Ashley Bilodeau 2026-08-20 Ashley Bilodeau 2026-08-20

Council, Explained — Municipal Budgets are a Balance, not a Magic Trick.

You Want Lower Taxes. You Also Want the Roads Plowed. And a Library. And a New Recreation Centre.

Municipal Budgets are a balance, not a magic trick.

Ashley Bilodeau 2026-08-06 Ashley Bilodeau 2026-08-06

Council Decisions Are More than Headlines, Soundbites and Social Media Posts

When inaccurate or incomplete information and assumptions about a project or Council decision start to circulate online, it can quickly become the version people believe and becomes ‘the truth’. This election year, one of the most useful things voters can do is slow down the moment between hearing about a decision and deciding what they think of it.

We must build robust civic opinions - headlines may be the start, but cannot be the end of understanding.

Ashley Bilodeau 2026-07-23 Ashley Bilodeau 2026-07-23

Council, Explained — The Mayor Is Not The Boss.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the Mayor’s role is the idea that leadership also means control. We often expect a Mayor to ‘take charge’, especially when people are frustrated. If a road is not being fixed quickly enough, if taxes are rising, if a development proposal is controversial, or if Council seems divided, people naturally look to the Mayor and ask why they are not simply solving the problem.

But a good Mayor is not effective because it’s assumed that they can control everything. A good Mayor is effective because they understand how to lead within a system where they do not have absolute control.