I thought I'd share some honest insight into David.
David is honest and ethical, sometimes to a fault. His career with the federal government was not without its bumps and lumps. He was known for speaking up when he thought hiring expensive consultants wasn’t the best choice, or when decisions were being made for political reasons rather than in the best interests of the people they were supposed to serve.
When it comes to his own politics, David is pretty much middle of the road. He believes strongly in being fair, but he has very little patience for the extreme nonsense on either side.
He is very smart and extremely thorough when faced with complex projects. He’s a consensus builder and a great team leader. He inspires the people who work with him to be their best and has a real knack for recognizing people’s strengths and figuring out how to put those strengths to good use.
He sees and treats people as equals — local or import, rural or townie, wealthy or not so wealthy. (Nasty people might be the exception. 😉)
He might not have the political polish or schmoozing ability that some of the other candidates have. He might not have lived in Port Hope as long as some. But his heart is in the right place, and his brain is definitely up for the task.
I truly believe David would make a great mayor for our great town.
I hope you’ll give him a chance to do just that.
Of course, I’m a bit biased, so take my words with a grain of salt.
Brenda
(the lucky gal who got hitched to him)
P.S.
For a little context about what I mean when I say David’s brain is up for the task — he has spent much of his career taking on complicated problems.
Over the years, he has worked as an economist, policy advisor, director, consultant, data scientist and senior manager. He has led professional teams, advised senior levels of government, worked on transportation and infrastructure policy, aviation safety and security, labour-market programs, strategic investments and, more recently, data science and innovation.
His career has included senior roles at Transport Canada and Indigenous Services Canada, as well as more than 16 years running his own consulting business. Through that work, he completed more than 55 engagements across many Government of Canada departments and also worked internationally.
I'm not going to turn this into David's résumé — you can look that up if you're interested. My point is that when I say he knows how to tackle complicated projects, work with different kinds of people, question how public money is being spent and get a team moving toward a solution, I'm not just saying that because I'm his partner. He's been doing those things professionally for decades.
And I think that kind of experience could be pretty darn useful at Port Hope Town Hall.