currently being considered, and I’m not here to talk aboutContinue reading “What’s a Wetland?”
What’s a CAO?
While most municipalities post their organizational chart, or at least job titles on their contact us page, you’d be forgiven for not knowing every position in the organization by their initials. But the post of CAO, or Chief Administrative Officer, is one that you should know. And it helps to know a bit about howContinue reading “What’s a CAO?”
How to Speak to Council
One of the most important ingredients of a healthy democratic society is citizen voice: do regular people have the ability to speak up about issues they care about, address themselves to their elected officials, and have input into the matters that affect them? Democracy is about much more than just voting every four years, andContinue reading “How to Speak to Council”
Year One
It’s been a year since this council was sworn in, and what a year it’s been! I started this blog during a campaign in which I focused on Vision, Communication, and Collaboration, and I feel like those have been central to the way that council has operated so far. My Highlight The End of 2022Continue reading “Year One”
How Subsidized Housing Works in Ontario
I think we’re all quite aware at this point that there’s a massive dearth of affordable housing in Canada. Politicians are (finally) competing with one another to propose solutions, and I’ve had a lot of residents lately reaching out to me to do likewise. It’s wonderful to see, especially because so many of these residentsContinue reading “How Subsidized Housing Works in Ontario”
Artificial Intelligence vs Democracy
Run to the hills, the computers are coming! Whether you’re excited about the growing potential of AI to change our world, or deeply concerned about it, you’re also probably getting tired of hearing about it by now. There’s been a ton of analysis about whether or not a computer will take your job (the answerContinue reading “Artificial Intelligence vs Democracy”