My name is Jen Lacey, and I’m running for City Council in Monaghan Ward.

My family settled in Peterborough on Rubidge Street in the early 1900s, and we built our lives here through hard work, consistency, and a strong commitment to the community.

My great-grandfather came to Canada from England, served in the war, and spent the rest of his life building something stable for his family. That ethic carried forward. My grandfather worked at GE after World War 2. My grandmother balanced raising a family with working in a long-term care home. My dad worked in insurance here in Peterborough. My uncle spent decades delivering across this city, and people still remember him.

That history matters to me. It shaped how I think about work, about accountability, and about what it means to contribute to a community over time.

I grew up here, went to school here, and started working here. My first job was at the Sobeys on Lansdowne. This job taught me something that’s stayed with me...how much people rely on each other, and that we accomplish great things when we work together.

I live in the west end now. I’ve seen how this neighbourhood has changed, and I understand both the pride people feel in living here and the concerns about where things are heading.

After university, I returned to Peterborough and spent fourteen years working at Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society.

That work required careful judgment, strong boundaries, and the ability to make difficult decisions in complex situations. I worked closely with families, with the courts, with police, and with healthcare professionals. I wrote affidavits, testified in court, and was responsible for decisions where there were no easy answers.

Those experiences taught me how systems actually function — where they work, where they break down, and how decisions made at a policy level affect people in very real ways.

They also taught me something else: strong communities don’t happen by accident. They require thoughtful leadership, clear priorities, and a willingness to make decisions that balance compassion with responsibility.

I now work in healthcare, where I see many of the same challenges from a different perspective. Complex systems, growing pressures, and people trying to navigate processes that are often difficult and frustrating.

What I’ve taken from all of this is a clear understanding of how decisions made at the leadership level shape the day-to-day experience of people living in a city like Peterborough.

We all want the same things: safe neighbourhoods, strong local amenities, and a city that remains a place people are proud to live in and invest in.

I believe we need to be more intentional about how we invest in our community. That includes supporting responsible growth, maintaining the character of our neighbourhoods, and ensuring that families at all stages of life can find stability here.

We need housing that is actually built and thoughtfully integrated into our community. We need recreational spaces and programs that keep neighbourhoods connected. And we need to treat the services that support families, seniors, and young people as essential to the long-term strength of this city.

I’m running because I care deeply about the future of this ward and this city. I want to contribute in a way that reflects both where I come from and the responsibility we all share in shaping what comes next.

As your city councillor, I will bring a thoughtful, measured approach to decision-making. I will ask hard questions, listen carefully, and work to ensure that the choices made at council reflect the long-term interests of the people who live here.

I believe Peterborough is a city worth investing in, not just in infrastructure or growth, but in the people and communities that make it what it is.

I’m asking for your support.

— Jen Lacey, Monaghan Ward