The Political Trenches: Local Government At Work

Welcome to The Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  Gordon McIntosh has 40 years of experience in local government management, education, and consultancy roles, providing governance, strategic, and leadership services across Canada and internationally He has delivered over 1,300 workshops to approximately 140,000 participants on a wide range of topics, including cost containment and reven...

Welcome back to another edition of The Political Trenches: Local Government at Work. After a longer-than-expected break, we’re back with two episodes before we head into our summer hiatus in July. Today, we’re bringing you three stories making headlines across Canada. First, we head to Newfoundland and Labrador, where a man with a prior breaking-and-entering conviction ran for council earlier this...

Welcome to The Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  Fred Behrens is the President of the Local Government Administrators of the Northwest Territories (LGANT), a professional association that brings together senior municipal and community government administrators across the region to support effective local governance, collaboration, and capacity building.  In his role as President, he he...

Welcome to another edition of The Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  Today on the show, discussing viability in local government, how municipalities deal with funding agreements when provincial leaders change, and three political parties in Vancouver are working together.  Then later in the episode, we heading back north of the 60th Parallel to chat with the President of the Local Gover...

Welcome to another edition of The Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  It's an honour to welcome today's guest to the show.  Michael Paulhus has served as Plainville, Connecticut, Town Manager since August 2022. He brings extensive experience from both the public and private sectors, with a strong focus on fiscal management, economic development, and community engagement. Prior to...

Welcome to another edition of The Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  Today on the show, we’re discussing the Alberta Government's new universal Code of Conduct for Municipal Councils, The City of Prince George is looking at an AI facility, and then, when is it appropriate to take a call from the Premier without overstepping your council?  Then later in the episode, we heading South...

Welcome to the Political Trenches: Local Government At Work.  When you talk about leadership in the North, you often hear about people who didn’t start out in politics at all—they started in their communities. Kandis Jameson is one of those people. Kandis has long believed that strong communities start with strong institutions—especially education. Over the years, she’s served on both the South Sl...

Welcome to another edition of The Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  Today on the show, we’re discussing a regional chair in Ontario- who is appointed by the province - is in hot water with Municipalities in his region for floating the idea of amalgamation, a town in Manitoba is hacking the province to court, and the Mayor of Vancouver is in the hot seat for an apology he made.  Later i...

Welcome to The Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  The role of the Chief Administrative Officer can be isolating at the best of times. It is often described as the narrow point in the hourglass—the space between council and administration where expectations, accountability, and leadership converge.  But what happens when that hourglass narrows even further? When the administration is not...

Welcome to another edition of The Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  Today on the show, we’re discussing a mayor in Ontario has his pay suspended for misusing strong mayor powers and harassing staff, a Saint John police union representative forcibly removed from council chambers amid governance tensions, and Winkler’s mayor calling for respect after the city was chosen to host its first...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government at Work.  When you think about what keeps a community running, municipal administrators are often the ones making it happen behind the scenes.  The Manitoba Municipal Administrators, or MMA, has been supporting these professionals across Manitoba since 1931. With more than 300 members, the MMA focuses on education, professional development, and ad...

Welcome to another edition of The Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  We are continuing our dive into the CAO's role. Later in the episode, we will be joined by a team that is at the heart of Municipal Administrators in the Keystone Province. Manitoba Municipal Administrators President (and City of Portage la Prairie CAO) Nicole Chychota, and MMA Executive Director Adreienne Bestland...

Welcome to the Political Trenches: Local Government at Work.  Today, we welcome Brenda Orchard, who is the Chief Administrative Officer of Lennox and Addington County, Ontario, with more than 25 years of experience in senior municipal administration, including 16 years as a CAO.  Over the course of her career, she has worked closely with municipal councils in three provinces—New Brunswick, Nova Sc...

Welcome to Season Five the Political Trenches: Local Government At Work.  We’re back in the trenches for another great episode. We are continuing our dive into the role of the CAO. And for our first edition of 2026, we are diving into an organization that works hand in hand with Municipal Administrators from across Canada, CAMA. We will be joined later in the episode by CAMA President Brenda Orcha...

Welcome to The Political Trenches: Local Government At Work. Ian and I are back for the final time of 2025, with a look back on the stories that made municipal headlines across Canada, and your submissions regarding what took place over the last twelve months that we may have missed. Then, finally, we will be looking ahead to what the next twelve months may look like. *****************************...

Welcome to The Political Trenches: Local Government At Work.  Ian and I are pleased to welcome Viv Thoss, who is an experienced local government professional and Chief Administrative Officer with a proven record of leading innovative municipal initiatives. Currently serving as CAO for the Town of High Level, Alberta, Viv began her CAO career in the picturesque Village of Silverton, British Columbi...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  We’re back in the trenches for our final full episode of 2025.  We are continuing our dive into the role of the CAO, We are honoured to be joined by Viv Thoss, who is the CAO for the Town of High Level, and who started her CAO career in British Columbia. So we are excited to dive into the challenges and opportunities of being a Cross Bor...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  David Barrick brings extensive experience in municipal leadership, including serving as CAO for the City of Brampton, most recently, CAO for the Municipality of Thames Centre. He also begins his new career on January 1st, 2026 as the CAO or the Township of South Stormont.  David previously served as an elected official with the City of P...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  We’re back in the trenches looking at the stories and issues that are shaping municipalities from coast to coast to coast.  We are continuing our dive into the role of the CAO, we are honoured to be joined by David Barrick, an experienced leader who has lead a Municipal administration in both an urban and rural setting. But as always we...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  Brenda Ottenbreit is a seasoned municipal administrator within the province of Saskatchewan. working closely with many municipalities, big and small, both urban and rural across the province of Saskatchewan. Brenda, welcome to the show. *********************************** Subscribe to Show: Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3GISqEX   Spoti...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  We’re back in the trenches looking at the stories and issues that are shaping municipalities from coast to coast to coast.  We are continuing our dive into the role of the CAO We are honoured to be joined by Brenda Ottenbriet, the CAO for the Town of Maidstone, Saskatchewan. We will be discussing education and its role. Saskatchewan is o...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  Pat “The Legend” Vincent is a seasoned municipal administrator with over 50 years of experience in local government across Alberta.  His career includes serving as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in various communities, including the Town of Drayton Valley, the City of Chestermere, Athabasca County, the County of Minburn No. 27, Westl...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  We’re back in the trenches looking at the stories and issues that are shaping municipalities from coast to coast to coast.  We are continuing our dive into the role of the CAO, we are honoured to be joined by a Pat ‘The Legend’ Vincent, a former CAO who after 52 years in public administration, has called it a career, but it’s one part of...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  We are honoured to welcome to the show Cathie O’Toole the CAO of Halifax Regional Municipality.  After a 25 year career in Municipal administration, O’Toole announced earlier this spring that after a successful career in administration, she would be hanging up her hat and moving into another career as Vice-President Finance and Administr...

Welcome to the Political Trenches Local Government At Work.  We’re back in the trenches looking at the stories and issues that are shaping municipalities from coast to coast to coast.  We are continuing our dive into the role of the CAO, we are honoured to be joined by a CAO who is calling it a career after 25 years in Public Administration. Cathie O’Toole, the CAO for the Halifax Regional Municip...