CHMA is continuing its series of short candidate interviews ahead of Tantramar’s municipal election on May 11.
This time, Mike Robar sat down with incumbent candidate Allison Butcher, one of eight running for the four Ward 3 seats. Butcher spoke about why she wants to continue the work she’s been doing for almost 10 years on council and the importance of learning from different perspectives, even if she may not always agree.
Listen to the audio below:
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Can you tell me a little about yourself?
 I am Allison Butcher and I am running for a councillor position in Ward 3. I have already been on council – first, for the town of Sackville, and then for the municipality of Tantramar. It will be 10 years this May, if I’m fortunate enough to be reelected.
I was born in Sackville, raised in Sackville. I left for my post-secondary education and lived almost a decade in Ottawa; but otherwise I have spent my life here. I’ve been back here since the late 90s. My partner and I are raising two daughters, practically raised now—one is 18, one is 21—and I am an early childhood educator. I work at Playschool, which is a preschool here in Sackville.
Why are you running in the municipal election this year?
I guess in order to really understand why I’m running now, you have to understand why I decided to run the first time back in 2016. Back then, my children were eight and 11, and a couple of people had approached me about running for council. I decided that it would make sense for me to do my civic duty and to show my girls that you don’t just get to enjoy a community, you also need to give back to it in some way. So I thought I would run for council and perhaps do a term and do that duty. I was pleasantly surprised when I was successful and was part of a council that I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed being a part of a group of people whose main focus and reason for being there was to improve where we live. And I think we’re really lucky that we already live in a pretty fabulous place.
I have loved the last nine-and-a-half years on council. There are ups and downs, you know. Sometimes there are some pretty contentious issues. I’m proud of my past record on council, the things that I’ve stood up for, the things I’ve been a part of implementing. We’ve had some rough goes with things; but in the end, I feel like I am able to make a positive difference. And that is exactly why I am running again, because I feel like I am able to do that, and I really enjoy working with people who are not necessarily like-minded, but are all looking towards the goal of making this place a great place for people to be.
If chosen again to represent Ward 3, what do you hope to accomplish?
 So the first important distinction, I think, is I am running in Ward 3. If I am elected again, I will be representing all of the municipality of Tantramar, not just Ward 3. And I think that’s important to say because I remember when (amalgamation) first happened, people would say, you know, that “I only have one representative,” and that’s not true. If I am elected, I will represent all of Tantramar.
I represent the same thing I’ve always represented, and that is making a place that has something for everyone. Making a place where families and retirees and all ages feel comfortable and happy and have something that they can do here. I want to make sure that we have a safe place to live. I want to make sure that, environmentally, we are making sure that so many of the wondrous things we have here and are connected to—the land and the space—I want to maintain that. I’m an early childhood educator, so education and children are important to me.
I’m proud of some of the things we’ve done in the past, like having the climate action committee and looking at everything through a climate lens as we make our decisions. I want to continue doing that. One of the other things that I really, really love is being a part of a group of individuals who all come from a different space and place. And I love listening to other people’s perspectives, whether it’s people in the community or people that I serve on council with, learning and sometimes changing my mind about things and moving forward to make sure that we are making good decisions for everyone.
 Wonderful, Allison. Thank you so much for sitting down. I wish you the best of luck in the election come May 11th.
Thank you.
