Campaign 2026
Building on Progress. Rooted in Community.
Orangeville entered this term with financial and infrastructure pressures that had been building for years. Keeping annual tax increases low did not stop infrastructure from aging, municipal costs from rising, or future obligations from accumulating.
Over the past four years, the Town has developed a much clearer picture of what it owns, what needs attention, what future growth will require and what those choices will cost.
That work matters because every four-year Council term brings new ideas and new opportunities. Some will be worth pursuing. But something new is not automatically progress. Before adding another commitment, Council needs to understand what it will cost to build, operate and maintain, what infrastructure it requires, and what existing priorities it may affect.
A municipal budget isn’t merely a tax bill.
It’s also how we pay for much of what people experience as living somewhere.
Keeping taxes low in any single year doesn’t make those costs disappear. Roads still age. Buildings still need repairs. Pipes still need replacing. And when necessary work is put off, it eventually comes back at today’s prices, often requiring more work because we waited.
The goal isn’t simply to spend less.
It’s to reduce pressure on residential taxpayers over time by putting Orangeville in a stronger position to grow well, maintain what it owns, attract investment and respond to opportunity without repeatedly pushing predictable costs into the future.
The tax increases of the last few years have been significant, and I know they have added pressure for households.
That makes it even more important that we understand the costs ahead, plan for them early and make deliberate choices about what Orangeville can afford, deliver and sustain.
What this Council has put in place
Planning tools completed this term, and the work still underway. This is the work of this Council and the Town.
Complete
Underway
Source: Town of Orangeville Strategic Progress Report, Council agenda of August 10, 2026.
The Work Ahead
Here’s what I want us to accomplish over the next four years.
Manage Growth as One Connected System
Growth is not one decision.
New homes and businesses bring opportunities, but they also depend on water and wastewater capacity, roads and transportation, fire protection, recreation, parks and other municipal services. Where and how Orangeville grows affects all of them.
Orangeville is already doing much of the work that will inform those decisions. The Official Plan review looks at where homes, employment, commercial uses, parks, and other land uses should go, while also considering the infrastructure and community services needed to support them.
But a plan doesn’t make the decisions. Council does.
Before Council makes a major growth decision, we should understand what that growth requires underneath it.
Growth has prerequisites.
Managing those connections well means Orangeville can welcome new homes, businesses and opportunities while planning the infrastructure and services that make growth work for the people who already live here too.
Do we have the water capacity?
Not yet.
That is why water capacity is part of the work ahead. In 2025 the Province awarded Orangeville $8.1 million for water infrastructure intended to enable approximately 3,055 new homes. Pullen Well is funded at $3.15 million. Its preliminary design is near completion, and the environmental assessment is planned to begin late this year or early in 2027. The Town’s goal is to have the well supplying water by the end of 2029. A Water Supply Master Plan will assess the Town’s water needs through 2051, and a Water Allocation Policy is being developed to make better use of the capacity we have.
Sources: Province of Ontario announcement, August 15, 2025. Town of Orangeville Capital Progress Report and Strategic Progress Report, Council agenda of August 10, 2026. Pullen Well and Water Supply Master Plan: Town of Orangeville Capital Works Update.
Create the Conditions for Businesses to Thrive
A strong local economy matters to everyone who lives here.
Local businesses create jobs, invest in our community, provide the shops and services residents use every day and contribute to the municipal tax base.
Developed by Council and staff with input from businesses, community partners and residents, Orangeville has a new five-year Economic Development and Culture Strategy. Council’s job now is to make sure that strategy leads somewhere.
That means staying connected to businesses already here and understanding what helps or what gets in the way when they want to invest or expand. It means thinking about employment land, workforce needs and the municipal processes businesses encounter. And it means continuing to attract new investment that fits Orangeville and strengthens our local economy.
When more businesses invest and grow here, they don’t just create jobs and strengthen the local economy. They also help share the cost of running the Town, reducing the amount that has to come from residential taxpayers.
As Mayor, I want Council to keep its attention on those results, not simply whether the actions in a strategy have been completed.
Protect What Residents Have Already Paid For
Progress isn’t always something new.
Residents have already invested in roads, water systems, parks, recreation facilities, buildings, transit, stormwater infrastructure and emergency equipment. All of those assets age.
Maintaining them is part of protecting the investment taxpayers have already made.
This Council has put more of the long-term information needed to make those choices in place. Asset-management planning has expanded, reserve planning has been strengthened, and the Town now has a clearer picture of what it owns, what condition it is in and what will eventually need to be repaired or replaced.
That information should change how decisions are made.
Sometimes responsible spending means making what we have last longer.
Sometimes it means recognizing when it has lasted long enough.
Protecting what we already own may not always produce a ribbon-cutting. But it helps keep the roads, facilities, water systems, parks and services people rely on every day working properly, while protecting the money residents have already invested in them.
