Fredericton Municipal Election · May 11, 2026
Ward 7 deserves a councillor who demands transparency, asks uncomfortable questions, and holds the process accountable — regardless of the issue.
Get Involveduntil Election Day
What’s at stake
Significant votes at council happen without a clear, public accounting of why. Residents learn the outcome — but not the reasoning behind it.
Council culture rewards consensus and deference. When hard questions aren’t asked in the open, the process doesn’t earn public trust.
Conflicts of interest are handled with quiet abstentions and no explanation. Procedural shortcuts replace genuine public deliberation.
In April 2025, over 70 residents packed city hall for a vote on the four-unit housing bylaw. Tens of millions in federal funding hung in the balance — and the planning director could not confirm whether Ottawa would claw back money already committed if council voted no.
This isn’t about whether the bylaw was right or wrong. It’s about whether residents deserved a clearer, more transparent process before a decision of that magnitude was made.
Without a different kind of voice at the table, Ward 7 residents get outcomes they didn’t choose, for reasons they were never told.
Meet the candidate
Principled. Present. Accountable.
Josh Hambrook has called Ward 7 home for 20 years. He started his working life as a construction labourer and union organiser — learning early what it means to ask hard questions on behalf of people who need someone in the room willing to ask them. He went on to build a career at the intersection of technology, governance, and civic accountability, with executive studies at Harvard, MIT, and UC Berkeley focused on how public institutions make decisions and who they truly serve. Ward 7 deserves a councillor who has worked with his hands, organised his community, and spent his career asking whether the systems around us work the way they should — and for whom.
The commitment
Every significant vote at council should come with a clear, public explanation of why — not a press release after the fact, but a genuine accounting of the reasoning before and during deliberation. As councillor, Josh will commit to publishing his own voting record with written explanations, and will advocate for staff reports and rationale to be made available to residents before votes are taken, not after.
Good decisions require hard questions — and hard questions require someone willing to ask them in the open, not just in a closed briefing. Josh will ask questions in open session, request deferrals when public consultation has been inadequate, and refuse to treat consensus as a substitute for scrutiny. The room should be uncomfortable sometimes. That is how it earns trust.
Conflicts of interest should be declared openly before debate begins — not handled with a quiet abstention and no explanation. Josh will publicly declare any conflict before a relevant discussion, advocate for a clear and enforceable conflicts of interest policy at council, and oppose any process that substitutes financial pressure or insider convenience for genuine public accountability.
Community
Ward 7 residents across Lincoln and Southwood Park are joining the conversation about accountability at city hall.
“I want someone on council who isn’t afraid to ask the uncomfortable question in the room. Josh is that person. Twenty years in this ward, real-world experience, and no agenda other than doing right by the people who live here.”
“I’m proud to support Josh Hambrook for Fredericton City Council in Ward 7. Josh is thoughtful, community-focused, and genuinely committed to making Fredericton an even better place to live. He listens, he cares, and he follows through — exactly the kind of leadership we need.”
“What I appreciate about Josh is that he’s been part of this community for a long time. He’s not parachuting in with a list of promises. He genuinely cares about Ward 7 and he has the background to hold council accountable. That’s what we need right now.”
“As a parent in Ward 7, I want councillors who think carefully before they vote and explain their reasoning to residents. Josh understands that accountability isn’t optional — it’s the whole job. He has our family’s full support.”
Take the first step
Stay informed about the campaign. Be the first to know what questions are being asked — and what answers Ward 7 deserves.
Thank you for standing with Ward 7. We’ll be in touch with campaign updates and the questions that matter to your neighbourhood.