For nearly 30 years, Pickering has been my home — the place where I put down roots and built a successful business. Over the decades, I've come to deeply love my friends and neighbours here. They are what makes Pickering worth fighting for, and the reason I am running for Mayor.
I am not a career politician, but perhaps something better: an engaged citizen and committed community activist. I adhere to a powerful notion — that our elected governments exist to serve us, not the other way around. My values are straightforward: honesty, personal accountability, and fiscal responsibility.
I believe that every citizen deserves to be heard. I will hold City Hall to the same standard I hold myself — spend wisely, be transparent, and answer to the people who trust you.
A Proven Record of Standing Up
Many residents know me from the fight that defines our community's spirit.
I refused to sit on the sidelines when a proposed mega-project threatened Pickering's protected waterfront, marshlands, and public beach. I led the opposition by organizing residents, filing Freedom of Information requests, and uncovering bombshell documents that raised serious questions about city officials' dealings with Ontario Power Generation.
We brought those discussions into the public eye — where they belonged.
The fight drew significant provincial media attention, including coverage by CBC News and Global News, ensuring broader public scrutiny of the proposal. Together, we united our community — and ultimately stopped the project.
Media Coverage
CBC News — "Pickering residents fight waterfront condo proposal over safety concerns"
Global News — "Residents voice concerns over proposed Pickering waterfront condo development"
That experience taught me something I carry into this campaign: when residents are informed, engaged, and united, they can hold government accountable and win.
I don't just talk about transparency and accountability. I have fought for them — and delivered results.
On June 24, 2026, I personally submitted formal Freedom of Information requests to the City of Pickering and to Durham Regional Police Service, seeking detailed financial data, council-conduct costs, crime statistics, and development records. I believe in building policy on verified facts, not guesswork — and I will publish everything I receive.
That work is now producing public reports, not just requests. Released records show $535,328.55 paid to external firms for integrity, code-of-conduct and workplace investigations from 2022 to 2026. I have also published findings on facility naming-rights agreements and the Liverpool Road development application, with supporting documents residents can read for themselves. Read my reports and source documents on the News page.
When the City refused my Elexicon records request, calling it “frivolous and vexatious,” I filed an appeal with Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner. That appeal is underway. Residents deserve access to records about public assets — and I am prepared to keep pressing for answers. Read the appeal update.
What I Believe In
Fiscal Responsibility
Families and businesses are expected to manage their budgets responsibly. City Hall must be held to the same standard. With the total property-tax bill rising more than 9% in two years — 5.35% in 2025 and 3.81% in 2026 — families need more than another promise to spend carefully. On Day 1, I will use the Mayor's budget authority to cap the City's portion of the property tax levy, demand a line-by-line review of municipal spending, commission an independent forensic audit of City finances and casino revenues within my first 100 days, and ensure that growth pays for growth — not existing taxpayers.
The City already receives an annual financial-statement audit. A forensic audit asks different questions: how spending decisions were made, what developer agreements and land costs mean for taxpayers, and why growth is not paying for itself. It complements the routine audit rather than replacing it. Read why Pickering needs a forensic audit too.
Democratic Transparency
The people of Pickering deserve a City Hall that answers to them — openly, honestly, and without delay. I will restore in-person council meetings on day one, return public delegations to their full 10 minutes with Q&A, introduce plain-language annual budgets, and require public consultations before development frameworks are approved — not as an afterthought.
Responsible Growth
Growth must benefit the people who live here, not just the developers who build here. I will immediately move to pause implementation of the Northeast Pickering Secondary Plan until all environmental and financial impact assessments are independently verified and made public. I will fight to downsize and correct the proposed high-density development at Liverpool Road and Annland near our waterfront. Developers will be held to strict fiscal accountability. No project will proceed until the infrastructure can safely and fairly support it.
At Annland and Wharf, council approved 51 townhouses in 2024; the developer now wants 81. My report examines a traffic study built around a single September weekday, while the developer's own new counts show traffic growing ten times faster than the study assumed. I will insist on an independent, comprehensive traffic and emergency-access study before approvals move forward. Read the Liverpool Road findings.
