Ryan Gow

I would begin with discretionary consulting and professional-service spending, management vacancies and non-frontline hiring before reducing frontline or mandatory services. Every proposed reduction would publicly show the annualized savings, affected positions or contracts, any one-time costs and the expected service impact before Council votes on it.

My four-year target would be 1,000 net new filled local jobs, with particular focus on permanent, full-time and above-median-wage employment. The latest comparable Statistics Canada estimate showed 52,790 Chatham-Kent residents employed in November 2025; however, that is not the same thing as jobs physically located in CK, so I would establish and publish an employer-based local-jobs baseline at the beginning of the term and report against it annually.

I would use a transparent scoring system: 30% safety, 25% condition, 20% cost of deferral, 15% usage/criticality and 10% rural connectivity and equity. The score and reasoning for funded projects should be public. CK already maintains an Asset Management Plan and Road Safety Action Plan, so this would build on existing technical work rather than replace it.

My first housing action would be an inventory of municipally owned or surplus land that can realistically support housing, followed by identifying sites that can be serviced and brought to market quickly. Housing Services and Economic Development would own the work, using existing Housing Accelerator Fund and CIP tools where eligible. The measurable result would be sites released and housing units enabled, reported within the first year. CK has already secured $10 million through the Housing Accelerator Fund.

For major capital projects I would publish the approved budget, amount committed and spent, forecast final cost, funding source, schedule, percentage complete, major change orders, cost variance and next milestone. Major projects should be updated monthly and the broader capital program at least quarterly.

I would use strong-mayor powers only where the Municipal Act actually authorizes them. Any use would be in writing, identify the statutory authority being used and be made public. Where authority remains with Council, I would bring the matter to Council rather than claim unilateral power. Ontario law also preserves Council's role in amending the mayor's proposed budget and allows a two-thirds override of a mayoral budget veto.