Author Archives: Ffathers

A look back on Season 3, the year and ahead on the podcast for 2022. You can listen at the link below on your favourite podcasting platform. You can listen here.

Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos was first elected to Municipal Council in 1997 where he served two terms as a Councillor before becoming Kingsville’s first Deputy Mayor to be elected at large following the municipal amalgamations of Kingsville with the former Townships of Gosfield North and Gosfield South. Nelson Santos was elected Mayor of Kingsville inContinue reading “Episode 3.11 – Mayor Nelson Santos – Kingsville Ontario”

Amy Martin is a 33 year old, first term, municipal councillor for Ward 6 (Port Dover) in Norfolk County. Amy campaigned on being accessible and communicating with constituents and won with over 50% of the vote in her community. She’s the first female representative for ward 6.  Teaser Tune in for the full conversation ThursdayContinue reading “Episode 3.10 – Councillor Amy Martin, Ward 6 -Norfolk County”

Aakash Desai moved to Canada in 2006 at the age of 15. Since then he has been a proud resident of Grey Highlands. He got involved in the public sphere in 2011 when he was elected to the Grey Highlands Chamber of Commerce Board. He was elected Vice-President in 2013. On April 29, 2014 AakashContinue reading “Episode 3.09 – Deputy Mayor Aakash Desai – Municipality of Grey Highlands”

Rapidly improving our quality of life through local government innovation is Jason’s passion. As a lawyer and Chief Administrative Officer, he navigates through a haze of policy and regulation to find practical – sometimes disruptive – ways to deliver services, such as a public transit system powered by a ride-sharing app. Jason currently leads a team ofContinue reading “Episode 3.08 – Jason Reynar – CAO of The City of Windsor”

Megan Stacey is the city hall reporter at The London Free Press. When not live-tweeting political debates or covering local government decisions, she also writes about social issues. She’s picked up Ontario Newspaper Awards for reporting on healthcare serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer, as well as the explosion that rocked London’s Old East Village. She lives in LondonContinue reading “Episode 3.06 – Megan Stacey – City Hall Reporter the London Free Press”

Dave Cassidy is Unifor Local 444’s President representing 20,000 active and retired members in 31 workplaces that range from Automotive, Gaming, Energy, Transportation, Administrative, Waste & Recycle Management, Policing and Retirement Living.  As a certified electrician, Dave is the Unifor National Chair of Trades, representing those working in the trades from the Pacific  to theContinue reading “Episode 3.05 – David Cassidy, President Unifor 444”

Barbara Swartzentruber is currently the Executive Director of the Smart Cities Office at the City of Guelph. As winners’ of the Canada’s Smart City Challenge, the City and County of Wellington, are collaborating with public and private sector partners to create a data and technology enabled Circular Food Economy. Building on the principles of aContinue reading “Episode 3.04 – Barb Swartzentruber – ED of Smart Cities Office, City of Guelph”

Bil was born and raised in Kitchener. He is a lifelong resident of Ward 7 where he currently lives, along with his wife Laura and his two children. Bil holds a degree from Carleton University and worked as a financial advisor with Investors Group where he specialized in retirement planning before turning his attention full-time toContinue reading “Episode 3.03 – Bil Ioannidis – Ward 7 Councillor in the City of Kitchener”