For Taylor Briscoe, serving as a city councillor for Stratford was a rocket ship of personal growth.
Briscoe told MyStratfordNow that perspective is something she learned during her term on council.
“I’m often the one on the other side of the table asking questions, so to sit on the government side and learning the inner workings has made me a far better lobbyist. That has informed my next chapter as well.”
In the 2026 municipal election, Briscoe ended up with 3,446 votes.
Councillors Cody Sebben (6,335), Lesley Biehn (5,880), Harj Nijjar (5,186), Brad Beatty (5,078), Larry McCabe (4,825), Geza Wordofa (4,764) and Bonnie Henderson (4,629) were all re-elected, while Sarah Merkel (5,631), Ian Morton (4,919) and Christopher Giannakopolous (4,458) join city council.
Briscoe feels heartbroken, not over the results, but over seeing some of her colleagues face harassment during the election campaign.
In her time working as a political lobbyist, Briscoe has seen ‘the worst of the worst’ in meetings, adding that she loved working at the municipal level, as people with different ideologies would come together in a respectful way.
Briscoe said working towards a long-term housing strategy is something she looks fondly on, along with supporting Biehn’s efforts to create an affordable fund, moving forward on the GTR, as well as putting forward a tax deferral program (coming in 2027), so those with fixed and low income can work with the city to defer property tax payments.
Her next chapter includes spending more time with family, bringing her housing expertise to a national level, devoting more time to her company called ComplyGov, and continuing her day job as assistant director of public affairs for Salvation Army Canada.
