Chasidy Veinotte, MODL District 10 Councillor, Confirms She Will Reoffer In October

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Chasidy Veinotte, Councillor for District 10 in the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, has announced she intends to reoffer in the October municipal election.

Veinotte has been serving since 2020. In the October 2020 municipal election, she won the District 10 Seat with 442 votes – 45.94 per cent of the vote. The two other nominees were Josh Healey with 332 votes, and Ann Westhaver with 188 votes.

As of April 26, 2024, no one else has publicly announced they are running to be the next Councillor for MODL’s District 10.

Veinotte’s announcement of her intention to run this October was published to her Facebook page. It is also published below.

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What does it feel like to be a politician?

Before you read this, understand that you get out of it what you put into it. Some people run in politics for the heck of it, whether it be municipal, provincial, or federal, to get the title and the recognition, and don’t do their job or take it seriously. I wasn’t one of those.

First, the excitement! You win your first election. You’re all fired up to get in there and make all kinds of changes for the good of the people.

Then, it’s frightening. You get sworn in, take your seat, and you’re unbelievably humbled that you’ve been put in this place of responsibility, of stewardship. You think of all those who sat before you and around the same table. Politics traditionally has been a world dominated by men. Many of which after retirement. Men whom I have looked up to who hold an incredible wealth of knowledge. Leadership. Charisma. You compare yourself. You’re a single mother, balancing another job (or three!), and volunteer throughout the community. You just want to show your kids the importance of giving back to the community by way of service. You love your community and the people that are in it.

The headlines. The papers report “a record shattering 9 women elected” for your municipality. Women have broken the barrier in politics and you’re a part of it. You soon realize the admiration you have for these women who grow to be more then just another face around the table. If you are as lucky as I was, you’ll work with men too who are welcoming and respectful, and you’re genuinely grateful to them for it and their guidance and wisdom they bestow on you.

Get to work. You read like crazy to get up to speed on procedures and the current issues. People call, email, and show up at political meetings to voice their opinions. As the old saying goes and validated by Salt-N-Pepa, opinions are like (insert word here) and everybody’s got one. The most important thing is to keep your own opinion out of decisions and try to consider what they’ve said when you weigh a vote. You are “their” voice at the table.

Realization. You realize that nothing is cut and dry, black and white. You’re mandated by policies and procedures, rules, and regulations by way of the Municipal Government Act and suddenly realize why government moves at the pace it does. You make decisions that are controversial only because the public doesn’t have all the information, and the rest of the information is confidential (and you’d be charged with an ethics violation for revealing it).

Obstacles. You help the people you can. Sometimes you can’t help someone (because its outside your scope or falls under another level of government), or, can’t help them enough, and you’re disappointed in yourself or frustrated by the process.

Rewards. You have moments of pride. Recognizing a resident of yours who makes volunteer of the year, developing parks, trails and open spaces for all to enjoy, being elected to serve on the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities by your colleagues, seeing a long term project come to fruition, balancing a budget, representing your municipality at a event, being thanked for making a overwhelming world of who is responsible for what a little bit easier for that senior who can’t thank you enough for your help and guidance. And the best; when you try to do something genuinely good and for once, it works out!

So, what does it feel like to be a politician? The message to take away from this is that it can be an incredible rewarding, satisfying and thankless job that gives you some speedbumps along the way. You learn to listen more than to speak, pivot when you need to and accept that you cannot please everybody no matter how hard you try.

Would I do it all over again? Absolutely. Which is why I am officially announcing my candidacy to seek re election in the upcoming Fall 2024 Election. I hope I can count on your support once again. ????

(Photo: Chasidy Veinotte- Councillor for Municipality of the District of Lunenburg)

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