Peterborough entrepreneur and environmentalist Carlotta James is running for councillor in the city’s Northcrest Ward in the October 24, 2022 municipal election.
James, who chose Earth Day (April 22) to make her announcement, is best known as the co-founder of Three Sisters Natural Landscapes and the co-founder of the Monarch Ultra Relay Run.
“On Earth Day, we celebrate the work of many in our community to protect our local environment,” James says in a media release. “I am announcing my candidacy on this particular day to showcase my platform that focuses on environmental sustainability and entrepreneurial leadership, and also, to take a moment to reflect on all the ways nature provides for and nourishes us: through water, wildlife, wild spaces, resources, and food, as well as for our collective well-being and mental health.”
A mother of one who describes herself as “a devoted community-builder,” James moved to Peterborough in 2013. For the past seven years, she has run Three Sisters Natural Landscapes, a landscaping business that specializes in transforming spaces into pollinator habitat.
As a pollinator advocate and a marathon runner, James also co-founded the Monarch Ultra Relay Run to raise awareness about the plight of the threatened monarch butterfly and other pollinators.
The inaugural 2019 run, which saw ultra-runners complete a 4,300-kilometre journey from Canada to Mexico, was followed last year by an 1,800-kilometre run across southern Ontario that also raised $10,000 for Camp Kawartha in Peterborough.
According to James, through these local and global experiences she has built strong financial management, large-scale project and logistics planning, and problem-solving skills.
“I will advocate for the residents of Northcrest Ward at city hall with community-first decision-making so that everyday citizens shape our city’s present and future,” James says. “As your city councillor for Northcrest Ward, I will support small-business growth, bring community ideas to life that revitalize our ward, and work with you to build a healthy, resilient, and economically prosperous city.”
Other candidates for Northcrest Ward include incumbent and deputy mayor Andrew Beamer and real estate brokerage owner Dave Haacke. Haacke was Northcrest Ward councillor from 2014 to 2018, when he was defeated by Stephen Wright, who has announced he intends to run for mayor.
