Today I'm announcing that I'm running for Town Councillor in Brunel Ward.
I filmed my announcement down on the docks, because that view says everything about why I love this town. Huntsville is beautiful. It's historic. It's the kind of community-based town where people still wave at their neighbours. That is not an accident, and it is not guaranteed. It's something we either protect or lose.
Lately it's felt like local government has gotten sidetracked. Property taxes have gone up almost 30% over the last four years. And local government has drifted from what it is actually responsible for. After a lot of conversations with people around our community, I've decided it's time to be involved in our town's future at the council table.
So here's what I'm running on: back to basics.
That means holding the line on taxes and spending, and tying tax increases to under inflation instead of Council's appetite for new ideas. It means Town Hall being excellent at what it's actually responsible for — roads, permits, services, etc. It means fixing a planning process that has become too complicated, too expensive, and too slow for ordinary people to deal with. It means clean, safe public spaces. And it means a Council that listens when you raise a concern.
It also means protecting what makes Huntsville, Huntsville. The small-town character, the Canadian history, the lakes and the forests. Huntsville is growing, and I don't think growth is the enemy, but it should happen on our terms, in a way that leaves this place recognizable to the people who chose it.
I've spent my career leading teams and solving hard problems: as a professional engineer, as Executive Director of Camp Mini-Yo-We, as a wilderness canoe guide today, and as the head of our local CAP Debt Centre, where I sit down with Huntsville neighbours working through some of the hardest stretches of their lives. That last one shapes how I think about a tax bill. When Council debates another percentage point, I know exactly whose kitchen table that lands on.
I believe government is here to help our community thrive, not to micromanage it. It should empower our exceptional residents, protect what makes this town special, and let people solve problems themselves. The groups already doing that work — The Table Soup Kitchen, the Corner Lighthouse, the Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Rotary, and local churches, to name a few — do more for this town than government programs ever could. Council's job is to get out of their way, not to compete with them or spend your money on every idea that sounds good at the time.
I'm not running for a title, and I'm not running to build a resume. I'm running because I think government should serve residents, not the other way around.
Between now and October 26, I'd like to hear from you. If something in this town is frustrating you, or if there's something you think is working and worth protecting, tell me. I'll be knocking on doors across the ward, and you can always reach me through the contact page on this website.
If this sounds like the kind of Councillor you want representing Brunel Ward, I'd be grateful for your support this election.
Michael Ankenmann
Candidate for Councillor, Brunel Ward