Joanne Fralick

I believe the County needs councillors who understand both where we have come from and where we are going. I have lived in Ward 2 for 18 years, raised my son here, written multiple books, and spent years as a local journalist covering Council and listening to residents. I have seen our community grow, and I believe that managing growth carefully can yield positive results. I want to bring clear communication, independent thinking, and practical decision-making to Council, ensuring that the voices of people who live here year-round reach the decision-makers.

The most pressing issue is managing growth while keeping the County livable and affordable for the people who call it home. Housing, infrastructure, water, roads, and municipal services are all connected to that challenge. I would push for decisions based on what our infrastructure can realistically support, stronger long-term planning, and careful attention to the costs residents bear. We need housing that local people can afford and infrastructure that can keep pace. Above all, Council’s decisions keep our residents—not only tourism, development, or short-term revenue—at the centre.

I don’t believe the choice is between stopping development and unlimited development. There is a middle ground: building where infrastructure can support it, requiring development to respect the County’s landscape and community character, and making sure new housingcontributes to local needs. Growth should not mean losing the villages, agricultural land, heritage, and sense of community that make this place special. I will support clear, predictable planning rules so responsible developers know what to expect, while Council protects that which cannot be replaced. Development should fit the County rather than forcing the County to fit development.

We need to invest in infrastructure, but we cannot write blank cheques. Renewing water infrastructure in Wellington, Bloomfield, and Picton, and protecting reliable, clean drinking water, are priorities. I favour long-term asset planning, transparent cost estimates, and careful phasing so that major projects are affordable and achievable. Council should aggressively pursue provincial and federal funding, development charges, and other appropriate revenue sources before putting more pressure on taxpayers. Fiscal responsibility means planning ahead, not postponing essential work.

Tourism is important to the County, but a strong four-season economy cannot depend on summer visitors alone. We should encourage businesses and attractions that create stable, year-round employment, support residents, and bring economic activity into the shoulder and winter seasons. That means supporting arts, culture, agriculture, food, local manufacturing, recreation, and business development alongside tourism. Tourism should also contribute more directly to the community infrastructure it uses. I am not anti-tourism; I want tourism that works for residents and visitors alike. 

I would use the municipal portion of the MAT to strengthen the County’s long-term capacity: infrastructure, public spaces, community amenities, and projects that help manage tourism impact. I want spending decisions to be transparent and tied to community benefits. Visit the County/StayPEC’s share should focus on promoting responsible, year-round visitation rather than increasing summer numbers. Marketing should encourage longer stays, shoulder-season travel, and experiences that spread visitors throughout the County. 

 I would pay attention to the gap between the County’s growing popularity and the reality of living here year-round. We need to ask, with every major decision: how does this affect the people who live, work, and raise families here? That includes affordability, housing, infrastructure, traffic, access to services, and the character of our communities. I would also make communication a priority. Residents should understand what Council is deciding, why it is being decided, and what it will cost. People may disagree with a decision, but they deserve openness, accountability, and a genuine voice.

Geoff Heinricks

I only gave serious consideration to standing for council when I learned of the mayoral run of someone whose professionalism, character, and understanding of the County I know well.

The chance to serve on a reconfigured, responsible council is worth fighting for.  Local government has the most immediate impact on the daily lives of people, and that importance and duty is too often considered as afterthought. It should be nimble and responsible, given that impact and importance.

The most pressing issue is cutting the Gordian Knot of a current water plan that is clearly delusional and dangerous. Real decisions about our true infrastructure needs must be made. The tarting up of numbers to potentially propel this tiny municipality into deep financial bondage betrays our history, and shows a lack of true stewardship and accountability.

The priority should be urban infills in both Picton and Wellington. Greenfield development is not a sustainable or genuine economy. James Kunstler has made a strong case that suburban development is “the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world.” The truth is municipal governments everywhere end up chasing new development to cover the massive costs in infrastructure and services.

We have three wonderful examples of walkable, attractive urban stretches in the County, part of our charm for visitors — but rather than buil on that, we prefer to look like Mississauga, Newmarket or Brampton.

Decisions about water infrastructure need to be based on the true requirements and carrying capacity of this municipality. Growth figures must be based on reality, and not conjured up and inserted into consultant’s reports. Our population has remained stubbornly consistent for 150 years. With only 54 residential building permits issued so far this year – and just 5 of those in water serviced areas – we are laughably short of the 150 per year required to meet the current 1 percent growth metric adopted by Shire Hall.

The Picton/Bloomfield and Wellington  WTPs should be maintained as separate, smaller facilities. Upgrades must match the reality of a very small user base. And the highest standards of monitoring and of staff professionalism and education need to be maintained.

