Hello Cortes! I’m running for Regional Director for Area B, and I wanted to tell you a little about who I am, why I’m running, and how I would approach the job.

A lot of long-time residents know me already, but there are also plenty of newer folks who may not. And yes, on Cortes “new” can still mean you’ve been here for 20 years. Sorry, I don’t make the rules

I grew up on Cortes. My grandfather, Joe Jordan, bought his place in the 70's, and the rest of my family followed in 1989. My father, John Jordan, built his fishing boat in our front yard, and then we moved to our raw land on Cortes with a trailer, no power, no running water, no phone, and four little kids. In traditional Cortes style.

The last time I was living on Cortes, I worked for a short time as the Manager of Mansons Hall. For the Hall it was a period of major change. There was a whole new board, most of the staff had left, and shortly after I started, the last remaining employee left too.

So I found myself sitting in the office wondering, what exactly does the Hall Manager do?

I started booking meetings with community members and going through the old files, trying to understand how everything worked and why. It turned out to be an incredible experience.

The Hall is a marvel. Both halls are.

People came into the office and told me the history behind why things worked the way they did, including all the little quirks that only make sense once somebody explains where they came from.

What stood out to me over and over again was how much of what the Hall provides was designed, built, created and donated by community members.

The land was donated. Labour was donated. Materials were donated. People decided that Cortes needed a place where the community could come together and thrive, and then they made it happen.

That spirit exists everywhere on Cortes. So much of what makes the island work has been built by people volunteering, organizing, sharing skills, fundraising, solving problems and helping their neighbours.

The other part of my experience at the Hall that stayed with me was the response I received from community members.

A lot of people I had known my whole life would poke their heads into the office just to say, “Jade, I love that you’re here. I trust that you want what is best.”

Many of those same people also told me they were worried about me because they had watched other people experience a lot of turmoil in that position.

That combination of trust and concern taught me something about leadership on Cortes. People care deeply about this community. There are strong opinions because the decisions matter. And the people who step forward to take responsibility need to be willing to listen to all of those perspectives, including the quieter ones.

That experience has shaped how I think about the role of Regional Director.

I don’t think the Regional Director needs to be the person with all the answers. I think the job is to understand the system well enough to help people participate in it, listen carefully enough to understand what the community is asking for, and then represent those concerns clearly at the SRD.

You should know when important decisions are coming up. You should understand how those decisions may affect you. And you should have meaningful opportunities to provide input before the decision has been made.

Cortes is also in an interesting position right now. The community continues to develop, and we are being asked to make decisions about what services we want available and where the money to provide those services should come from.

I don’t think the question is simply whether a service is worthwhile. Many of them are.

The questions I want to ask are: What problem are we trying to solve? What do people actually need? What already exists? Is permanent property taxation the right way to fund it? Are grants, partnerships, community organizations or other approaches available? What will it cost over time? And how will we know if it is actually helping?

Affordability is especially important to me because I know first-hand how difficult it can be to grow up on Cortes and then find a way to come home as an adult.

Like many young people from the island, I left because of school and employment. Finding a sustainable way to return has been something I have worked towards throughout my adult life.

It is difficult across Canada right now, but Cortes can be an extreme example. Housing, employment, transportation, the cost of living and limited opportunities can create an enormous gap between loving this place and actually being able to build a stable life here.

If elected, I will move back and make Cortes my home base.

I would also like to explore how we can make that path home more realistic for others, especially the people who grow up here, leave for high school, education or work, and would like to return. That could mean looking at employment and business opportunities, housing, practical skills, financial literacy, mentorship and stronger connections between young people leaving the island and the community they may someday want to come home to.

Supporting vulnerable members of our community is very important to me. Again, I want to focus not only on whether a program sounds good, but whether the support being offered is reaching people in a way that genuinely improves their lives.

Environmental stewardship matters enormously here too. Protecting sensitive ecosystems, preparing responsibly for wildfire and climate impacts, supporting local livelihoods and respecting the people affected by land-use decisions are all important. I think those conversations need good information, transparency, accountability and enough room for people to disagree without assuming the worst about one another.

And I believe the strongest future for Cortes includes a healthy and respectful relationship with the Klahoose First Nation, built on clear communication, listening and cooperation. I would look forward to hearing from Klahoose leadership and community members about how the Regional Director can best support that relationship and how we can work together on the decisions and opportunities that affect Cortes as a whole.

I am doing a lot of homework right now. Reading through budgets, bylaws, meeting minutes, planning documents, current service proposals and digging into the scope and limitations of the Regional Director’s role.

I don’t think good representation means pretending to have every answer.

I think it means doing the work, asking questions, listening seriously, communicating clearly, and then carrying what the people of Cortes tell you into the room where the decisions are being made.

I would be honoured for the opportunity to come home and represent you.

I’m also working on organizing community conversations in October where we can talk about what the Regional Director actually does, what participation in the SRD can look like, what is working, what isn’t, and what you want your representative to prioritize.

And finally, thank you to everyone who helped me get my nomination package together so quickly, offered support, answered questions and signed nomination papers. It meant a great deal to me.