Obviously, yesterday was not the result I was hoping to see. This was a hard fought campaign, a difficult conversation for the community, but the voters have spoken (here and across the region) and chosen change. I’ll let others do the punditry and second guessing.

However, I don’t want us to hang our head, about the campaign or about the great work this City did over the last 4 years. I’m damn proud of New Westminster, and of the people I have been honoured to work with. We have delivered for the community – on the things we promised to deliver when elected. We did it with positivity and a steadfast commitment to our values. We activated, connected, and nurtured. And we are a stronger City than even 4 years ago.

To paraphrase a former President (one of the good ones!): an elected job isn’t a sprint or a marathon, it’s is a relay race. Sometimes you choose when to pass the baton, sometimes its chosen for you, but your job is to work as hard as you can and move that baton as far forward as you can while it’s in your hand.

We can be proud of where we took it. We have affordable and supportive housing being built in the City today – more people living in homes instead of on the street. Rents are going down and renters are more protected than ever. Crime is down and overdose deaths are down. Schools are getting built, and park space expanding. More young families than ever are building lives here, and more businesses have opened than ever before. The City’s finances are in great shape with strong reserves and strong Asset Management Plans for the decade ahead. We are moving the needle on climate and our roads are safer. We have planted thousands of trees, and our children will enjoy their shade in decades to come.

I want to thank my Council colleagues for their work this term, and the staff of the City for always supporting us in wanting to do more, to do better. I have never forgotten that it’s the staff who do the good work that makes New West a leader in so many areas, who deliver every day for this community. I’m really proud of all of you for that commitment to service, for making New Westminster the livable, affordable, and connected City it is.

I also want to thank the candidates and the many volunteers and supporters who showed up for us over the last few months for the joy and collaboration that you all brought to a long campaign. I’m sorry we didn’t get it done, but after we get over the disappointment, we will remember the laughs and the stories.

New Westminster is an incredible and hopeful community, and it has been my honour to bang my heart against it for 20 years. We believe that we can do the hard things that make our community safer and enrich our lives, and as I have said repeatedly over the last 4 years when asked to speak about New West: this is a City of great organizations doing great work. In sports, in the arts, in social services, in economic development; across the City people are lifting each other up. Let’s keep doing that, because that is where the love is found for this quirky, beguiling, and special place where the hills meet the river.

Loving New West isn’t a slogan on a T-shirt, it is a commitment we make to each other.