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WHO I AM
Hi, I'm Dave, a dedicated community member and candidate running for City of Mission Council.
Honestly, I’m just a regular guy who decided to put my hand up and get more involved than I already am.
I’m a neurodivergent divorced dad with two amazing kids. While I was born in London, UK ... I am lucky enough to have a partner who was born and raised right here in Mission, and we own a farm and small business here. My background is in cybersecurity and network systems,
Having worked at different cities over the years, I have seen the different background foundations and inner workings of how they work.
I’m used to figuring things out, thinking outside the box, getting my hands dirty, fixing what’s broken, and sometimes asking a whole lot of difficult questions along the way.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Since moving to Mission — and specifically to Steelhead — I’ve been actively involved in helping make our community better, safer, and stronger, just from behind the scenes.
As a member of the Steelhead Community Association Board (as director and vice-chair) I’ve been involved in advocating for our community and getting things done. That has included maintaining, repairing, and upgrading services at the Hall, adding Wi-Fi and radio equipment, securing Microsoft grants, and helping bring in a more reliable and customizable emergency notification system for Steelhead. I've attended many council meetings, written to council to help protect Mission, even speaking at the council meetings and I'm not a spotlight kind of person! My kids have also come with us to council meetings to actively protest, they made signs, got loud, and it empowered them when council voted NO on that spur of the moment agenda addition ... you know, the one where they were going to waste millions upon millions that included a shiny new multi-building city hall on the outskirts of town.
I’ve also used my technical and grant experience to help bring high-speed fibre internet to Steelhead, working directly with Telus and neighbours, to help move the long-awaited project forward.
Living out here, outside of town and within the Municipal Tree Farm, also means wildfire preparedness isn’t just something I read about — it’s something that matters to my family and my neighbours. I actively participate in wildfire training and advocacy because I believe our rural communities need to be prepared, supported, and heard.
I didn’t get involved in these things because I was running for Council. I got involved because this is my community too. That’s what I believe community service should be about: seeing something that needs to be done, getting involved, and doing what you can to make things better.
WHAT DO I WANT
I’m not a career politician. I’m a community member who cares about where I live and the people who live here. I’ve watched local issues unfold, listened to neighbours talk about their experiences, and eventually decided that no one seems to be listening. If I want things to change, I need to be willing to step up and be a bigger part of that change. I see the change we all deserve.
I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t think anyone on Council should pretend they do. What I can promise is that I’ll listen, I’ll ask the hard questions, I’ll do the involved homework and make sure others do too, and I’ll treat people with respect — even when we don’t agree we can still respect each other and the process.
I have a whole lot of passion for this community.
So, I’m putting my name — Dave Hartnell — forward because I think Mission deserves people on Council who are willing to listen, get involved, can admit they're wrong, and actually care about Mission, its people, and its future.
A Council That Listens. A Council That Works. A Council That Cares.
I invite you to join me in this journey, as together we can make a difference in our community.
OCTOBER 17th
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