Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to a letter in your newspaper about the mayoralty debate. I want to thank the NG Times for hosting this event. It gave the community a chance to be heard and the candidates an opportunity to listen.
Your letter writer had some strong opinions about the debate and he made a number of comments about me and my presentation at this event that I would like to clarify.
First of all, I am not Dorothy from Kansas. I am Nancy from Kemptville. My family moved here when my children were very young because it was an affordable but growing small town.
My children’s paternal great-grandmother was also born and raised in Oxford Mills, and those familial roots mattered. We love North Grenville, have made it our home and intend to stay.
Secondly, I do not own, at the present time at least, any magical slippers.
I am not offering “trinkets” in this campaign, but rather a proven track record of working collaboratively with all levels of government, and across party lines. These efforts have resulted in grants and funding in the millions of dollars as a senior leader in the not for profit sector.
As a result of the countless hours that I have canvassed this community, it is clear that North Grenville needs safe roads on which to drive, sidewalks on which to walk, crucial infrastructure improvements to help us continue to grow sustainably, an enabling environment for local businesses, as well as affordable and accessible recreational facilities for all members of our community.
I am committed to working within our existing budget to pursue these things and have no plans for future tax increases, beyond those already approved by the current Council.
If elected, I will, alongside my Council colleagues, host transparent community conversations to determine if this 2% annual increase is still, in fact, necessary.
Those are not simply my promises, they are a reflection of what hundreds of voters have told me in the past few months and in my years of living in North Grenville.
I am not promising magic tricks to make North Grenville a great community. It already is. I would love the honour of serving as Mayor to make it even better.
Sincerely,
Nancy Peckford
