City Council

With two terms under his belt, downtown Halifax councillor Waye Mason has become well-known for his city planning knowledge, protecting historic buildings and going to bat with the province on some major issues. “One of the ones that I’m delighted about was fighting the province over the poorly planned-out parking garage, and stopping that in […]

Jen Powley decided to challenge for the District 7 (Halifax South Downtown) council seat because she cannot abide by the unfairness going on in the city. “The situation with the police in HRM is a great example of inequity,” she says. “We need to ask the communities what they want the job of the police […]

Having lived in downtown Halifax for four years, voting for the incumbent councillor in the district last election, Craig Roy says he hasn’t seen the changes he expected. So this time around, he’s running for council himself. “Instead of sitting around and bellyaching about the fact that nothing is getting done, I’m gonna step in and […]

S hawn  Cleary was elected in 2016 with the goals of making Halifax more environmentally and financially stable and making roads safer for pedestrians. Four years later, he’s still working on those same things, although he says he’s made a lot of progress. “With the integrated mobility plan, when that was unanimously passed in December […]

Bill Carr is running for the District 9 (Halifax West Armdale) council seat in hopes of restoring humanity to Halifax. He aims “to truly lift up representative—but more importantly participatory—democracy,” he says. “So that we can have a safe and equitable community.” Carr says the systemic racism in Halifax is real and deeper than many […]

After Stephen Foster rounded off his PhD in physics in Toronto, he moved back home to Halifax. “I love this city,” he says, “and if I could do anything to make it a better place to live, then that would be something that would mean a lot to me.” Foster got a job as a […]

Shaun Clark is vying to be councillor for District 9 (Halifax West Armdale) because he wants a better life for his children. “I want them to have places that they can live in, in the city, when they’re old enough,” he says. Clark, who quit his job as a staffing clerk at the IWK Health […]

Living in Lawrencetown Beach, David Boyd says his community has been overlooked by politicians for as long as he can remember. This year, it motivated him to run for the District 2 (Preston–Chezzetcook–Eastern Shore) council seat. “Well, one major thing I’ll fight for a community that’s been ignored for a long time, that’s North Preston,” he says. […]

Looking after the largest geographical district in the municipality, Preston-Chezzetcook-Eastern Shore, there’s a one in three chance David Hendsbee could also be the longest-running councillor. “If I’m re-elected I will become the dean with tenure,” he says, having sat on Halifax Regional Council from 1993 until 1999, taking a brief break to try his hand […]

Nicole Johnson is running for District 2 (Preston–Chezzetcook–Eastern Shore) because she has a heart for community and family. “I am someone who has been raised on some great spiritual principles and grounded in morals that seek to do good.” A graduate of the Centre for Arts and Technology in Halifax, with a background in fashion, […]

When it comes to why he chose to run for District 12 (Timberlea–Beechville–Clayton Park–Wedgewood), John Bignell thinks back to his first time volunteering in his community, saying it was “kind of a catalyst” for him. The 45-year-old father of two volunteered with the Wooden River Environment Watershed Organisation in the ‘90s. He was also a […]

B efore she became councillor, Lisa Blackburn worked in television and radio. Now, she’s making the decisions she used to report on. “The municipal order of government is the closest to homeowners, and we’re the ones who impact your day-to-day life, so those decisions are important ones at that council table,” says the incumbent candidate […]