Keep Orangeville Financially Able to Make Choices
Financial responsibility is not simply producing the smallest possible budget increase in a single year.
It means ensuring Orangeville can keep making choices over time.
That means understanding the Town’s long-term obligations, planning the use and recovery of reserves over time, managing debt responsibly, knowing the lifecycle cost of major investments and making the cost of growth visible before decisions are made.
It also means looking beyond the local tax base when Orangeville has identified work that needs to be done.
| Financial decision | What the Town does | What it means for property taxes |
|---|---|---|
| Control operating costs | Find ways to run Town services more efficiently and avoid unnecessary costs. | Reduces the amount needed from property taxes to cover everyday expenses. |
| Maintain it before it costs more | Repair roads, buildings and equipment before problems become emergencies. | Avoids expensive emergency repairs and helps infrastructure last longer. |
| Save for future expenses | Set money aside for planned repairs, replacements and unexpected costs. | Reduces the risk of sudden tax increases and the need to borrow when major bills arrive. |
| Borrow responsibly | Plan borrowing around major projects and the Town’s ability to repay. | Limits interest costs and spreads the cost of major projects over time. |
| Bring in outside funding | Apply for provincial and federal grants that support Town priorities. | Every grant dollar received is a dollar that doesn’t have to come from local funding for that project. |
| Grow the tax base | Support business investment, expansion and employment opportunities. | More businesses paying property taxes reduces the burden on residential taxpayers. |
A grant shouldn’t decide our priorities. Our priorities should decide which grants we pursue.
The same principle applies to new ideas.
Plans should never become a ceiling on imagination. New opportunities will emerge, and circumstances will change. But we should be able to ask some basic questions before committing public money.
Keeping Orangeville financially strong gives future Councils room to answer yes when a good opportunity comes along.
That is the kind of flexibility I want to protect.
Before committing public money, we should ask:
This is the work this Council has been doing: making sure your tax dollars are an investment in this community, prioritizing the work Orangeville needs, and making decisions that don’t solve today’s problem by creating one for tomorrow.
How I Approach the Job
What we choose to do matters. So does how we do it.
Stay Connected to the Community
That hasn’t changed because my title has.
My path into municipal government began by showing up, listening, asking questions and trying to understand how decisions at Town Hall affected the community around me.
I want to continue Mayor’s Town Halls, active communication through social media and other opportunities for residents to hear what is happening, ask questions and raise concerns.
Municipal decisions can take years to move from an idea to planning, funding and construction. Staying connected to the people affected by those decisions is part of the job.
Build the Relationships Orangeville Needs
We won’t always agree. We don’t have to.
Not every decision affecting Orangeville is made at Orangeville Town Hall. That means part of the Mayor’s job happens outside Council Chambers.
We need productive relationships with the people and organizations making those decisions.
Who those decisions involve ↓Hold the Whole Picture
The Mayor’s job isn’t just to hold a vision. It’s to hold the whole picture.
I don’t believe the Mayor’s job is to be the one person with every answer.
Council brings different experiences and perspectives to the table. Staff bring professional expertise. Residents understand their communities and their own experiences in ways government never can. Other governments and organizations control decisions and resources that affect Orangeville.
The Mayor’s job is to help connect those pieces.
Before Council makes a decision, we should understand:
I think good leadership brings out the best in the people around the table. One of the things I’m proud of is that you can look through Council agendas and see motions coming from different members of Council, followed by discussion, debate and sometimes disagreement. That’s healthy. The Mayor doesn’t need to have every idea or every answer. My job is to help create the conditions where good ideas can come forward, be tested and lead to better decisions.
Not every decision affecting Orangeville is made at Orangeville Town Hall.
Housing, homelessness, policing, healthcare, transportation, infrastructure and economic development can involve Dufferin County, neighbouring municipalities, the Province, the federal government and community partners.
But Orangeville needs to be at the table, able to explain what this community needs, advocate for its priorities, pursue funding and work with others when solving a problem requires more than one municipality or one level of government.
I’m proud of the relationships we’ve built with our neighbouring municipalities, Dufferin County and our provincial and federal partners. We won’t always agree, but I’ve worked hard to make sure those relationships are there when Orangeville needs them. To me, one measure of a good working relationship is pretty simple: when I pick up the phone, I know there is someone on the other end who will answer the call and have the conversation.
Ready for What Comes Next
Over the past four years, some of Orangeville’s progress has been easy to see. Other work has happened behind the scenes. Ultimately, this Council is working to ensure your tax dollars not only cover today’s needs but also serve as a thoughtful investment in tomorrow.
That’s how we protect the quality of life we value in Orangeville, supported by a strong local economy and a sustainable tax base now and in the years ahead.
Neighbours, colleagues and community leaders share why they are supporting my re-election.
See the endorsements