On Community Engagement and Participation

"I believe as elected officials, we have a responsibility to reach out to citizens – both to keep them informed and to engage them in dialogue about major issues. I am committed to regularly communicating with my constituents through various means in the future and to engaging on important issues."

Over the past four years, Berry has…..

• Regularly kept his constituents informed with Community Connections columns in the Kitchener Citizen
• Held several Community Connection Town Hall meetings throughout the term for residents to come and discuss issues of importance to them
• Supported the city’s social media policy as a way to reach out to new segments of the community, and has engaged in social media himself as a way to reach out to citizens
• Supported the city’s new Diversity Strategy and Engagement strategy

Going forward, I will….

• Continue to communicate with residents regularly through both traditional and social media
• Develop a website and online newsletter that will remain active during my term on Council
• Investigate new online tools to enhance the citizen customer service experience

Work with citizens and Council colleagues to modernize the voting process for 2014