For Jennifer Harrison, representing Ward 6 on Bradford West Gwillimbury council would mark the next step in her community service.
The former president of the Bradford Board of Trade (BBT) and current chair of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Library Board wants to be on council during a time of transition.
“I believe council this term will have at least some degree of change, new people with different perspectives and working together to move forward will be imperative,” she said. “I can bring a new point of view to council – with an emphasis on transparency, collaboration, and innovation.”
Council won’t be the only thing changing during the next four years. The long-awaited Holland Street revitalization is set to begin as well.
The construction downtown is bound to cause disruptions for local entrepreneurs and Harrison feels her time at the helm of the BBT puts her in a unique position to ensure council supports those businesses through the length of the project.
“As president of the Bradford Board of Trade, I worked with local business owners as they faced the challenges of COVID and I’m committed to helping business owners build resiliency as we emerge from the pandemic,” she said. “Ward 6 includes a stretch of the downtown and the John Street corridor and this is why I bought my home just two blocks from downtown – so that I can, along with my family, walk downtown and support restaurants and shops close to home. There is a lot of change finally coming to the downtown core and these business owners will need support throughout the transition.”
Harrison’s focus in the election is on the issues facing Ward 6, where she lives, and hopes to represent. Among her top priorities is one that echoes throughout the entire community: traffic.
But even traffic concerns in the ward differ from street to street, and Harrison realizes a one-size-fits-all solution isn’t going to solve anything, as what she observes from her home in the older part of town differs from what is seen on Professor Day Drive or Northgate Drive.
“So many people have been telling me that safe streets and speeding is a real concern,” she said. “I will work with police and the town’s engineering department to tackle each street’s unique issues.”
Her three terms as library board chair will be a benefit come budget season, Harrison feels, as the process for putting together the town’s budget is remarkably similar.
“We look at each line of the budget and how we can make it more efficient while giving more value to residents – this is what people entrust to their elected officials,” she said. “That is also what will be accomplished first after the election, and I can hit the ground running in the town budget process. I also have a new point of view: one of innovation – what can we do better to deliver the best value for taxpayer dollars while ensuring the town, as a whole, can thrive into the future.”
Harrison is eager to bring residents, business owners and the service organizations in Ward 6 together in an effort to make decisions collaboratively and transparently. That’s particularly important when looking at the growth in the community, as the town has to mix the historic character of the neighbourhood with the mandated growth it has to accommodate.
She’s also hoping to bring something to the council table that’s been missed during the previous two terms: a woman’s perspective.
“This kind of diversity on a municipal council matters and it’s been too many years without,” Harrison said. “Men and women bring different things to the table and have a different way of looking at the same information. I am a female candidate, it’s true, but I have the resume too.”
Harrison is a life-long resident of Bradford West Gwillimbury, having attended Fred C. Cook and Bradford District High School. She currently has two children at the new Harvest Hills Elementary School.
“This is my home, and I will continue to work tirelessly for the residents of Bradford West Gwillimbury,” she said. “I’m passionate about all the potential that BWG has.”
For more on Harrison’s platform, visit www.jenniferharrison.vote or follow her on Facebook and Instagram @votejharrison6.
Harrison is running against incumbent Mark Contois and Nickolas Harper for the Ward 6 seat.
Election day is Oct. 24.
