SUMMERSIDE – For Nancy Quinn, the time is now.
“There will be no perfect time. But my ‘I’ll do it one day’ is here and I’m ready to do this now,” she said Thursday, announcing her bid for a seat on Summerside City Council.
Quinn, who has spent most of her professional career working for or with municipalities, will be vying for the Ward 7 Green Shore – Three Oaks seat, which is currently held by Brian McFeely.
The 2018 election is set for early November. Quinn is the first to announce her candidacy.
“When anyone takes the leap to run for public office it’s always intimidating. But I’ve heard so many good stories about people who have done it, so I’m going to be brave and go for it. And I hope this becomes a step in normalizing women running for politics.”
Quinn, who has lived in Summerside for 10 years with her family, was initially employed by the city. She has since founded a consultancy agency, working with individuals and organizations to develop their business.
“I’ve worked with municipalities, now I want to be on the other side.”
Quinn says she is keen to represent the ward, outlining her platform’s three elements: a citywide emergency preparedness plan, enhancing the model of operations for the city’s electric utility department and ensuring city council and staff are fully engaging with residents.
“There hasn’t been enough priority or funding put toward an emergency preparedness plan,” said Quinn.
On Wednesday many Island residents received a test emergency alert via their cellphones, and while provincial and national initiatives are in place, Quinn says the city could use one too.
“Within the city there should be a plan, so people know where to go if there are extreme weather events or the possibility of external events that we can’t see happening. Maybe there is a building or place to go set in place if we were to have a snow storm like we did a few years ago.”
She added, “There’s been a lot of talk about the city’s utility. The utility currently reports to council, but I feel an external advisory panel of experts with the knowledge of the city’s plant and the changing energy field would be beneficial.”
She also wants to see the communications and interactions between council, city staff, and residents become stronger.
“It’s important for our community that everyone is engaged. Things can be done more effectively.”
She says she plans to begin making her way to residents around the ward in the coming weeks and hopes an early announcement will let her visit with them multiple times before the election.
Quinn would love to see the next council have a voice or two from the under-30 crowd.
“I think young people think they can’t join council until they’re 50 or so. But that’s not the case… We need new ideas and a perspective that isn’t singular. I think it will be important to have someone on council who says why don’t we do it a way we’ve never done before.”
