Zero. That’s how many Ward meetings have been held in Ward 4 the past four years.
This isn’t just a Ward 4 problem — it’s happening across the township. Council members have talked about holding regular ward meetings in the past, but that hasn’t translated into anything on the calendar. That makes it matter more this election, since the current council members aren’t all running again. Voters aren’t just picking a person this time. They’re picking whether the next council keeps old habits or breaks them.
The idea is simple: regular ward meetings, maybe four a year, roughly one every three months. A scheduled time where residents have a chance to ask questions and hold their council member to account. Ward 4 hasn’t had one in four years, and residents in other wards should probably be asking whether their ward has fared any better. My opponent is the current councillor for Ward 1. Yet ask anyone who lives in that ward about ward meetings and you’ll get the same answer. (“What ward meetings?”)
Local government works best when people can see it and reach it. Regular ward meetings aren’t just a formality — they’re how people get a say in decisions about their roads, their taxes, and their community, especially if they can’t make it to every council session or read through the minutes. When that access disappears, decisions still get made at town hall; they just get made without the people affected by them having a say.
This matters directly in this year’s races. A new council is coming in either way, which makes this a real reset point. If elected, I’ll set the standard that hasn’t been met so far: regular, scheduled meetings in Ward 4, not just when a controversy brings people through the door, but every term.
Residents across this township deserve a council that treats “regular” as something that actually happens, not just something that gets talked about. Zero meetings is not good enough going forward, in any ward.
It’s Time For Change.