BIOGRAPHY
I am the Reeve of the Township of North Huron. I am just beginning to enjoy the benefits of an extensive renovation at my home in Wingham. I live there with my wife Angela Cowley-Bailey. Many of you may know her because she is the principal of Maitland River Elementary School. We have two grown children with beautiful families of their own. I am the proud grandfather of four grandsons and one granddaughter. When not doing the work of the Reeve, I am busy in my small business, The Appliance Doctor. I enjoy spending time with my family and playing a good game of golf.
In the years prior to getting involved in council, I was the owner of SunRise Dairy. I was a huge supporter of too-many-to-name community initiatives. I was a member of North Huron Council from 2010-2014. During that time I worked extremely hard to keep tax increases low. In 2016, I was a volunteer for the Wingham and District Hospital Foundation, where I helped raise $1.1 million. In 2018, I was elected Reeve of North Huron. There certainly is volunteer work involved with this position. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic I ensured COVID vaccination clinics were available in North Huron. I volunteered at every single one of them. At the same time, my wife and I work endlessly in support of the school and its community. We have the pulse on the needs of families in our community and devote time, in so many ways, to address them.
BIGGEST ISSUE
I strongly believe that the key issues are our tax rates and our water rates. They need to be kept at bay. Our families need to know that I am working on this. There are two main ways to do this.
I am adding a larger tax base, finally; this has been needed for years. There are new housing developments in Blyth, Wingham, and in East Wawanosh. As well, I am holding my ground when it comes to Morris-Turnberry. They need to pay their fair share of the services that we provide. We can no longer afford to permit hit and miss financial support from them because the cost of doing business is too expensive for North Huron to bare alone. It is not about a fight at all, it is about them being neighbourly in return. They need to show appreciation for all the services we provide – day care, recreation, fire, water, sewage, etc. We have all the responsibility, I cannot say that enough. I also need to add that the volunteers and end user in both municipalities work very well together. This is not the issue. This was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are only stuck, as neighbours, when it comes to Morris-Turnberry council reliably and fairly chipping in.
There are other issues that I am addressing. I will name a few here: housing options geared to a variety of incomes; inclusion (e.g. Land Claim Acknowledgment and flying the Pride flag – it is like putting a bandage on a broken limb, but it is a start); ensuring responsible spending of your tax dollars; the creation and implementation of an environmental plan; and promotion of the United Way campaign for northern Huron (this organization does so much for our community). We need to find a solution for maintaining the pond, to the degree that end users can enjoy it, at the Howson Dam. I would also like to see the Blyth Campground be more widely used in cooperation with Huron County.
I strongly believe that our community members need to be better heard, listened to, and better informed so that the draining and misleading rumour mills are shut down. Constituents need to be at tables more often, giving their input in a healthy and productive manner. We need to work to share all the good things that are happening in North Huron, because it really is a great place to be.
