HRM Elections 2020

“I think Spryfield is the greatest community in the world,” says lifelong resident Kristen Hollery. “We are well-connected. We have a lot of resources that people don’t necessarily know, and we work together really well.” The area also gets a bad rap sometimes, but Hollery hopes to change that by running for District 11 (Spryfield–Sambro Loop–Prospect […]

Ever since he was 14 years old, Matt Conrad knew he wanted to run for city council. “I couldn’t wait to vote and I was always really involved,” he says. Conrad never considered running for a specific party—for him it’s always been about city council and representing District 11 (Spryfield—Sambro Loop—Prospect Road). “I find that […]

Iain Taylor was born and raised in Northern Ireland, moving to Canada in 2007 for his university education. This election, he’s running for council for District 13 (Hammonds Plains–St. Margarets) to tackle three major issues: COVID-19, the economic crisis and climate change. “And I don’t feel like any of the other candidates are appropriately addressing […]

Robert Holden is a single dad raising his six-year-old daughter. He works as a self-employed residential painter and was a stay-at-home dad for three and a half years. This October, he’s running for the council seat in District 13 (Hammonds Plains–St. Margarets) because he wants to see some changes in the district. “We need services […]

Derek Bellemore is running for council because he’s always been interested in the community, starting from when he was the youngest volunteer on the Heritage Advisory Committee. Now, as a political science graduate from Dalhousie University, Bellemore says his degree will help him make informed decisions if he’s elected to represent District 13 (Hammonds Plains–St. […]

Tim Elms is running for the council seat for District 13 (Hammonds Plains–St. Margarets) because he’s grown tired of politicians focusing on elections instead of solutions. “Ones that claim that they’ve done so much for us, but with actual like, little results,” says the father of three. Elms says his experience in policy procurement for […]

Darrell Jessome says he decided to run for the District 13 (Hammonds Plains-St. Margarets) council seat so he could connect with more people in the community. “Sincerely, I want to help people. Sometimes It’s hard to broadcast that but at my age, it’s truly what I want to do,” says the 61-year-old accountant. Jessome’s been […]

Pam Lovelace is the only woman running for a council seat for District 13 (Hammonds Plains–St. Margarets). She recently received a donation from an 88-year-old woman, who hopes she wins against the eight men in the race. “Her wish right now is to be represented on council by a woman for the first time ever,” […]

Nick Horne first started getting engaged in the community when an asphalt plant wanted to move in close to his home in Westwood Hills. He and other residents were opposed to the idea. “I led that fight,” Horne says. “And from that, I joined the HRM Planning Advisory Committee, which continued to get me engaged […]

It’s been 12 years since Tim Outhit was first elected as the representative for Bedford-Wentworth. This time around, he’s got no competition for the seat. “I was acclaimed, so I haven’t been filling out a lot of surveys and that because I don’t want to influence other people,” he says. But Outhit is still happy to […]

When Ryan Burris was deciding how to give back to his community, it was a toss-up between running for council and starting a not-for-profit affordable housing organization. “I thought I could get more done on council short-term,” says the 34-year-old stepfather of two about his decision to run in District 4 (Cole Harbour–Westphal). Burris shops, […]

Jessica Quillan says she never backs down—and she’s not about to start if she’s elected councillor for District 4 (Cole Harbour–Westphal). She is ready to improve her community at a higher level, and although politics was never at the forefront of her mind, she says if she wants to make change, politics comes with the […]