More than a decade of public service and community advocacy.

When people ask why transparency matters so much to me, I always think back to one conversation.

When I was first considering running for office, I sat down privately with someone I respected in local politics. Both of our spouses were there. By the end of the conversation, I was genuinely excited. I talked about opening the doors, throwing open the blinds, and making transparency the foundation of how our town operates.

The response stopped me cold. I was told, “You can’t do that.”

The explanation was that if you let the public in, nothing gets done. That the only way to get things done is to keep the public out of the process.

I left that meeting knowing exactly why I had to run. Not because I questioned whether the person across the table cared about Wasaga Beach, but because that conversation revealed something much bigger. If keeping the public out becomes the philosophy of government, then the public eventually stops being the point.

Transparency isn’t an obstacle to good government. It’s the foundation of good government.

In 2020, when I began seriously considering a campaign for mayor, I made a decision that shaped everything that followed. Rather than assuming I already knew enough, I went back to school and enrolled in Queen’s University’s Undergraduate Certificate in Law.

My goal was not to collect a credential. My goal was to understand how our system of government actually works, how laws are interpreted, how governments share responsibilities, what powers municipalities have, where their authority begins and ends, and how good decisions are made within those legal boundaries.

That experience reinforced something I already believed. Leadership begins with preparation. Every worthwhile goal has constraints. Success doesn’t come from ignoring those constraints. It comes from understanding them, working within them, and finding the best path forward.

If you are asking people to place their trust in you, you have a responsibility to do that work first.

The more I studied governance, the more convinced I became that the role of elected officials is not to do everyone else’s job.

Council’s responsibility is to establish a clear vision, set priorities, and create the conditions that allow talented professionals to do their best work. Staff’s responsibility is to provide their best professional advice and carry out the decisions council makes.

When politics begins interfering with professional advice, everyone loses. Staff spend more time responding to political pressures and less time solving real problems. Decisions become less consistent. Projects take longer. Costs go up. Taxpayers pay the price.

That belief comes directly from my experience in aviation. A captain does not try to perform every job on the aircraft. The captain establishes the plan, makes sure everyone understands their role, gives the crew what they need to succeed, and accepts full responsibility for the outcome. Municipal government should work the same way.

When I first ran for mayor, I introduced a policy I called Show Your Work. At the time, it was a simple idea: councillors should provide written reasons for their votes on significant decisions so that residents could better understand how and why those decisions were made.

After that campaign, I kept showing up. I attended council meetings, read reports, asked questions, reviewed financial information, and continued learning how municipal government actually works. Over the following years, that original idea evolved.

Show Your Work grew from a single transparency policy into a broader philosophy of leadership, shaped by two very different experiences. My legal education reinforced the importance of understanding the framework within which government operates: its powers, its responsibilities, its limitations, and the rule of law that guides every public decision. My career in commercial aviation reinforced something equally important. If a decision matters, it should be documented.

Records allow organizations to explain decisions, learn from mistakes, identify root causes, improve processes, and build confidence over time. Show Your Work brings those two ideas together. Government should understand the legal framework within which it operates, and it should clearly document the reasoning behind the decisions it makes.

That is how accountability becomes more than a promise. It becomes part of the process itself.

If information can legally be shared with the public, it should be shared with the public.

Keeping information behind unnecessary barriers does not create better government. It creates more administrative work, more requests for information, more frustration for residents, and ultimately more cost for taxpayers.

When openness is the default, everyone benefits. Residents are better informed. Staff spend less time responding to repeated requests. Council builds trust through transparency rather than simply asking for trust without evidence.

There are times when confidentiality is both necessary and required by law. Personal privacy, legal matters, labour relations, and other protected information deserve that protection. But wherever the law allows openness, openness should be the rule, not the exception.

When students solve a math problem, they are asked to show their work, not because the teacher doubts the answer, but because the process matters. The same principle should apply to municipal government. When council considers a major decision, residents should be able to understand the problem being solved, the options that were considered, the costs, the risks, the expected benefits, and the reasons one option was chosen over another.

If a decision later proves unsuccessful, there should be enough documentation to understand what happened, identify the root cause, and improve future decision-making. Transparency is not simply about publishing more documents. It is about creating a government that learns, improves, and earns public trust through openness.

Experience isn’t about titles. It’s about responsibility, accountability, and a proven ability to get things done.

Throughout my career as a business owner, aviation professional, community advocate, employer, and volunteer, I have been trusted with people’s safety, livelihoods and confidence. I’ve learned how to make difficult decisions, manage budgets, build strong teams and solve problems before they become crises.

That same approach is what I will bring to Town Hall.

Wasaga Beach deserves leadership that is prepared, transparent and focused on results. Leadership that listens before it acts, explains decisions clearly and always remembers who it works for.

I am not running to become a politician. I am running to bring practical leadership, real accountability and a higher standard of service to our community.

My experience comes from building businesses, creating jobs, leading teams, navigating regulations, serving in community organizations, advocating for local projects, researching public issues, and standing up for residents.

Experience matters. But experience is not simply measured by time spent holding office. It is measured by responsibility accepted, challenges overcome, people served, organizations built and results delivered.

For many years, I operated businesses in the Canadian aviation industry, one of the most highly regulated industries in the country.

Commercial aviation operators are required to meet strict federal regulations, safety standards, training requirements, maintenance standards, operational procedures, record-keeping obligations and ongoing oversight.

Throughout my career, I developed a reputation for professionalism, safety, compliance and responsible operation.

In aviation, there are no shortcuts. The lessons learned from aviation; planning, documentation, risk management, transparency, accountability and attention to detail, are many of the same principles that should guide good government.

