Jordan StevensonFor Port Hope MayorPublic rules and commitments
Rules 1 through 6 govern how this campaign operates now. Rules 7 through 12 set the standard I would bring to the mayor’s office. These are public commitments residents can use to judge this campaign and, if I am elected, hold me accountable at Town Hall.
Part 1 of 2
These six standards apply to the campaign now and give voters standards they can test during the campaign.
Rule 01
Factual claims from this campaign will be backed by sources residents can inspect.
Opinions, estimates, interpretations and reasonable inferences will be presented honestly as such.
If the campaign publishes something materially wrong, it will be corrected publicly. The correction and the original wording will both remain available so the record is not quietly rewritten.
Rule 02
This campaign will cap individual contributions at $500 and publish where its money comes from and where it goes.
The $500 limit is self-imposed. This campaign should be powered by broad community support, not financed by a small group of people with the means to write large cheques.
No one should be able to use a large donation to buy greater access or push a private agenda to the front of the line. This campaign should answer to the community as a whole.
The cap applies to both monetary and in-kind contributions. The campaign will publish contribution distribution, spending categories and material paid relationships. Any amount the campaign cannot accept will be returned or refunded and included in public reporting.
Rule 03
A contribution will not purchase better access, a faster response, political preference, favourable treatment or advance access to decisions.
Donors will have the same ordinary access as every other resident, no more and no less.
This standard applies to campaign interactions and to any future advocacy or decision involving municipal grants, contracts, procurement, planning, permits, appointments or services.
Rule 04
This campaign will speak in its own name and stand behind what it publishes.
The campaign will not use fake community accounts, anonymous attack pages, concealed proxies or intermediaries to spread personal attacks. Candidates’ families and irrelevant private lives will remain off limits.
Forceful and factual criticism of public records, decisions, statements, conduct, competence and policy remains fair game.
Rule 05
Information shared with the campaign will be used only for the reason it was provided.
Taking part in a poll, submitting an idea, volunteering or contacting the campaign will not be used to quietly build a profile of someone’s political views.
Personal information will not be sold, repurposed for an unrelated purpose or kept longer than it is needed.
Rule 06
Changing a position is sometimes responsible. Hiding the change is not.
A position may change because new facts emerge, costs or municipal authority become clearer, residents identify a better approach, implementation exposes a problem or circumstances materially change.
When that happens, the campaign will publish the previous position, the new position and the reason for the change. It will not quietly edit the old position out of existence.
Material corrections, unmet commitments and the action taken in response will also remain visible.
The standard is not stubborn consistency. It is honest reasoning and a visible public record.
Part 2 of 2
These six standards govern how I would use the mayor’s office.
Rule 07
Town Hall exists to serve the people of Port Hope. I will listen carefully, test the evidence, make a decision, explain it plainly and own the result.
Listen. Test. Decide. Report back.
Decisions will be tested against relevant expertise, evidence, cost, practicality and public impact.
When the facts show that a better answer is available, I will change course and explain why. Formal mayoral powers will be used openly and for a clear municipal purpose.
Rule 08
Residents should not be bounced from office to office or dismissed with “that’s not our jurisdiction.”
When someone brings a problem to Town Hall, the first responsibility is to help find the right path.
If the Town controls the issue, Town Hall should own the response. If another government, agency, utility or public body controls it, Town Hall should identify who is responsible, make the connection, help move the file, advocate when Port Hope’s interests are at stake and report back.
A resident should leave with a useful next step, a responsible contact and a clear understanding of what happens next. Town Hall should not wash its hands of a problem simply because the final authority sits somewhere else.
Rule 09
Too often, residents hear about major decisions only after the important conversations have already happened behind closed doors. Town Hall needs to reverse that trend.
Major municipal decisions should be developed, debated and decided in public.
Before a major vote, residents should be able to see:
Closed session should be the narrow exception, not the place where the real decision is made. When some information must remain confidential, Town Hall should still disclose as much as possible and explain the eventual decision publicly.
Rule 10
Port Hope should not gamble taxpayer money on an unproven idea at full scale.
New methods should begin with a limited pilot, a clear objective, a fixed cost and timeline, independent evaluation and published results.
If a pilot succeeds, the Town can consider expanding it through normal procurement. If it fails, Town Hall should say so, learn from it and stop paying for something that does not work.
Rule 11
Showing up matters, but attendance at a meeting is not the same as representing the whole community.
Organized groups will be heard alongside representative public opinion, directly affected residents, expert evidence, lived experience and voices from both wards.
A small, organized group will not automatically outweigh a clear and credible majority view simply because it is louder, better connected or more persistent.
Council will consider the broader community, make the final decision, explain it and own the result.
Rule 12
Ward 1 and Ward 2 have different needs, but neither matters less. One Port Hope means equal respect, honest representation and fair municipal attention for both.
One Port Hope does not mean one-size-fits-all. It does not mean pretending Ward 1 and Ward 2 have identical needs or allowing either ward to be treated as an afterthought.
Rural roads, agriculture, hamlets, emergency access and rural services matter. So do downtown infrastructure, housing, heritage, servicing, public spaces and urban growth.
Major decisions will explain how both wards are affected, who benefits, who pays and why the proposed balance is fair.
Different local needs may require different approaches, but both wards deserve serious representation and a fair result.