A Cochrane family, and a career inside local government

My family has been in Cochrane for three generations. My wife’s family has been here just as long. Our roots here aren’t a talking point. They’re the reason I care how this town is run and who it’s run for.

For more than twenty years I’ve worked in technology for municipalities and healthcare organizations across northeastern Ontario, most recently as a chief information officer at a regional technology firm serving public-sector clients. That work put me inside the machinery of local government: the budgets, the records, the service-delivery systems, and the people who keep it all running. I’ve seen what good administration looks like, and I’ve seen what happens when the basics slip.

It’s not glamorous work, and that’s exactly the point. A town doesn’t run on slogans. It runs on staff who know their files, budgets that get passed on time, records that are kept properly, and decisions that residents can actually follow. Those are the things I’ve spent my career on, and they’re the things I want to bring to the council table.

Why I’m running now

I’m running because I think Cochrane can do better on the fundamentals, and because I don’t think you should have to take a candidate’s word for it. Over the past few years the town has lost a lot of experienced people, and that costs us more than most residents ever see. I want a council that steadies the ship: one that keeps good people, spends carefully, and shows its work.

So that’s what this site is. Not just a list of promises, but actual proposals you can read and argue with, starting with a draft bylaw that’s posted right now. If I’ve gotten something wrong, tell me. That’s how this is supposed to work.