Diana Huson Running to Represent Town of Pelham on Niagara Regional Council

Huson will be Contesting  the Seat of  Pelham regional council incumbent and NPCA board member Brian Baty

“I’m running for Pelham’s regional seat because I’m passionate about our beautiful community and, like many people, I’m disappointed with our Regional Council.” – Diana Huson

News from the Campaign to Elect Diana Huson

Posted July 24^th, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Pelham, Ontario – Pointing out that it’s “time for change,” Fenwick resident Diana Huson announced Tuesday, July 24 that she is running to become the Regional Council member for the Town of Pelham in October’s municipal elections. 

If elected, she would be the first woman to hold the position (for the Town of Pelham). Of the 31 current Regional Council members, only four are women.

“I’m running for Pelham’s regional seat because I’m passionate about our beautiful community and, like many people, I’m disappointed with our Regional Council,” said Huson, 41.

“We’ve seen out-of-control spending on councillor expenses, a council that voted themselves a pay raise, and a divide-and-conquer mentality that undermines our ability to attain the things that our community needs the most.”

Huson said the outgoing term of Niagara Regional Council has painted a negative picture of Niagara in a very public way.  

“That’s not what we need. We need cooperation, collaboration and team work,” she said.

Huson has resided in Niagara her entire life, living in Fenwick for the past 10 years with her husband and daughter. During this time she has worked for Brock University in administration.

She holds an MBA from the Goodman School of Business and a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Brock University, where the focus of her academic research was economic development in Niagara and institutional change.

“I found that political infighting was especially detrimental to the needs of the Region,” said Huson.

“The province will defer any important decisions, or more importantly funding, until we have consensus across our municipalities. If we can’t agree on our priorities, the funding goes elsewhere. Pelham needs a team that works together to get action on important social and economic issues.”

In collaboration with highly respected Brock Political Science Professor Dr. Charles Conteh, Huson’s research was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science.

No stranger to working on committees, Huson served as the Chair of Brock’s United Way Campaign for more than four years. She has also served on both the United Way of South Niagara committee, Pelham’s Economic Action Committee and is currently Director of Communications for Momentum Choir, an organization that focuses on promoting and nurturing adults with disabilities through music.

“I’m very dedicated to helping those in our community who need it the most,” she said, adding that watching her father struggle with cancer treatment a few years ago was an eye-opening experience.  

“I realized how vital supplemental health care services are to the older population in Niagara. As our population ages, seniors will need many more support services through public health and non-profit organizations – especially if they don’t have a strong support system around them.”

Huson is also a champion of entrepreneurship and small business.

“Over the years I’ve had my own business as a consultant and my husband has operated a business in Fenwick for two decades,” she said. “Pelham has a fairly large base of entrepreneurs and small to medium sized businesses. I think we need to support them and encourage more people to think about self-employment as a realistic option for the future.”

If elected, Huson promises to never vote herself a raise and to consult her constituents on important issues.

“Our regional representative must speak for the people. I plan to better engage with voters over their needs and wants moving forward,” she said. “I’m looking to voters to tell me what their priorities are for the campaign.”

(A Footnote from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper – Good for Diana Hana for making the decision to run in the coming October 22^nd municipal elections.

Diana Huson is far from the only person across Niagara who is disappointed with our current regional council.

There are a handful of  good people now sitting on that council who are well worth re-electing for their experience, and for their integrity and dedication to building a better Niagara, but we also need plenty of new blood.

You have only three more days, until this Friday, July 27^th, to contact the municipal clerks office in your community to obtain the papers to register to run for a seat on regional or your local municipal council.

Give it some serious thought.

Brian Baty – a member of a board of directors for a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority that has gone rogue on us – is far from the only current member of Niagara regional council we need to say goodbye to.

Niagara At Large will be posting much more on the coming municipal elections in our region in the days and weeks ahead.

Become a regular NAL visitor at http://www.niagaraatlarge.com and stay tuned for all the news and commentary on the coming elections and more!) 

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“A politician thinks of the next election. A leader thinks of the next generation.” – Bernie Sanders