Experience and Continuity Matter

As I conclude six terms on Abbotsford City Council and prepare to step away from elected office, I have been reflecting on what effective leadership requires. Having served under five different mayors, I have learned that the responsibilities of the mayor’s office are not always apparent from the outside.

A mayor does much more than chair Council meetings or represent the City at public events. The mayor is often Abbotsford's principal advocate with other levels of government and an important voice in building the relationships upon which major municipal initiatives can depend.

That is particularly important at this moment in Abbotsford's history.

Since the devastating flooding of Sumas Prairie, our City has spent years developing relationships with the provincial and federal governments, First Nations and other partners. Those relationships are now producing tangible progress. Discussions that began years ago have matured into partnerships, funding commitments and direct access to senior decision-makers.

Relationships of this kind are built over time. So is an understanding of the complexities of municipal government: its finances, infrastructure, land-use challenges, relationships with senior governments and the limits of what a municipality can accomplish on its own.

I have served with mayors who came to the office with Council experience and with one who did not. From that experience, I have come to place considerable value on having a mayor who understands municipal government before assuming its most demanding elected position.

That does not mean that newcomers to public life have nothing to contribute. They certainly do. New voices and new ideas are important to local democracy. But there are times when experience and continuity deserve particular consideration.

I believe this is one of those times.

Abbotsford has considerable momentum. Important work on flood protection, transportation, infrastructure and our relationships with senior governments is underway. In my view, maintaining that momentum should be an important consideration as residents decide who will lead the next Council.

As someone who has worked alongside Mayor Ross Siemens on Council, I can speak to what I have personally observed: he knows the City, understands the issues before us, and has established working relationships with the people and governments whose cooperation Abbotsford will need in the years ahead.

For those reasons, I support Ross Siemens for another term as Mayor.