2026 Oxford County Municipal Election
Ingersoll — Councillor
We asked. Sherry Ashby answered. You decide.
Answers are published as submitted.
I. Candidate & Municipal Governance
1. Candidate Introduction
Please introduce yourself to the residents of Oxford County. Briefly tell us why you are running for municipal office, what principles or values would guide you as an elected official, and what you believe is the most important issue facing the municipality you are seeking to represent. What would you do about it?
I have lived in the beautiful town of Ingersoll nearly my whole life. The moral code that I live by and would take with me into a councillor position is “integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching” which I know is cliche but I have lived by this motto my whole life and see no reason to change now. The biggest issue in Ingersoll is affordable housing and how we start solving this issue now as we look forward to the next ten years. I would look at our assets and see how we can draw contractors in with good land prices in exchange for building smaller units and apartments – we sell for less, they make less, but we have what we need. A secondary issue is the second ice at the multi use recreation centre. I understand the additional costing that this would add to our town now, but I feel very strongly that with inflation the cost will rise above what we can afford in the future. We need to start thinking further down the road.
2. Local vs. Provincial Authority
Municipalities are increasingly affected by decisions, policies and requirements established by the provincial government. What degree of local discretion do you believe municipalities should have when provincial direction affects decisions within municipal jurisdiction? When, if ever, should a municipality challenge or oppose provincial direction? Please explain.
We have a serious doctor shortage, which is under provincial pervue. I think as a municipality we should be advocating to our province to bring a walk in clinic to our town. The research I have done shows start up fees around getting a building and obtaining the equipment needed would be minimal and once staffed OHIP would pay for the doctors visits for all those with health cards. This is something desperately needed in Ingersoll as Alexandra Hospital was never meant to be used as a doctors office.
3. Accountability & Access
Once elected, how will you maintain open communication and accountability with your constituents? What level of access should residents have to you, and what responsibility do you have to explain and defend your decisions and votes, particularly when constituents disagree with them?
At the core level I would work for every constituent in Ingersoll. They should have a reasonable amount of access to me, meaning that they should feel free to call or text me knowing that I may not answer right away but that I will always get back to them. There will never be a time when everyone will agree on everything. I will try to defend the way I voted to any constituent that is unhappy with the result. Every persons thoughts will be treated with an open mind and the upmost respect.
4. Staff vs. Elected Council
What do you believe is the proper division of responsibility between municipal staff and elected council? What decisions should be made by staff, what decisions should be made by council, and what responsibility should elected officials retain for decisions recommended or implemented by staff?
There are many programs that the municipal staff run that they are highly informed on. I think that each subsection of Town employees should be able to make decisions in regards to their own pervue and expertise.
5. Candidate Social-Media History
Have you ever deleted, hidden or substantially altered past social-media posts or other publicly available online content because you believed it might affect how voters viewed you or your candidacy? If so, what did you change and why?
I made one small edit on my original post announcing my candidacy for councillor. I removed my employer from my bio because I was concerned about being in violation of our social media policy. I was not worried about how I would be viewed by voters.
II. Taxes, Growth & Development
6. Taxes & Services
What annual municipal property-tax increase do you consider reasonable over the next four years? If maintaining existing services would require an increase above that level, what principles would you use to determine which services or expenditures should be reduced, delayed or eliminated instead? Please explain.
As this is my first time running for council I feel like I would have to learn some of this on the job. In researching our last tax increase I would like to say that I would keep the tax increase to a minimum. It would be difficult to decide who or what had to go if it came to that instead of raising taxes further, but I would go about it in a fair manner and reduce funding across the board with more smaller cuts rather than fewer larger cuts.
7. Population Growth & Agricultural Land
Oxford County’s current planning projections anticipate substantial population growth over the coming decades, creating increasing pressure on agricultural land. Should Oxford plan to accommodate the projected level of growth, or should the County and its municipalities seek to influence the rate and/or location of future growth? When development competes with agricultural and food-production uses, should agricultural land and food production receive priority? What principles should guide these decisions? Please explain.
Focus on this should be two fold. We need land to grow food, we need food to feed our community thus we should not be compromising farm land with housing. We should focus on building up with apartment buildings, and on repurposing older buildings into more housing. Urban sprawl should be discouraged for the sake of feeding families with locally grown, nutritious food.
III. Energy & Major Development
8. Wind & Utility-Scale Solar
What is your position on industrial wind turbine and utility-scale solar developments in Oxford County? If your municipality were asked to determine whether it should be a willing or unwilling host for a large-scale wind or solar project, how would you vote, and what factors would guide your decision? Please explain.
