Oakley won’t seek re-election, cites career and personal demands

Coun. Lukas Oakley has announced he will not seek re-election in the upcoming municipal election, citing personal and professional considerations after one term on County of Brant council.

Casandra Turnbull

Managing Editor

County of Brant Ward 2 Paris Coun. Lukas Oakley will not seek re-election in the upcoming municipal vote, ending his first term on council as he looks to pursue a full-time career in public service.

In a press release issued April 28, Oakley said the decision came after months of consideration.

“This decision was reached this past December with much discussion with family, friends, mentors, and my municipal peers,” he stated in a press release issued on April 28. “Serving in municipal office is very demanding both personally and professionally.” 

Oakley, who is in his late twenties, pointed to the challenge of balancing council responsibilities with career and personal life.

“Daytime, afternoon, and evening meetings, plus weekend engagements are difficult to maneuver a career around in your late twenties,” he said, adding he plans to focus on his family and career while continuing to work in public service. 

Despite stepping away, Oakley described his four-year term as “incredibly rewarding” and said he had intended to run again.

The Paris Independent sent Oakley some follow up questions to reflect on his time on council. In his responses, Oakley highlighted several accomplishments, including introducing recorded voting to improve transparency and advocating for funding to address gender-based violence.

“Fundamentally, our government is meant to be accountable to us, the public; and how can that be so if we don’t know how our individual politicians are representing us?” he said of the push for recorded votes. 

He also pointed to nearly $750,000 in funding over three years for gender-based violence support services as a key achievement.

“I am a strong believer that it is incumbent upon those who sit at the levers of power to take more tangible action,” he said. He noted that in November 2023 the County of Brant declared gender-based violence as an epidemic. In working with service providers, Oakley was shocked to learn they were beyond capacity, so he set out to make a difference by boosting funding for vital services. 

Reflecting on his time in office, Oakley said some of the most memorable moments came from community engagement, including hosting mock council sessions for local students. He was proud of the future leaders in the community who showed promise in debating issues honestly. “Imagine my surprise as BOTH YEARS I as the mock developer failed to get through an indoor trampoline park rezoning application,” he fondly recalled. 

 Oakley was also proud of the opportunities he had in representing the county in delegations to provincial ministries.

“It was such a great experience being able to take key issues we are facing, and bring those issues straight to he folks at the top,” he said, citing delegations to the Minister of health on a new hospital and Minister of Education for new elementary schools. 

“Real meaningful change was able to be made, and I got to be at least a small part in that,” he said. 

Oakley added that serving on council deepened his appreciation for municipal staff and public service workers.

“I had not understood to the degree I do now how crucially vital and underappreciated public service workers are,” he said. 

Looking ahead, he said future councils should prioritize expanding transit and investing more in in-house municipal capacity.

“Transit relies on mass usership and habitual changes from using personal vehicles to using transit; this won't happen overnight,” he said. 

He also urged council to reduce reliance on external consultants in favour of building internal expertise.

“Every single time we chose this term of council to invest in a staff member or piece of equipment… we have had a better end product in less time for cheaper,” he said. 

Oakley thanked residents for the opportunity to serve and left the door open to a future return to municipal politics.

“I thank you again for the great privilege and responsibility you entrusted me with four years ago,” he said. “I hope that I have the opportunity and privilege to be able to serve this community again in the future.”