Eastern Charlotte Ward 4 Candidate: Matthew Hall
1. As candidates, what would be your key priorities over the next four years in your community?
Blacks Harbour deserves clean, safe, and reliable drinking water for residents and businesses. The current system is an impediment to its growth. Work with partners to secure much needed affordable child care spaces. This is needed to spur economic and population growth. Improve and build upon existing recreational opportunities to foster healthy living through trail developments, sports, and events for all ages. Eastern Charlotte also needs to focus heavily on local economic development opportunities and foster diversification opportunities. To do all this, Eastern Charlotte also needs affordable and attainable housing options to attract younger families to our community. Making sure that Eastern Charlotte has the right zoning plans in place to ensure growth that works for our communities in both rural and urban areas of the municipality.
2. How would you achieve those priorities within your mandate?
Working with council and staff to maintain timelines and keep projects on track. Lean on the experience of our provincial, federal and private/ non-profit partners. Most importantly, create community committees to help guide local decision-making.
3. How will you ensure transparency and accountability in council decisions and communication with residents?
To ensure a healthy democracy, committee of the whole meetings recorded and televised online to allow constituents to be able to stay informed. The municipality owns the technology already to make this happen. It is a simple, low-cost solution.
4. What is your approach to managing growth and development while preserving the character of the community?
The zoning plan will be the most important thing for this Council to focus on prior to 2028. This plan must be drafted in a way that meets the need for growth, fosters economic development, and considers environmental and recreational considerations. Eastern Charlotte also needs to develop an economic development plan that guides Council and staff on where it wants to go as a municipality- with clear KPIs and deliverables.
5. What is your position on property taxes, and how would you balance affordability with maintaining services?
We need to attract private and public sector investments that will help keep our residential and industrial tax rate low, steady, and competitive. Continue to invest in our water and sewer infrastructure to ensure long-term sustainability and clean water. Building upon our asset management- to replace things when needed, and to ensure that there is a healthy reserve to purchase new assets. Investing in our people will be critical if we want to attract a younger population and invest in recreational and cultural infrastructure.
6. Why are you the best candidate to represent your ward, and what experience do you bring to the role?
I can bring a fresh perspective to council, shaped by a diverse range of life and work experiences that differ from traditional backgrounds in local government. This allows me to approach challenges with creativity and practical problem-solving. I am a professional and have been a volunteer firefighter and engage in many recreational activities in the community. I’m committed to working collaboratively, putting politics aside, working with our provincial and federal counterparts, and focus on what’s best for our community. As someone who is deeply invested in Blacks Harbour, I’m motivated not just to support growth, but to ensure it is sustainable and benefits everyone who lives here and throughout Eastern Charlotte.
Each candidate was provided with the same six questions and equal limits on response length and time. Candidates who did not have publicly available contact information through Elections New Brunswick were required to contact The Courier in accordance with its Municipal Election Coverage Fairness Policy. Candidates who did not respond or declined to participate are noted. Failure to participate will not result in additional coverage elsewhere in the newspaper.
