Reflections on the Campaign: People Over Party
It’s been a little while since the election.
The signs have come down. The inbox has quieted. The adrenaline has worn off. And still, I find myself thinking about what we built together—not as a campaign, but as a community. Because what happened over those months wasn’t just political.
It was personal. It was hopeful. It was rare.
(I was there, and I remember it all too well.)
We chose people over party
The group of volunteers who showed up to support Angie Rowell weren’t there because we had all voted the same way in the past. We weren’t there because we all see the world through the same lens.
We didn’t come together because we agreed on everything, but because we believed in something more important than the details that divided us in the past.
We shared a vision of a future that’s more inclusive. More compassionate. More community-driven than what we’ve been told to expect.
We focused on the big ways we’re the same, like what we want for our kids, our neighbours, our aging parents: the kind of belonging that makes people feel safe, seen, and supported.
And we refused to let the little differences get between us.
The real work was in how we showed up
This wasn’t a polished political machine, it was a group of people—some brand new to politics, others seasoned—choosing to show up with heart.
We made bracelets. We started group chats. We organized events. We knocked on doors and made awkward phone calls. We listened to each other. We cried. We laughed. We kept going.
And through it all, we resisted the narrative that says we should be suspicious of each other.
We rejected the idea that difference equals danger, opting instead to stay grounded in something more true:
That the experience we long for—the neighbourly warmth, the safety, the sense of home—doesn’t come from being stuck in the past. It comes from knowing and loving each other now. Even (especially!) across party lines.
Vigilance, not division
If there’s one thing I’ve taken from this experience, it’s that we need to be vigilant—not just about our rights or our policies, but about the relationships we build and the connections we foster in our own backyards.
There are real forces—rhetoric, misinformation, fear—that want to keep us divided because divided people are easier to control.
But connected people? Connected people are powerful.
When we focus on what brings us together—care, curiosity, courage—we become the kind of community that can weather anything. That is the kind of Maple Ridge I want to raise my kids in, and it’s the kind of community I want to grow older in, too.
What Comes Next Is Up to Us
No, the election outcome wasn’t what we hoped for all month long in our makeshift campaign office. But what we built—the relationships, the trust, the willingness to believe in each other—is something I’ll never stop being proud of.
And I believe we can keep building on it. I believe we have to. But I need you to believe it too.
So let’s keep showing up.
Let’s keep choosing care over cynicism.
Let’s keep doing the work, together.
Because this isn’t over—it’s just the beginning of something we get to grow into. 🌱