With the nomination period for the October 26 municipal election closing on August 21, Peterborough voters are looking for answers from candidates for city councillor who have filed their nomination papers.

In a multi-story series, kawarthaNOW is contacting all registered candidates in each of the City of Peterborough’s five wards — Ward 1 (Otonabee), Ward 2 (Monaghan), Ward 3 (Town), Ward 4 (Ashburnham), and Ward 5 (Northcrest) — for their position on key election issues such as housing, affordability, and council transparency, with comments from new candidates added as required.

In the first series of stories, kawarthaNOW asked candidates to introduce their campaigns by answering three questions: why they are running, what the biggest challenge is in their ward, and what makes them a unique candidate for councillor.

Northcrest Ward remains the most crowded race of the year. While incumbent Andrew Beamer filed on May 8 to run for his fifth term on council, incumbent Dave Haacke is not seeking re-election.

Also registered are photographer Debbie Halstead, marketing entrepreneur Phillip Jolicoeur, former federal People’s Party of Canada candidate Paul Lawton, community organizer Charmaine Magumbe, voice actor and former lawyer Gavin Muir, and retired teacher Jim Wasson.

kawarthaNOW asked each of the seven candidates to respond to the three questions in email, and is publishing their answers verbatim with no editing.

1. Why have you chosen to run for ward councillor?

Andrew Beamer

It has been my honour to serve the residents of Northcrest Ward as their City Councillor. As a City Councillor, I have greatly enjoyed the work and I have done my best to live up to my responsibilities and the faith the residents of Northcrest have placed in me. I have been accessible, accountable, and have worked hard to serve the residents of Northcrest. I have been honest and trustworthy, and I have always taken the time to listen and help. I believe in Peterborough. I love this community. I am running for re-election this year because I want to continue to serve this community and help build a strong, safe and prosperous community for generations to come.

Debbie Halstead

I am running to be your councillor for Ward 5 because I want to help implement positive change in Peterborough, and I believe I can make a real contribution to that effort. The idea first took shape during a conversation with friends about the then-upcoming federal election, when one of them asked, “Why don’t you run?” At the time, running for office was not something I had considered. But the more I thought about it, and the more I saw the issues facing Peterborough, I realized that if I were going to enter politics, it would be at the municipal level. I was born in Peterborough and have strong ties to several wards throughout the city. While I am running to represent Northcrest, Ward 5, I will bring honesty, attentiveness to residents’ needs, and a strong commitment to serving all of Peterborough.

Phillip Jolicoeur

I chose to run because I believe I have reached a point in my personal and professional life where I can give back to a community that has given so much to me.

For more than 20 years, I have worked alongside local businesses, charities, community organizations, volunteers, and residents. Much of my career has been spent behind the scenes, helping other people grow, succeed, and bring their ideas to life. Running for Council feels like a natural opportunity to serve in a different way.

My decision was never about politics. It was about service.

Through my business, chamber involvement, community boards, mental health advocacy, and charitable initiatives, I have learned that progress starts with listening, respecting different perspectives, and bringing the right people together.

Peterborough is growing and facing difficult decisions that will shape our future. I want to bring my experience in business, communication, collaboration, and community building to the Council table. I love this city, believe deeply in its potential, and would be honoured to help build its next chapter.

Paul Lawton

I’m running because Northcrest needs a councillor who will listen to residents, respect taxpayers, ask direct questions, and work for safe neighbourhoods.

This is the ward where my family lives. I’m hearing from residents who are concerned about public safety, public order, responsible spending, roads and infrastructure, property standards, and whether City Hall is listening before decisions are made.

I believe public office is a responsibility before God and a trust from the people we serve. I’m not running because I think council can fix everything, but I do believe council can do better on the things it actually controls.

Charmaine Magumbe

I love Peterborough. It’s the community where I found a true sense of belonging and raised my five children. We built our lives here, connected with our neighbours, and became part of a community whose members care for one another. As a long-time community activist, I am passionate about the issues that affect people’s everyday lives — especially the growing challenges around affordability, safety, economic development, and access to basic needs.

