Get in the Kitchen.

Growing up in Niagara-on-the-Lake is a special thing—one that, quite honestly, only those who were raised here can fully understand as well as those who have community in their hearts who will learn and appreciate it and most of all, respect it.

It’s more than geography. It’s shared history.

We went to school together. Then off to college. We worked our summer jobs in Old Town. We stood beside one another in wedding parties. We showed up at one another’s parents’ funerals. And now, years later, our children are growing up together—walking the same streets, attending the same schools, forming friendships that feel familiar before they even understand why.

That kind of connection runs deep.

So when six of the eight elected council members have grown up here and have known one another for decades, of course there is support for one another. Of course there is support from parents, siblings, neighbours, and the broader community. That isn’t something to be suspicious of—it’s something to be proud of.

That is the beauty of being a long-term resident. And it’s also what attracts new residents to this incredible community in the first place.

You can feel it as a visitor walking down Queen Street. The locals walking their dogs, waving good morning. The table next to you striking up a conversation about where you’re visiting from—then inviting you to join them for a drink. That sense of belonging isn’t manufactured. It’s lived. It’s learned. It’s passed down.

Some have criticized my family for supporting other council members during campaigns, even going so far as to suggest it’s for personal gain.

But that perspective misunderstands what community truly means.

When you live in a place as special as Niagara-on-the-Lake, this is simply what you do. You show up for people. You support one another. Not because you expect something in return—but because that’s how you were raised.

And once you’ve lived that way, you never really see it any other way.

That, to me, is the heart of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

When Community Is Mischaracterized

Recently, a post circulating online attempted to frame long-standing relationships, family support, and community involvement as something suspicious or self-serving.

It leaned heavily on technical interpretations, insinuations, and what was described as a “sniff test,” rather than facts, process, or law.

This type of narrative is not what Niagara-on-the-Lake is about.

Our town is built on people knowing one another—sometimes for generations. That familiarity is not corruption; it is community. It is neighbours supporting neighbours, families standing beside families, and residents caring deeply about the place they call home. Suggesting that support itself is improper misunderstands both the culture and the character of this town.

Niagara-on-the-Lake has never been a place where people live in silos. We attend the same schools, work in the same businesses, volunteer for the same causes, and yes—support one another publicly and proudly. That does not negate rules, ethics, or governance. Those processes exist, are followed, and are enforced. But they should not be twisted to imply wrongdoing simply because relationships exist.

What isn’t Niagara-on-the-Lake is a culture of suspicion for the sake of suspicion. It isn’t reducing decades of community life to insinuations. And it certainly isn’t dismissing integrity simply because outcomes don’t align with a particular viewpoint.

This town works best when debate is rooted in facts, respect, and a genuine desire to improve—not when community bonds are reframed as something to be torn apart.

Niagara-on-the-Lake’s strength has always been its people. And that strength comes from connection, not division.

So when you tell me “if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen.” I say, why don’t you join me in the hot kitchen and help me get the orders up?”