Julia M. Feltham
Candidate for Councillor
Town of Sackville
I’m a professional community developer. I am only 30, but I don’t see that as a drawback to voters. I’m pretty vivacious and keen to keep learning & listening. I have some 10 years+ under my belt of hosting community consultations,starting & building organizations, working with all levels of government, enriching community-based education, increasing civic engagement & entrepreneurship etc. I moved here because I think we can be the exemplar of what’s amazing about Atlantic Canada, and I think we can be the centre of what’s next. Though I have been honoured with the title of “emerging leader of Atlantic Canada,” I believe I’m qualified because I love people, this town and local government. I will keep reading our council minutes & legislation whether I’m elected or not: I will spend my days working hard to build a better Sackville.
Civic Engagement: I would love to see some participatory budgets in Sackville. It’d be amazing if citizens got a chance to shape the way money is spent in this town. Even just a little bit of money on the table where citizens got a chance to pitch & present ideas and citizens got to vote? Could change the way people feel about this town. We need to have a more transparent, accountable government too.
Community Economic Development: I’d love to see our town take on a more supportive role for entrepreneurs. At the cultural crossroads of the maritimes, I believe we could be a centre for social entrepreneurs, green jobs and digital jobs. I think we can do better at making it part of our brand & identity. We have so much to be proud of and so much to offer, and Sackvillians & outsiders need to know it. . We deserve to know it and celebrate it!
Sustainability: When I say sustainability, I mean climate change adaptation,sustainable jobs & infrastructure and making sure we’re a great place to raise a family.
We’re going to flood more. We need to keep working hard at fixing the situation, and also communicate & engage with our citizens about what’s next. For example, why not crowd source ideas on what to do with Lorne Street? What if we did something amazing instead of simply re-paving the street? For the same budget? It’s time to work on new ideas and get our community involved in getting excited about our problems. They should be the spaces to grow the richest opportunities.
I will vote with my conscience to support these three main issues. I would gladly help with lots of legwork: Research, fundraising, grant searching, helping host,find panel members and professionals to work in-kind to make these ideas viable.
If we achieved the objectives we’d have a participatory budgeting process & event, regular celebrations and surveys of businesses. We would find green, sustainable businesses to fill some of the industrial park spaces. We’d increase our ‘sense-of-belonging’ as citizens.
The dynamic and amazing people are easily the greatest thing about our community. The worst thing is the quality of our conversations. We have lots of ideas of town vs. gown, us vs. them– and we have no platform to share our worries, fears and hopes. Let’s change that and step forward together.