Gavin Muir

Northcrest, and Peterborough as a whole, are at a crossroads. We can’t afford to fall further behind on growth, on housing, on how we spend the money we’re trusted with. The decisions made this term will shape Northcrest, and this city, for years to come. I’m running because waiting until a problem is impossible to ignore is the most expensive way to solve it. I want this city planning ahead, not scrambling to catch up.

This ward isn’t abstract to me. I’ve called Northcrest home for over 30 years, and Peterborough for nearly 40. My kids grew up here, I built two independent businesses here after 12 years practicing law, and I’ve spent decades embedded in this community’s cultural and civic life — board work with local arts organizations, fundraising committees that support our music scene and our university, early efforts in community economic development and building capacity for the arts sector here. None of that was ever about building a résumé; it was just where I saw a need and knew I could help. That’s the same reason I’m running now: my background gives me a genuinely unique set of tools to help this ward and this city move forward.

Jim Wasson

I was approached by several members of the community and specifically a number of constituents from the Northcrest Ward if I would consider running for councillor. After careful consideration I decided to run for Northcrest Ward because I believe residents deserve a councillor who listens first, represents the community with integrity and puts neighbourhood concerns ahead of politics.

2. What is the biggest challenge in your ward?

Andrew Beamer

The biggest challenge in Northcrest Ward, and throughout the City, is keeping property taxes in check while providing the services that residents expect and enjoy. To limit tax increases and to provide services that Northcrest Ward residents expect, such as road improvements, increased public safety, installing traffic calming measures, investing in parks, etc., we need to secure employment lands. Securing employment lands will create jobs for our community, secure long-term local prosperity, and provide much needed property tax revenue. We need to grow our commercial/industrial tax base to provide much needed relief for the residential taxpayers. Securing additional commercial/industrial tax revenue will take the pressure off residential taxpayers and will allow us to further invest in important infrastructure projects and services to move Northcrest Ward, and the city, forward.

Debbie Halstead

I don’t believe any single issue can be singled out as “the biggest” challenge, because what matters most to one resident may not be what matters most to another. As a councillor, it will be my job to treat every resident’s concern as though it is the biggest, because to them, it likely is.

For the neighbors of the Fire Hall on Carnegie Avenue, that issue would be their primary concern. For residents near the new transitional housing project on Chemong Road, the current mayor’s use of strong mayor powers would be the biggest challenge they face.

The closure of Northview Daycare was a significant issue for many families, not only in Ward 5. I want to encourage and support the opening of more daycares in the north end and help eliminate the combined City and County of Peterborough waitlist of more than 3,700 children.

I am firmly opposed to frivolous spending, whether on trending sports facilities built in excessive numbers, such as fourteen instead of five, or on projects that place undue hardship on neighborhoods. This is a challenge that is not isolated to any one ward.

I am pleased that work on Chemong Road is planned, but I anticipate that the resulting overflow onto other streets will become an issue of its own. I want to see improved traffic control in our neighborhoods and around our schools.

I will also fight for the return of weekly garbage pickup. We do not necessarily need to dispose of more garbage, just more often, particularly in the summer months when waste becomes odorous and attracts pests. Even residents with garages, and many do not have one, should not have to store bags of garbage for two weeks at a time.

Finally, downtown revitalization should not fall solely on the shoulders of the ward councillors representing that area. Regardless of which ward a resident lives in, downtown is the heart of Peterborough. It hosts the longest-running free concert series in Canada, and many of us work, dine, see movies, and support local shops and businesses there. Many people do not feel safe downtown, which is understandable at times, and it is an issue we need to address collectively.

Most importantly, I want to know what each resident of my Ward feels is the biggest challenge, because I’m here to represent YOU!

Phillip Jolicoeur

I believe the biggest challenge facing Ward 5 is managing growth while protecting the quality of life residents expect and deserve.

Northcrest continues to welcome new families and new development, but growth creates pressure on roads, traffic, parks, infrastructure, public services, and neighbourhood safety. Residents regularly raise concerns with me about speeding, neglected rental properties, absentee landlords, development, and whether City services are keeping pace.

I have also heard concerns surrounding homelessness, mental health, addiction, and proposed services in the north end. I believe we have a responsibility to support vulnerable residents while also maintaining safe and welcoming neighbourhoods. Those priorities are not in conflict. Good planning should support both.

