Tasha Henderson excited, humbled to be a New West councillor

Editor's note: New West Anchor is getting to know the six councillors and the new mayor elected to City Hall. We're running a series of pieces on them in our newsletters—be sure to take a look at our pieces on Mayor Patrick Johnstone and Couns. Paul Minhas, Daniel Fontaine, and Nadine Nakagawa. Stay tuned for our pieces on Ruby Campbell and Jaimie McEvoy.

This may be her first term as a city councillor, but Tasha Henderson—who ran with Community First New West—brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.

"I did my master's degree in Indigenous community planning," says the UBC grad, "so for the last eight years, I've been working in policy alongside cities, both as a community activist with organizations like Women Transforming Cities, and then also for different municipalities. I do understand how cities work; it is different to be on the other side so there will still be lots of learning to do."

Henderson's approach is simple: she wants to help hold the door open for other families and people who want to stay in New Westminster. Henderson agrees her work is inspired by her partner and their two children. 

"I've got two young kids, they're four and eight years old, and we're still in the childcare system, my son's in elementary school. With Jonathan [Cote] and Mary [Trentadue] leaving, I think it's really important that young families do continue to be represented on council. I'll definitely be bringing a family lens to decision-making, just considering how many millennials are moving here and how many young families are moving here," she says. 

Along with childcare, Henderson says other topics that will be top-of-mind for her are climate, housing, and equity in accessing parks and recreation programming.

As for juggling council and two young kids, Henderson notes her partner has been wonderful to rely on—and the kids are overall on board with mom adding the title of city councillor to her repetoire.

"My kids are no stranger to council chambers. They've come to a number of different council meetings over the years. I think it's pretty cool that this is normal for them, that we just go and talk to elected officials about things," Henderson says with a chuckle. "It was challenging to campaign with kids [but] they were really understanding ... my kids [do] have mixed emotions: they're really excited, and also they're really sad I'm going to be missing Monday nights at home."

During the campaign, Henderson said it was important for her kids to see the work that goes into connecting with the community. 

"My four-year-old daughter came with me door-knocking, probably at least 30% of the time, and she came around and put up signs, rang all the doorbells, handed out all the flyers. If nothing else, I felt like win or lose I'd inspired her ... to normalize this idea that women have their own goals and dreams, and their own professional commitments," says Henderson. 

She'll join three other Community First members—Ruby Campbell, Nadine Nakagawa, and Jaimie McEvoy—and two from the New West Progressives: Paul Minhas and Daniel Fontaine. Henderson says she's optimistic the group will be able to collaborate to ensure New West shines. 

"We all have a shared commitment to do what we can to make New West even better than it already is. I think Community First demonstrated during the campaign that we're positive and collaborative, and we ran a really positive campaign. We're open and willing to work with anyone."

She calls the experience of running her first campaign a "wild" one—though she's grateful for the opportunity. 

"I feel really fortunate, and this is not a solo effort by any means. It took spouses and partners and Fresh Prep deliveries, grandparents, campaign staff, volunteers in the community ... it really was a community-wide effort," says Henderson. "It feels like there's a spotlight put on the newly elected members, but we're really one little part of a giant puzzle."