It's Time For Change

Smart Growth & Economic Development

Every municipality faces a choice about how it grows, and whether that growth strengthens the community or just costs residents more in the long run. To date Lanark Highlands hasn’t made that choice deliberately; it’s happened by default, without a clear plan to guide it.

Here’s what that’s meant in practice, and what I’d do differently.

Fiscal Accountability

Every dollar the municipality spends today is a bet that planning now saves money later. In Lanark Highlands, the bets never pay off — plans get commissioned and shelved, budgets land months behind schedule, and reserve numbers get corrected after the fact rather than reported right the first time.

Here’s the record, and what I’d do to change it.

Open, Two-Way Communication

Good local government depends on residents' knowledge reaching council before decisions are made, not after. In Lanark Highlands, that flow has gone mostly one way — closed sessions, minimal record-keeping, and public input that arrives once the outcome is already set.

Here's what that's cost us, and how I'd change it.

My Approach to Council

Bringing people with different needs to agreement isn’t new to me. It’s been my job for 20 years, including at the table with the biggest names in tech. Getting engineers, executives, and end users to agree on a shared path forward takes more than compromise – it takes translating each side’s priorities so everyone can actually see where they overlap. That’s the skill I’d bring to a council table where residents, staff, and elected members too often end up talking past each other instead of finding common ground.

Lanark Highlands needs fresh thinking. After years of the same approach, residents are ready for new faces and new ideas on council, and I want to be part of that change.

The problems are real and ongoing. Budgets have been approved months late, year after year. Almost $100,000 was spent on asset management plans that were never used. Council has relied on closed-door sessions far more than it should, and promised ward meetings never happened.

I have spent 25 years helping organizations (Academia, Governments, Fortune 500 companies) build clear governance rules and processes that work for everyone, not just the people already in the room. That is the discipline I want to bring to council.

Ward 4 deserves a council that shows its work, plans ahead, and listens before decisions are made, not after.

On October 26th, may I ask for your vote?

Meet The Candidate: John Foliot

I have been a resident of Ward 4 for 6 years. For more than 25 years, I’ve worked as an internationally recognized expert in digital accessibility. That work helps make technology accessible for people with disabilities. It makes sure websites, apps, and everyday technology work for everyone. That includes people who are blind, deaf, or have other disabilities.

I’ve previously advised Canada’s federal government on digital accessibility policy. I’ve created and managed a digital accessibility program at Stanford University, in the heart of Silicon Valley, and I’ve worked with and for numerous Fortune 500 companies on their digital accessibility strategies and policies.

For almost 20 years, I’ve also helped write global tech standards used around the world. I did that work alongside tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Adobe. That experience taught me one thing: good policy only works when everyone gets a real say. That’s true even when the players don’t always agree.