Residents should also have confidence that property standards complaints are addressed, repeat offenders face meaningful consequences, and concerns do not disappear into a system without follow up.

Growth is important, but it must be managed thoughtfully. Every neighbourhood deserves safe streets, reliable infrastructure, well maintained public spaces, and responsive City services. My belief is simple: growth should strengthen our neighbourhoods, not strain them.

Paul Lawton

The biggest challenge in Northcrest is making sure rapid growth and major city decisions do not leave residents feeling ignored.

Northcrest includes established neighbourhoods, new subdivisions, parks, trails, the zoo, seniors, families, rental housing, and growing infrastructure pressures. Residents want safe streets, clean and usable public spaces, responsible development, and basic services that keep up with growth.

The recent concerns around the Carnegie Fire Hall shelter location are one example of a larger issue: residents do not want decisions made first and consultation afterward. People may not always agree on the final answer, but they deserve clear information, honest costs, and a process that takes neighbourhood concerns seriously.

Charmaine Magumbe

The biggest challenge facing Northcrest Ward is affordability — including residential property taxes, which have nearly doubled over the past four years, and the high cost of living, such as rising housing and food prices. Northcrest residents are also concerned about community safety (e.g., safety around the Carnegie Emergency Shelter) and neighbourhood well-being — including improved recreation for all ages: family, youth, and seniors’ programs that strengthen community connections, along with better street lighting, traffic calming, and crosswalk safety throughout the ward. Finally, Northcrest residents demand a council that is transparent and has integrity, where community voices are valued. The use of Strong Mayor powers to build the Brock Street Mission men’s shelter — with no meaningful community consultation — is exactly the kind of decision that should never happen without resident input.

Gavin Muir

Growth is arriving in Northcrest faster than our planning is keeping pace with it, particularly along corridors like Chemong, Parkhill, and Water/George. Residents feel this directly — fast-moving traffic diverting off those corridors and onto residential streets that were never built for it. Traffic behaves like water: it flows away from obstructions, toward the path of least resistance. I believe some of our main corridor intersections are creating exactly those obstructions, pushing drivers to route around them and straight through our neighbourhoods. We need traffic calming now, and infrastructure and intersection planning that keeps pace with the growth already headed our way.

Northcrest traffic is really just the most visible symptom of a bigger question: what do we want to protect as this city grows, and are we planning for it deliberately or losing it by accident? That question shows up across the ward and the city alike — in the state of our downtown, in housing, in whether our kids have jobs that let them stay here. These are areas where I believe my own lens, professional and personal, can genuinely help.

Jim Wasson

I have heard from many Northcrest residents who are concerned about such issues as homelessness and public safety, responsible growth, infrastructure, traffic, fiscal responsibility and ensuring that residents have a stronger voice in decisions that affect their neighbourhood. I believe these concerns deserve thoughtful practical solutions and open discussion at City Hall.

3. What makes you a unique candidate for councillor?

Andrew Beamer

As a longtime Northcrest resident, former local business owner, community volunteer, and current City Councillor, I am passionate about serving this community and working to ensure that we reach our full potential.

As a Northcrest City Councillor, I have dedicated myself to representing my constituent’s interests at City Hall … providing accessible service and responsive action on the issues that affect them, their family and our community. I am honest, trustworthy, accountable, hardworking, and dedicated to my constituents.

Over the years as a Northcrest Ward City Councillor, I have worked collaboratively with my colleagues and with city staff to improve the quality of life we enjoy in Northcrest and in the City. During the 2022-2026 term significant investments were made in Northcrest Ward including a new state-of-the-art Fire Station; 3 new neighbourhood parks which include playground equipment, basketball courts and shade structures; major intersection improvements at George St and Hilliard St; beginning work on Phase 1 of the Chemong Rd widening project; road resurfacing; implementation of lighting and amenities along the Rotary Greenway Trail link; Parkway Trail resurfacing; investments in safe streets to reduce speeding; and investments in city owned facilities to improve services for residents.

