When Chatham's Alysson Storey decided to run for the mayor's seat in Chatham-Kent, she knew she wanted to get an early start.
That's why she filed her papers on May 1 -- the first day that nominations opened.
"I wanted to get out day one to show that I'm serious and that I'm ready to go," says Storey, adding that a key focus for her campaign will be listening to new ideas. "I'm looking forward to working the full five months to get my name out there and to meet as many people as I can. I'm going to knock on as many doors as I can in every single community in Chatham-Kent."
As for qualifications, Storey is pointing to her work as the driving force behind the push to put concrete barriers in the median of the Hwy. 401 between Tilbury and London as a shining example of her ability to work with different levels of government.
"I have well-established relationships with our provincial counterparts and our federal counterparts," says Storey. "I can hit the ground running... I already have those relationships [with provincial and federal officials] and I have the successful initiatives to prove that."
If she is successful, Storey's term as mayor would be her first experience serving on Chatham-Kent council. And while Storey acknowledges some people may view that lack of experience as a weakness, she sees it as a strength.
"I have some distance from administration and I am comfortable and will be challenging them -- as I expect them to challenge me... it goes both ways," says Storey, who previously served as a municipal employee herself as Chatham-Kent's manager of culture. "I think my experience is a good, fairly unique mix of working in the municipality... and I can also provide some independent thinking and some objectivity."
In addition to her work on the Build the Barrier campaign, Storey is currently the community and donor relations coordinator for the Chatham-Kent Hospice and the past-president of the Chatham Rotary Club.
"I have always wanted to serve Chatham-Kent in a more formal way," says Storey. "I am born and raised here, I love this community and I know I can do a great job helping lead it."
You can read more about Storey's campaign at https://www.itstime4ck.com/.
So far, the other mayoral candidates in Chatham-Kent include current municipal councillor Darrin Canniff, who also filed his nomination papers on Tuesday, and current mayor Randy Hope, who plans to officially join the race later this summer.