Protecting Our Waterfront and Green Spaces
As someone who has spent years enjoying Lake Ontario, Frenchman's Bay, our trails, conservation lands, and parks, I will fiercely protect the natural places that make Pickering unique. I will enforce zoning limits against out-of-scale development, work to secure Frenchman's Bay as a permanent public asset, and ensure future generations inherit the same natural treasures we enjoy today.
The City's September 17 announcement of a conditional agreement to buy Frenchman's Bay is an important opportunity, not a completed purchase. The proposed roughly $30-million acquisition depends on a three-way funding arrangement with the Province and federal government, with due diligence underway. Public ownership must come with a responsible plan for protection and long-term upkeep. Read the conditional-sale report.
My Blue Economy plan centres on visitors arriving by water, spending locally and helping the Bay pay for its own maintenance through docking and fuel fees — not selling off the shoreline for housing. No motorized boat-launch location has been chosen, and I am not proposing one on the West Shore side. An independent feasibility study must put parking and traffic first and identify a location that will not add traffic to Liverpool Road or West Shore Boulevard. More activity must mean more wildlife protection: regular cleanups, proper bins, fishing-line disposal, monitoring and enforcement, with TRCA environmental review for all dock and fuel-dock work.
The Seaton Trail deserves that same care. I will press Infrastructure Ontario and our provincial representatives for repairs to safely reopen closed sections, work with the Province, Friends of Seaton Trail and Whitevale Residents Association on long-term funding and stewardship, and keep residents informed through regular, plain-language updates. My first step will be to request a City staff status report on the December 2025 resolution, the response from Infrastructure Ontario and why work has not started.
Healthcare Access
Finding a family doctor in Pickering should not be a crisis. I will design a municipal physician recruitment program, work to establish community health hubs on city-owned land, and actively partner with Lakeridge Health and the provincial government to ensure our growing population is matched by real healthcare capacity.
Public Safety
Safe neighbourhoods are a foundation of a healthy community. While Pickering is policed by Durham Regional Police, I will use our seat at the regional table to push for a Pickering-specific safety strategy with DRPS rather than relying on regional averages that can hide local problems. Our FOI findings reinforce the need for local reporting. DRPS already has a Community Safety Data Portal; I will promote it on the City's website alongside a plain-language Pickering summary, and work with community partners on prevention, including property crime, vehicle theft and violent crime.
Re-Enfranchising Residents
City Hall belongs to the people of Pickering — not politicians, insiders, or special interests. No resident should ever be made to feel that their voice is an inconvenience. I will restore meaningful public participation in local government and ensure that every person who walks through those doors is heard openly, respectfully, and fairly.
My recent reporting on council conduct reflects why this matters: cleared chambers, repeated recesses and a prolonged move to online-only meetings have left residents feeling shut out. Meetings decide your taxes, roads and services. Restoring respectful, in-person meetings and meaningful questions on the public record is a matter of accountability, not ceremony.
A Real Response to Homelessness
Good intentions alone will not resolve growing encampments. I will work with Durham Region, the Province and community partners on supportive and transitional housing, 24-hour street outreach, year-round low-barrier spaces, and expanded addiction treatment and mental-health support. Enforcement must be paired with outreach and a real place for people to go — not simply move them from one public space to another. Residents, local businesses and people experiencing homelessness all deserve a practical, humane response.
Read my full comprehensive platform and all nine detailed plans.
Why I'm the Right Person for This Moment
Throughout my career and community involvement, I have never been afraid to ask difficult questions, challenge the status quo, or stand up for what I believe is right — even when it was uncomfortable, and even when I stood largely alone.
I am running for Mayor because Pickering deserves leadership that is honest, accountable, and genuinely committed to the people it serves.
I am not running to become a politician. I am running to restore trust in local government, protect taxpayers, defend residents' right to be heard, and ensure that the city our children inherit is transparent, financially responsible, and proud of its democratic values.
Together, we can bring meaningful change to Pickering.
— Shaun Rickard