Gillian Yorke running in Kentville
Gillian Yorke, who is running for town council in Kentville, recently provided responses to a Q&A
SaltWire is providing to municipal election candidates.
Q. What’s your full name?
A. Gillian Yorke
Q. Where are you from?
A. I was born and raised here, in Kentville.
Q. What did you do before you decided to run for office?
A. I worked for the Kentville Parks and Recreation Department for nearly a decade, and recently moved to social media management.
Q. Why have you chosen to run in this election campaign?
A. It’s simple. I love this town, and I love municipal government. It is, arguably, the level of government with the most significant impact on citizens. I want to make sure Kentville citizens have the best they can have and are being served the way they should to be served.
Q. What strengths would you bring to council if you are elected?
A. My biggest strength is my experience. I have worked for the people of Kentville for years. I planned events, held information sessions and got to know the community. I have worked with council, and I know the role and expectations of elected councillors.
Q. What do you feel is the key challenge facing the community/region and how would you work to address it?
A. In my experience speaking with people in our community, it seems that one of the biggest challenges can be boiled down to a lack of trust. The apparent relationship breakdown of elected councillors, the open criticism of staff, and the departure of two CAOs in a year have people unsure and hesitant. When there are trust issues, it's hard to get any work accomplished. Establishing respectful working relationships with fellow elected officials would be my first step to address this challenge.
Q. What one message do you hope gets out to the voters during this election campaign?
A. The loudest voice you can have in our community is with your vote. When you vote, you are electing up to six people to make decisions on your behalf. Let them know what you think by voting. If you have six candidates that you absolutely can count on to make decisions for you, vote for them. If you believe there are only two that are up to the job, vote only for them. And, perhaps even more importantly, if you think no candidates are up to the task, vote for no one at all.
Q. How can people contact you?
A. Facebook www.facebook.com/votegillian
Instagram www.instagram.com/votegillian
Website www.gillianyorke.com Email gillianforkentville@gmail.com