So the question of the day lately for me is, "Why did you decide you wanted to run for the Mayor's seat?" And I thought I would sit down to write something out as a response. And it has been hard. First of all-I generally have not been doing much writing over the last few years. So I feel grossly out of practice, and secondly-it's a question that invokes so many feelings, and I did not want to come off sounding cheesy.
I want to represent our region as the last few years of serving on council have actually been the most challenging of my life. And I love challenge, and I loved serving and getting to know the residents of our region more than any other job(besides being a mom) that I have ever taken on. On a personal note, our older boys moved out and on with their lives 3 years and two years ago-and after dedicating my life to raising my family I found myself with some extra time when I first got elected as a councillor. So I immersed myself in the role, while figuring out how to balance family and work as we still have our daughter, Shayleen at home(she's now 12). The more time I spent reading, preparing for meetings and listening to residents the more I felt that I had finally found something that challenged me and that I could do really well in my life. But it was only achievable because the residents elected me to the position.
So in the coming months, that will be my big ask-please trust me to elect me to be your mayor. And help me get elected. You can help in so many ways-by donating financially to my campaign, door knocking with me in your neighbourhood(once restrictions are lifted), share my posts on social media, take a sign when the time comes, or just share my contact information with anyone who may want to get to know me. Every single thing will help me. It's a huge region, and I know that I have a lot of work to do to gain the trust of the residents. I hope that my work ethic, my honesty and how approachable I have been in the last number of years will help convince people that I am worthy of the job. I would be proud to be your mayor-but I also want you to have someone that you will be proud of in the role as well. I have not brought my ego or any drama to my role as councillor, and I would do that same as mayor.
We have six months to do the work to convince people I would be a responsible choice at the polls. I need your help-so let's do this together. I will be looking for different ways to engage people as covid will certainly throw a wrench into what the campaign looks like, so watch for more blog posts and videos. Follow my new Murphy for Mayor facebook page, and thank you for those who have already committed your support to me-I am forever grateful.