As a pilot, proper planning and information management is paramount. Flying isn’t just about getting from one place to another, it’s about preparation, responsibility, and making sound decisions when people are counting on you.

Every flight begins with a plan. You study the weather, inspect the aircraft, review your route, identify alternate airports, and prepare for the unexpected. You don’t simply hope everything will work out, you make sure you’re ready if it doesn’t. Municipal government should operate the same way.

A good mayor should never make decisions without understanding the risks, the costs and the long term consequences.

Infrastructure should be planned before growth. Budgets should be prepared before borrowing. Emergency situations should be anticipated before they become crises.

Pilots learn humility. Aviation teaches that checklists matter, procedures matter and teamwork matters. No pilot succeeds alone. Controllers, maintenance engineers, dispatchers, instructors and ground crews all play an essential role. The best leaders recognize the expertise of the people around them and give them the support and credit they deserve.

Flying has also reinforced that transparency builds confidence. Before every flight, everyone knows the destination, the conditions, and the plan. If conditions change, you communicate clearly and adjust accordingly. That’s the kind of leadership I believe residents deserve from their municipal government.

Whether I’m flying an aircraft, running a business, or serving our community, my approach has always been the same, prepare carefully, listen to experts, communicate honestly, and never lose sight of the responsibility entrusted to you. Those aren’t just aviation principles, they’re principles of good government.

I have spent much of my career building businesses, creating jobs, and contributing to the local economy.

Running a successful business requires more than an idea. It requires leadership, planning, financial responsibility, risk management, customer service, regulatory compliance and the ability to make difficult decisions.

Throughout my career, I have managed budgets, hired and trained staff, developed operating procedures, solved problems, and worked to build organizations that could thrive long-term.

For more than a decade, I served as the Accountable Executive of a commercial aviation operation and held the regulatory position of Person Responsible for Maintenance. I also worked closely with our Operations Manager on day-to-day oversight to ensure the organization consistently met the standards required in commercial aviation.

In March 2026, I successfully transitioned ownership of one of my businesses to members of the staff team who helped build it. It was important to me that the business remain in the hands of the people who knew it best. That transition is one of the accomplishments I am most proud of.

I currently serve as Chair of the Legal Committee for the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association, where I work on legal and governance matters affecting the organization and its members.

Leadership is not measured by titles. It is measured by the people you help develop and the culture you create.

Most members of our team remained with the company for years. Several were there from the earliest days of the business, while others dedicated seven, eight and even ten years or more to helping build the organization.

The fact that employees chose to remain with the organization for so many years and ultimately became its new owners, is something I consider one of my greatest leadership achievements.

As a Director with the Wasaga Beach Chamber of Commerce, I worked alongside local business leaders to support economic development, strengthen local businesses and promote opportunities for growth.

This role provided valuable experience in governance, strategic planning, budgeting, collaboration and community leadership.

For many years my businesses introduced visitors from across Ontario, Canada and around the world to Wasaga Beach and the South Georgian Bay region. I also served on the Economic Development and Tourism Advisory Committee.

As such, I understand that every visitor who stays in a hotel, eats at a restaurant, shops locally, purchases fuel, or visits local attractions, contributes to our local economy.

For more than the past decade, through tourism focused businesses and events, I helped showcase the natural beauty, recreational opportunities and economic potential of our community.

Over the years, I have spent countless hours reviewing council agendas, budgets, financial statements, staff reports, bylaws, development proposals, contracts and public records.

I have challenged public claims when I believed the underlying numbers, assumptions, or methodology deserved closer examination and encouraged residents to review source documents and supporting evidence for themselves.

Good government requires transparency, evidence and accountability.

Over the years, many residents have reached out to me for assistance, guidance and information regarding municipal issues.

I have helped residents better understand council decisions, municipal processes, public consultations, bylaws, development proposals, governance issues and available avenues for public participation.

Throughout my years of community involvement, I have consistently advocated for transparency, accountability and meaningful public participation in local government.

I have used public meetings, delegations, social media, community discussions and direct engagement with residents to encourage greater public awareness and involvement in municipal affairs.

In February 2025, I presented a formal delegation to Council regarding concerns with a required public consultation process that many residents felt limited their ability to participate and share their views.

One of the community initiatives I very proudly supported was the effort to bring a public high school to Wasaga Beach.

I publicly advocated for the project, encouraged residents to participate in the process and presented a deputation to the Simcoe County District School Board regarding the need for a local high school.

There have been many people over the years who devoted a large amount of their energy and time to this very noble cause and I am very excited to see the efforts of so many come to fruition, giving the option for our children to stay in our community all the way through high school.

I am the father of four children and the proud grandfather of six grandchildren.

Today, I continue to raise two young children while also watching my older children raise families of their own.

This gives me firsthand experience with the challenges facing multiple generations, from young families and students to working adults, seniors and grandparents.

My youngest, Reese and Max, are growing up here in Wasaga Beach. Seeing our community through their eyes reminds me every day that the decisions we make now will shape the town they inherit tomorrow.

I was born to two immigrant parents and raised in a middle class family that believed in hard work, responsibility, and earning trust. I was taught that in this life you have only your word, your morals and your principles.

Outside of work, community has always mattered to me. Whether growing my hair to donate it for wigs for children undergoing cancer treatment, volunteering, advocating for residents, or simply taking the time to listen to my neighbours, I have always believed that leadership begins with service.

Wasaga Beach is more than the place where I live. It is the community where I chose to build businesses, raise a family, create opportunities and invest my time and energy for many years.

My connection to this community extends far beyond election campaigns or public meetings.

Like many residents, I want Wasaga Beach to remain a place where families can thrive, businesses can succeed, young people can build a future, seniors can age with dignity and residents can have confidence in their local government.