Ready to work
Jody Jackson defeats Dan Larter to become new Stratford councillor
There’s a new councillor in town, and he says he won’t be wasting any time in getting to work for residents.
Jody Jackson won Monday’s byelection for Ward 2 after earning 342 votes to fellow candidate Dan Larter’s 164.
Jackson said it felt terrific to have the voters’ confidence.
“I look forward to working for each and every resident to make a better Stratford, it’s a great town right now but we can always improve, so I’m going to get to work tomorrow on that,” said Jackson, who also works at the Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I.
Jackson said the major issue he heard from residents while campaigning was concern over the town’s sewage treatment facility.
“A lot of residents want us to get that sorted out but they want certainty on the price. I know the mayor has to get back to the table with the province and Charlottetown to ensure that Stratford residents have a viable option,” he said. “That’s going to be one of the first things I want to see done.”
Jackson said he also heard how residents in the growing town want to keep taxes affordable while also having up-todate infrastructure.
He will replace the vacant seat that was left after former Coun. Diane Griffin was appointed to the senate late last year.
Jackson is not a stranger to many Stratford residents. He has been a member of the town’s recreation, events and culture committee for the past three years and volunteers in the community through initiatives, such as tax preparation programs for seniors, Learn to Curl sessions for adults and youth, advocacy for families of children with disabilities and co-ordination of local sporting events and leagues.
He has been a resident of the Stratford area for more than 35 years, where he now lives with his wife, Jillian, and son Dylan. He is also the co-founder of the P.E.I. Ride for Autism.
Larter congratulated Jackson following the announcement of the results.
Although it “didn’t shake out this time” for Larter, the 30-year-old Stratford resident said he got a lot of good experiences from the campaign trail.
“The people of Ward 2 had a difficult choice to make, I respect their choice and I hope to see them in the next election,” said Larter. “I learned a lot and I won’t hesitate to jump into the next election.”
Mayor David Dunphy congratulated both candidates on their campaigns and said council felt it was important to have a contested election.
“We had two good candidates come forward and we’re happy to have Jody on the team,” said Dunphy.
“We’re looking forward to working with Jody and we’ve got some positions for him to take over, so we’ll get him to work really soon.”