Councillor send message of the season to residents
LOWER SACKVILLE: The local councillor for the Beaver Bank area is wishing her constituents all the best, and encouraging them to help others in need this holiday season.
“I definitely want to wish all the residents of District 14 the merriest of Christmases,” Lisa Blackburn said. “I want to thank you for your support over the past few months. I look forward to working with you all to make it a fabulous 2017.”
She encouraged people to help others at this time of the year.
“I would encourage folks to support their local charities whether its their local food bank or their local community group because they need your help especially at this time of the year,” said Blackburn. “I think it’s a great way to show you care. A little show of financial support or of your time. It makes a big difference.”
Blackburn enjoys first month as HRM councillor
BEAVER BANK: Lisa Blackburn calls the first month as an HRM councillor “spectacular.”
The Middle/Upper Sackville-Lucasville-Beaver Bank representative said the the on board process process has been second to none.
“We took two weeks of solid, I call it councillor school, where they brought in all the major department heads,” she said/ “We had day long sessions sort of introducing us to some of the major issues we’re going to be facing, the technology that type of thing.
“The council staff have been phenomenal. I can’t say enough about them. They do all the heavy lifting and I am so pleased to have them working beside us.”
Blackburn said she’s found out one thing they like a lot of.
“There’s a lot of meetings,” she said with a chuckle and a smile during an interview Nov. 21 at a Beaver Bank Road coffee shop. “These people like their meetings.
“It’s good because that’s how you find out how things work and what’s going on.”
The most surprising thing for her through month one is how much HRM is run as a corporation, and not as a government body.
“Coming from a media background where I covered government, I was expecting government, similar to how the province and feds are run,” she said. “That’s not the case at all. This is run like a corporation to the extent that public works is called a business unit, it’s not a department. It’s a whole new way of looking at things.
“I don’t know if this is a recent thing, whether it’s part of the vision that Mayor Mike Savage has brought in, but I like it. I like it a lot. I’m serving clients, it’s more than just residents. I like that.”
Councillor surprised by U.S. election results
BEAVER BANK: The newly elected councillor for Middle/Upper Sackville-Lucasville-Beaver Bnak, like many of her colleagues, was also surprised at the results of the U.S. Election.
Donald Trump picked up the unexpected win over heavily favoured Hillary Clinton to become the new President of the U.S.A.
“I don’t know what else you can say,” said Lisa Blackburn.
“I think a lot of people had their heads in the sand and didn’t want to see the growing distrust of the establishment. Now they have no choice but to realize there is definitely a distrust of the establishment, and they’re going to have to work twice as hard to repair that relationship. I’m hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.”
phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com