Debbie Halstead

I am a unique individual, and that naturally makes me a unique candidate. I spent nearly two decades as a court services officer, working in courtrooms for family court matters and dozens of trials ranging from superior court to small claims. Through my work with juries, I learned the importance of keeping an open mind until all the facts have been presented. I do not jump to conclusions, and I pride myself on being objective.

I am also self-employed and have worked as a real estate photographer for twenty-six years. That experience has taught me to be “on” at all times, and I do not believe in saying “that’s not my job” or in keeping to a strict quitting time.

I am quick to stand up for others and will not stand by while someone is being bullied.

I do not personally know the other candidates, so it is difficult for me to say what sets me apart from them specifically. That said, one of my greatest strengths is my ability to connect with people and work well with everyone, regardless of their point of view. It has been a pleasure meeting the candidates I have met so far, and I look forward to working with any of them.

Phillip Jolicoeur

If you have worked with me, you will know I am usually listening long before I am speaking. I take in different perspectives and then ask the questions that matter, even when they are difficult or challenge the way an issue has traditionally been viewed.

For most of my career, I have worked behind the scenes helping businesses, charities, artists, tourism organizations, and community groups succeed. That experience has taught me that real progress usually begins with a conversation, not an argument.

Before starting my business, I worked as a Child and Youth Worker. That taught me how important it is for young people to have support, encouragement, and opportunities to succeed. It also continues to shape how I think about the city we are building for the next generation.

I am respectful, but I am not afraid to question assumptions or challenge an idea, including my own, when the evidence points toward a better solution. I do not believe changing your mind after listening and learning is weakness. I believe it is part of good leadership.

Paul Lawton

I am not a career politician. My background is in management, public advocacy, grassroots organizing, and working with people. I have spent years listening to concerns, organizing practical action, communicating clearly, and helping turn ideas into next steps.

I am also a Christian, a husband, a father of nine, and a Northcrest resident. That shapes how I think about public service. I believe government should be honest, restrained, accountable, and focused on the real responsibilities it has been given.

My campaign is practical and local: safe neighbourhoods, responsible spending, core services first, and residents heard.

Charmaine Magumbe

What makes me a unique candidate is that I have spent over a decade building and leading organizations that address the issues this city faces — from equity and inclusion as Chair of the Community Race Relations Committee, to food security through the Peterborough/Nogojiwanong Community Garden, to arts and culture,I’ve co-founded nonprofits like the Afrocentric Awareness Network and the Zingha social enterprise, and published extensively on local social justice.

My commitment goes beyond formal roles — I’ve organized fundraisers like “For the Love of Community” for the Warming Room, led Solidarity Weekend celebrations of our city’s diversity, and volunteered at countless school, Black History, Asian Heritage, and Indigenous Heritage events. This work has been recognized with the YMCA Peace Medal, the Elizabeth Fry “Rebel for a Cause” Award, and a place among Peterborough’s Top 20 Most Influential People.

These honours reflect not personal achievement, but collective work — and that’s the lens I bring to council: a record of showing up, building coalitions, and delivering results rooted in a more just and connected Peterborough.

Gavin Muir

I bring a combination of lenses no other candidates can offer. Twelve years as a litigation lawyer — including municipal work — taught me to read a bylaw, a budget, and a governance process with real rigour. Building two independent businesses in voice acting and music teaching taught me what it actually costs, in risk and reality, to run something yourself. Years on boards and committees behind the scenes of this city’s cultural life — the work that keeps organizations running rather than the kind that gets noticed — taught me how community capacity actually gets built. Raising four sons through this ward’s schools and sports has kept me close to what families here actually face day to day. And living alongside someone who works daily in our city’s mental health community has given me a view too many councillors only see from a distance. Add real relationships across this ward that predate this campaign, and I think that combination is genuinely rare on this ballot.

Jim Wasson

My commitment is to be accessible, transparent and accountable. I will work hard to ensure residents know their concerns are being heard and their voices are represented around the council table. I am running because I care about Northcrest. I believe our ward can be even stronger, and I want to help build a safe, vibrant, and financially responsible future for anyone who calls Northcrest home.

kawarthaNOW has reproduced written responses from candidates verbatim. Any errors, factual or otherwise, or any use of AI-generated content originate with the candidate.