Ward Councils and the Councillor’s Newsletter

Democracy works much better if citizens feel that they are part of the system and their views are heard, and understood.

They must feel that they can participate in discussions about the well being of the community, and that everyone has something to contribute to make their city a better place to live.

One of the easiest methods to engage citizens on local issues is through the use of Ward Councils.

Some councillors and school board trustees use Ward Councils to help develop municipal policy and to address specific concerns raised by the community.

To better represent the community the ward councils should be composed of local community leaders such as presidents of community and tenant's associations and other groups that operate in the community. Provision should also be made for individuals such as new comers to the community. However, it should be up to each neighbourhood association to select their own representative since you want to to have people on a ward council that have a democratic mandate to be there. It would also be useful to occasionally include representatives from school boards, as well as other levels of government that represent the area since some issues might be better discussed in a wider forum.

Currently this ward does operate in such a manner, but there is no reason why this should be the case.

After all, Councillors work for you!

It is all a matter of public service.

Serving the people of River Ward and the People of Ottawa is why I am running for Councillor of River Ward.

If I am elected as councilor for River Ward one of my first steps will be create a Ward Council for all of River Ward.

Use the councillor’s newsletter for the use of community associations.

I would also allocate space in the councillor's newsletter for various groups in River Ward to announce their own events and for special notices.

Let’s use this valuable publication for everyone. No more propaganda!