Meet Sandra
Experience, community and a practical approach to representation.
Northumberland County has been my home for nearly 40 years, including 22 years in Trent Hills. I raised my family here, worked and managed businesses in our community, and have volunteered throughout Trent Hills since the early 1990s. Today, my grandchildren also call Trent Hills home.
My experience includes serving as an elected municipal councillor for the Township of Alnwick/Haldimand, working with community organizations, managing businesses and, today, supporting an elected First Nation Chief and Council. These experiences have given me a practical understanding of governance, budgets, competing priorities and the responsibility that comes with making decisions on behalf of a community.
My work and volunteer experiences have reinforced something I still believe today: understanding a community means listening to the people who experience it from different perspectives.
A Little About Me
I grew up in the country as one of eight children. Family, hard work and helping one another were simply part of everyday life. Those values have stayed with me.
Northumberland County has been my home for nearly 40 years, including 22 years in Trent Hills. I raised my son and daughter here, and today I’m proud that they and my two grandsons also call Trent Hills home.
I continue to work full-time and manage a household on one income. Like many people in our community, I understand what it means to balance a household budget, deal with rising costs and plan carefully for the future.
My working life has taken me in many directions—from business and public service to not-for-profit organizations, community work and municipal government. I have a diploma in Legal Administration and continue to pursue professional development, particularly in governance.
Those different experiences have taught me to look at issues from more than one perspective. Behind every report, budget and decision that comes before Council are people, families, businesses and organizations that may be affected by it.
For approximately five and a half years, I worked on the main street of Campbellford, first as Manager of the Salvation Army Thrift Store and later as an Employment Services Coordinator with Career Edge. In both roles, I worked closely with residents, local employers, businesses and community organizations throughout Trent Hills.
My work included community outreach and working directly with employers to understand their workforce needs. I spoke with local business organizations, including the Campbellford BIA. During the recovery from COVID-19, I also had the opportunity to speak with our local MPP about the challenges facing local employers, inclusive hiring and connecting employers with people who faced barriers to employment.
While with the Salvation Army, I organized its first Trent Hills-wide Christmas Kettle Campaign, bringing together local businesses, volunteers and locations across the municipality. Funds raised through the campaign supported the Salvation Army's local food bank.
Those experiences gave me another view of our community—the people looking for work, employers trying to find the right people, businesses working to succeed, families needing a little help, and volunteers willing to step forward.
Experience I Bring to the Table
I bring previous municipal council experience, current governance work, community involvement and practical experience to the role of councillor.
I previously served as an elected councillor for the Township of Alnwick/Haldimand from 2010 to 2014. That experience taught me firsthand the responsibility that comes with having a seat—and a vote—at the council table.
During my term, I served on committees and boards involving public works, planning and land management, policing, emergency management, heritage, community centres and community events. I also served as Chair of the Alnwick/Haldimand Police Services Board.
My governance experience didn’t end when my council term did. Today, I work directly supporting an elected First Nation Chief and Council, keeping me actively involved in governance, administration, policy and the practical realities facing elected leaders.
I also believe in continuing to learn. I am currently pursuing further professional development through AFOA Canada’s Certified Aboriginal Professional Administrator (CAPA) program, including governance training.
My experience extends beyond government. I have worked in business, public service and not-for-profit organizations, managed budgets and staff, and worked with community organizations and volunteers.
Experience doesn’t mean having all the answers. It means knowing the questions to ask, doing the homework, listening to the people affected and being prepared to make a decision.
Community Involvement in Trent Hills
My involvement in Trent Hills goes back to the early 1990s and has taken many different forms over the years.
I founded the Warkworth Block Parent Program in the early 1990s and served as Treasurer of the Percy Parent Association.
Over the years, I have volunteered with and served on local organizations and boards, including the Warkworth Lilac Festival Committee as Treasurer, the Trent Hills Police Services Board, Peterborough and Northumberland Crime Stoppers, Trent Hills Therapy Dogs and the Aron Theatre Co-op. I have also been involved with CKOL Radio as a volunteer announcer.
These experiences have given me opportunities to work alongside residents, businesses, volunteers and community organizations throughout Trent Hills. More importantly, they have allowed me to meet and listen to people from different parts of our community and helped shape my understanding of the place I call home.
How I Will Serve
My approach is straightforward: listen first, come prepared, do the homework, ask the questions that need to be asked and make a decision.
I will review the information that comes before Council, consider the financial and community impacts, listen to residents and staff, and ask questions when something needs clarification. I won’t pretend to have an answer when I don’t have enough information.
You may not always agree with my decisions—and I don’t expect everyone to. But you can expect me to come prepared, explain my reasoning and be accountable for my vote.
Different Experiences. Different Perspectives.
Ward 3 includes farms and rural properties, neighbourhoods and in-town residents, businesses and community organizations. People may share the same community but experience its services, infrastructure, costs and council decisions very differently.
Good representation means understanding those differences, listening to the people affected and considering the whole picture before making a decision.
At the Council Table
Having served as an elected councillor, I understand that council decisions are rarely as simple as they first appear. They can involve competing priorities, limited resources, legislation, staff recommendations and different community needs.
That experience taught me the importance of reading the information, asking questions, considering the consequences and being prepared to vote.
Rural and Farm Perspectives
Farming and rural living bring needs and challenges that aren't always the same as those experienced in town. Roads, drainage, land use, agricultural operations, emergency services, access to services and municipal decisions can affect rural residents and farm families in very different ways.
Good decisions require understanding those impacts and listening to the people who live and work in our rural community.
In-town Residents and Businesses
People living and working in town have their own priorities—from roads, sidewalks and traffic to local businesses, services, recreation, housing and the vitality of our downtown and neighbourhoods.
My years working on Campbellford's main street gave me the opportunity to work directly with residents, employers, businesses and community organizations and to better understand some of those everyday realities.
Bringing It Together
No single perspective tells the whole story. A decision that works well for one part of Ward 3 may have different consequences for another.
My responsibility will be to listen to residents, businesses and farmers, consider the community-wide effects and make practical decisions that serve Ward 3 and Trent Hills as a whole.
Sandra’s previous township Council experience has been tremendously valuable for our Council operations. I can attest to Sandra’s leadership capabilities, especially as they relate to local governance.
Chief Taynar Simpson
Chief, Alderville First Nation