I would always vote in favour for solar. In my opinion the sun is giving us free energy daily, even in the winter. People willing to have solar panels installed should receive grants to help fund this as this energy can go back into our grids and offset the costs we incur. I would have to look seriously at wind power and if the returns warrant the risks associated with the hum of the turbine.
9. Data Centres
What is your position on approving data centres in Oxford County? Under what circumstances, if any, would you support one? How should council weigh its potential economic benefits against demands on electricity, water, land and other municipal infrastructure? Please explain.
I would have to look at the risk factors of having the items needed to keep these buildings running. I understand that in this day we are using so much data and that the centres need to go somewhere. To be here though it would need to be safe for our community members. I would also need to see the data to determine if this is needed in our community.
IV. Property Rights, Environment & Climate
10. Property Rights & Environmental Regulation
What principles should determine the balance between private property rights and municipal environmental regulation? What limits, if any, should municipalities place on environmental restrictions affecting the use of privately owned rural land? Please explain.
We don’t need to look too far into our past to see what happens when harmful chemicals are dumped out on private property that then affects ground water, drinking water, and waterways. Soil erosion from tree removal affects all land surrounding where that tree once stood. All this being said, I think that the municipality has rights and responsibilities to protect everyone in the community and if something that is happening on private property is going to negatively affect the community as a whole then the municipality may need to impose restrictions.
11. Climate Change & CO₂
What role, if any, do you believe carbon dioxide emissions play in climate change? What responsibility, if any, should municipal government have for addressing climate-related issues, and should municipal taxpayers fund those efforts? Please explain.
I beleive that carbon dioxide emmisions are harming our ozone and our environment and are major contributors to the greenhouse affect. This problem starts at home but is bigger than any one community can address on their own. I believe that the federal government should be imposing restrictions on big companies and that our federal tax dollar should pay for this.
V. Municipal Policy & Public Institutions
12. DEI, Hiring & Public Services
When municipal government makes decisions about hiring employees or providing services, what role, if any, should a person’s race, ethnicity, sex, disability, newcomer status or other demographic characteristics play? Do you support mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion training for municipal employees, and should municipal taxpayers fund it? Please explain.
A persons race, ethnicity, sex, disability, newcomer status should never play a part in that person not getting a job. I think that inclusion training is beneficial but I also believe that the person hired for a job should have the skills and training neccessary to do that job. Investing in people’s growth will alway benefit our community in what they give back.
13. International Policy Frameworks
What role, if any, should international policy frameworks such as the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals play in municipal decision-making? If municipal policies are influenced by such frameworks, what responsibility does council have to ensure that those decisions remain transparent and accountable to local residents? Please explain.
The United Nations Agenda 2030 stands on the premise of eradicating poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all. As a municipality I think that we should be focused on how to eradicate poverty in our town, and we should be focused on protecting our planet. We have too many kids in our town that go without food on a regular basis and that is such a tragedy. As our summers get hotter and hotter, we have less fall and spring and winter’s continue to become more and more unpredictable protecting our planet is becoming increasingly important. If we can work in partnership with federal government and corporations these goals may be within reach of the next generation.
VI. Public Safety, Privacy & Emergency Powers
14. Flock Cameras & Surveillance
What is your position on the use of Flock cameras and other automated licence-plate recognition (ALPR) or camera-based surveillance systems by municipalities for public safety? What limits, if any, should apply to their use, and how should council balance public safety with residents’ privacy? Please explain.
I think that we need to go back to old fashioned policing. We have several hot spot areas in our town where speeders run rampant and part of my campaign actually names where I think some of those spots are and that I would like to see focused policing there. Camera’s are effective there’s no doubt, however they cannot always prove who was driving and whether the correct license plate is on that vehicle.
15. Public-Health Emergency Powers
If another public-health emergency occurred, what restrictions, if any, should a municipality be able to impose on access to municipal buildings, facilities, programs or community activities? What role should elected council have in approving or overseeing such restrictions, and what limits should apply to municipal authority during an emergency? Please explain.
I think that we learned a lot of things during covid – some beneficial, some not. For instance we learned how truly difficult it was for seniors in retirement and nursing homes to be without their caregivers. We also learned that many people do not like to follow rules. All that said I think that a municipal government should be abe to enforce rules that keep people safe while also allowing for an open mind to those that need more care and attention.
Questionnaire sent: September 8, 2026
Response received: September 23, 2026
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