Thank you Aldous and Ryan!

There are a few notable changes in my life heading into 2020.

I owe a great deal of gratitude to Aldous Sperl and Ryan Clayton. Since the summer of 2017, the three of us have worked alongside each other in service to Saanich North and the Islanders and British Columbians.

That time has come to an end. Both Aldous and Ryan are moving on.

Aldous was my campaign manager. We started working together planning the campaign in the summer of 2016. So much of the success of my campaign is due to Aldous’ ability to build a plan, organize a movement and deliver. Built on a deeply trusting relationship, I recognized early that success would come from doing what I do best and empowering Aldous to do what he does best.

Once the election was over, Aldous and I continued to work together. With a newly elected minority government, my first weeks in office were spent sorting out the working relationships in the legislature. I am so grateful to have had Aldous there to establish a constituency office and operation in Sidney.

He left my constituency office in October 2018 and joined the BC Green Caucus team in the legislature where we again worked alongside each other while in session. As our legislative coordinator, Aldous assisted me in my role as the Caucus Whip administering the daily flow of the business of our caucus. I am so thankful for his incredible contribution to our effort. I will certainly miss his attention to detail, organization and wise advice. Thank you Aldous.

Ryan Clayton joined our constituency office also in the summer of 2017. Throughout his time he has been a powerful advocate for our constituents and constituency.

If you have called, emailed or dropped into our office then you have likely met Ryan. He is usually the first point of contact for people reaching out to me. It will be very difficult to replace Ryan’s ability to navigate the provincial bureaucracy.

Most often, when constituents reach out to their MLA it is because they have exhausted all other options and they are having great difficulty accessing the services they need. I am so thankful to have had Ryan supporting our effort to deliver constituent-centred service in our office. Thank you Ryan.

There is so much focus on elected officials and very little attention paid to the essential work of the people who work alongside the elected officials. They are the critical people who research the information, prepare briefings, schedule meetings, coordinate the daily workflow, administer the office events, answer the phones, respond to emails, staff the front desk, and so much more.

Thank you Aldous and Ryan. You are incredible people and I am privileged to have had the opportunity to work with both of you for the past two years. Best of luck to you both in all your future endeavours. Much love to you.

Finally, I raise my hands to JoJo, Laura, Lil, Erin (and many other volunteers) who continue to deliver high quality service to Saanich North and the Islanders. We are in the process of hiring Ryan’s replacement and will have a full staff compliment in early 2020. Thank you for your patience as we all get back up to speed.