The true four-season economy is the activity that occurs to sustain and enhance our residents’ lives and work. A healthy core of shops, stores and services are both a driver and indicator of that balance. Agriculture continues as the major activity, along with the extraction industries. Technology has allowed quiet entrepreneurial business to establish, remote work to take root, and art to grow.

The shoulder seasons for visitors have increased dramatically, as the wine, dining and hospitality sector matures, and the same visitors grow to recognize our beauty across the seasons, and not just in summer. But the County will always have a natural rhythm to its economy. Balancing and anticipating that is our growing skill.

Given that much of MAT revenue comes from housing stock that has been taken off the market for families to buy or rent, I would like to see the municipal share used to fund affordable housing initiatives and projects.

Two factors that had me choose the County over 30 years ago were the vibrant agricultural history and the beauty of what was created by hand and nature and allowed to exist here. Alone and apart. I helped establish a new agricultural sector with winegrowing, and upon municipal amalgamation was appointed to the first few heritage advisory committees advising council. Those remain two very strong motivations.

Mark Henry

I proudly regard myself as first and foremost a farmer. There is a deep-seated pleasure in producing food people will eat and enjoy! I believe once a farmer, always a farmer – it gets in your blood. I would like to bring that perspective to Council.

I was a school board trustee for two terms representing Wellington. I enjoyed those years while my children were in school. Now with 7 grandchildren (generations Alpha and Z) growing up in the County, I have hopes of making contributions at the municipal level, focusing on the farm sector, climate issues and fiscal responsibility so that these young people will be able to see their future right here at home.

The most pressing issue is probably general affordability – especially for Generation Z — but sorting out water and waste management for those residents on municipal services seems to be the top issue. The options range from necessary updates to existing services versus a tax burden which many fear will flood past those with services to becoming an element of the property tax shared County-wide. 

 There seems to already be enough land set aside for urban development. In an effort to encourage young people to move here/stay here, encouraging developers to look at building homes for first-time buyers is very important. Could developers delivering a product below a certain threshold price be offered some additional encouragement to do so with lower development charges? Whatever happened to the affordable housing project on the old Dukedome site, and for seniors, the old Pinecrest site?

It’s incredible we have evolved to the point that such notable entities as Conde Nast Traveler have determined we are a must-visit location in all of North America and our food scene is on its Best Places to Eat in 2026. That reputation would seem to encourage more four season visits. What more can we do? It’s probably happening already, but knowing what brings tourists to the County as well as what annoys visitors about us might help us stretch the number of seasons they visit. 

One small item is charging people for parking too long in Wellington. That’s just one of those irritants that might make one find somewhere else to go.

As I understand it the municipal portion of the MAT is spent on collecting the 4 percent fee from County accommodations, leaving the balance to be split between Visit the County and Stay PEC. With what I know currently, I can’t think of any reason to adjust the current split.

Creating an environment that encourages our young people to stay, have families and build a life here depends on our near urgent attention to all of these issues.

Victor Lind

I am excited by the prospect of being on Council and using the experience I have gained after 40 years as a community planner working on some of the most complex issues in some of the most challenging communities in Ontario.

There is no doubt that the biggest issues are continuing debt, ever rising property taxes, and the threats and unknown costs of proposed housing projects in both Wellington and Picton which will change the nature of the community as we know it. There is a fear of out-of-control rates for water/wastewater facilities, and a widespread skepticism of those in control at Shire Hall.

But all is not lost. We have dedicated, professional staff who want to work with Council. In many cases, this collaboration has been hampered by a Council that didn’t work together to find solutions and became dysfunctional, which simply breeds mistrust. With the right, knowledgeable councillors who have the experience and are willing to take the time to explore creative alternatives and challenge the accepted facts, we can move forward to embrace growth while still maintaining the character and heritage of this place we love.

My decades of experience bringing together community residents with municipal staff, politicians and consulting experts to find solutions makes me a natural choice for Councillor. I have spent years helping people navigate bureaucracy. This is what I do best.

With respect to tourism and the MAT tax, I am committed to supporting the new economy of agri-tourism as a job generator for our youth. I am also aware that our young families and our aging population need housing, especially rental, and I support creative re-thinking of our zoning in areas like Picton’s industrial park — home to our new Hospital — where key parcels could be re-purposed for rental development within walking distance of downtown shopping. This would also put growth where the infrastructure is. I believe we should review the MAT portion the County receives and consider using some of it towards housing, especially since short-term accommodations have taken almost 1000 housing units out of the long-term supply.

Lastly, the natural environment is what makes PEC special. There is no other place like it in Ontario. As a co-founder and Director of Save Picton Bay, I was proud to be part of a grassroots advocacy group that focused on protecting a key source of clean drinking water and stopping industrial pollution. To learn more about me please visit my website, victorlind.ca.