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GiAD m STAFF W MT ER After ears of trying to effect change from the outside Sandy Latchford said she got into politits to try to do it from the inside, After serving on council since 2006 Latchford recently filed nomination pa ers with the Countyina i to win the mayor’s seat in this year’s election. “There were rumours out there, peo 1e had said to me over the iolidays ’we hear ou’re oing to rim' and thoug t well I’ll just be right up front and say ‘yes am running,” she said.h d T e cam ai n erio be an on IarPi). liganEd will cu ‘ ate on election day on Oct. 25. Latchford said she has enjoyed being‘ on council and learning ow munici- al oovernrnents Work, ow t ey don’t work and was excited to take the next step. "I think this council has made chan es in gover- nance and c anges in poli- cy and rocedures 1n the right irection. We’ve moved, for example, from individual committees, like the lannin committee and gie‘parlgs and recreâ€" ation committee to commit tee of the whole,” she said. She said she would like to: see those posmve lchan es continue and woud like to see more Changes in how the County does its audits and budget- ing activities. ”I have some ideas on how we might continue to make further changes to 1Improve the accountability and transparency," she said. VLatchford grew up on a dairy farm near Wellington and would eventually become an educator. She worked within the faculty of education as an associate professor and was also the director of services for stuâ€" dents with disabilities. Durin her tenure as a professor, atchford served on several provincial, fed- eral and international boards and committees in Various roles of responsibil- lclgmmcluding treasurer and r. She has worked as an advocate for persons with disabilities for years and Was appointed b order in Cabinet to t e New Brunswick Premier's Coun- Cll on the Status of Disabled Persons in 1996 and was reappointed and served consecutively until 2003 Serving as Chair. h‘ :03}: 33mm fiafiétt’n‘i ' THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2010 Latchford first to file nomination for mayoral race Ameliasburgh councillor seeks top seat while colleagues Best, Thompson intend to run for another term EFFECTING CHANGE VVithyears ofexperience an advocate for disabled people and a postsecondary pro- fessor, Sandy latchford is looking for another role serving people: County mayor. (Chad l'bImtson/Ganrtie stafl) learning disabilities. Over a span of 20 years she received five other awards for outstandin profesâ€" sional service in er field including one national, two provincial and two internaâ€" tional. In 2007 Latchford was awarded the University of New Brunswick President's Medal, honouring out- standing teaching, research and service over the span 1, 111‘; J V , / ,i'LHuJu .i/g. [Wm of her career at the univer- sity. Latchford said during her time as an advocate for the rights of the disabled she became very familiar with the nature of politics. ”I thought I would 0 to the other side of the tab e and see if I can effect change from within the sys- tem as o posed to beuig outside t e system,” she said. . _ l â€"* L]: ;\ Ln A /-| ‘it Hl' Ju‘ l) lN..1â€"’ L " "5L- .1/ I-lyC/i’ In 2005 Latchford won the National Excellence in Volunteer ReCDgnition Award from the Learnin Disabilities Assoc1ation 0 Canada for dedication and hard work for the cause of Upon her retirement from the university, Latch- ford headed back to the county. Before Ion she became involved wit poli- tics, winning a seat as a councillor of Amelias- bur h. atchford said the county is facing a signifiâ€" cant challen e tr ing to enable growt w ' e at the same time maintaining the 1 attraction of the county to both tourists and the peoâ€" ple who live here, She said she wants to work to keep that balance, Latchford is confident in her abili to lead the county into e next year. ”All of it has been an excellent learning experiâ€" ence and i will brm all of that to the mayora posi- tion,” she said. THE TIMES Latchford wasn’t the only aspiring politician to get a ump on the came aign t '5 week. Incum- ents Ray Best and John Thompson have filed for their seats in North Marys- burgh and Sogfiiasburgh respectively, w 'le Jamie Forrester has filed a ers to run for the Athol seat Brian Marisett announced he will not seek again this fall. Mayoral candidate Sandy Latchford (left) with Hiller Councillor Peggy Burris and Sophiasburgh Councillor John Thompson at the County's New Year’s Levee on Sunday. ’Ji‘uw i‘ :yi‘) ,l «'r /\i e. W 71/5: .‘ -'