Municipal Election 2026: Darren Phillips Candidate for Ward 6

Join us for a special series of CAC: In Conversation, covering the 2026 Municipal Election in the Fundy Albert Region. 

In this conversation, we chat with Darren Phillips, Candidate for the position of Councillor of Ward 6.  

All candidates were given a list of potential questions at least 24 hours in advance of their interview and were asked the same questions. We have completed light editing for clarity, length, and sound quality. All views and opinions represented in the interviews are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of Connecting Albert County. 

Connecting Albert County thanks our presenting sponsor, the Bennett & Albert County Healthcare Foundation.

For more information on Connecting Albert County, please go to our website or find us on Facebook or Instagram.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Hello and welcome to Connecting Albert County in Conversation series. This particular edition is part of our special coverage of the 2026 municipal elections here in Funday Albert. I'm Melody Land, the coordinator with Connecting Albert County. And today I have the privilege to sit down and have a chat with Darren Phillips. He is one of two candidates running in Ward 6. And he is having a chat with us today all about his election campaign. Thank you for being here, Darren.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Thanks for having me here.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

So it is a busy time of year. A lot of folks have uh thrown their hat in the ring, and it's really exciting to see so many people interested in the well-being of our amazing community. Um, before we get into any of the you know deep thought-provoking questions, uh, why don't you introduce yourself to the folks that are listening and uh yeah, tell us a little bit about who you are.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

So, as you said, my name's Darren Phillips. I was born and raised in Lower Coverdale, New Brunswick, the uh top edge of Bundy Albert. I uh I'm a business owner. I've had my business here for 23 years. Prior to that, I worked for General Motors uh dealerships for 15 years, and I have an amazing wife and three amazing children. And yeah, my heart, my heart's in Albert County.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

So moving into um municipal office means there's a lot of different types of leadership that one would have to show as an entrepreneur. I'm sure you have had lots of experience with leadership. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about your leadership style and how you've demonstrated community leadership in the past?

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Well, I have uh 10 employees, so I guess through that I've uh developed a way of listening to people and finding people's concerns, especially my employees, but possibly uh the people in my community. Um yeah, so everybody's voice is heard at work, and we uh no no nobody goes unheard. Nobody uh nobody's issues or problems or uh you know everything's heard and everybody has a voice, and and we always come to a a conclusion where everybody seems to be happy. So that's my my leadership is hands-on. I need to I need to see and talk to people. I can't just do it from a from a computer or you know, like for me, I I like to interact with people.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

And what are some ways you've shown community leadership in uh your long career here in Funde Albert?

SPEAKER_00 2:56

I haven't had much uh much opportunity to to be involved in uh in the community other than operating a business and and hiring local people.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

And we know that whenever there's more than one person in a room, there's going to be differences of an opinion. And particularly um serving in a municipal council environment where you have quite a large group of people representing quite a large group of people, there is bound to be disagreements and conflict. I'm a firm believer that conflict necessarily isn't a bad thing, it just depends how we handle it and manage it. So, how would you answer the question how you handle conflict and how you would navigate conflict in that type of complex environment?

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Well, first you have to hear everybody's side of the story and you have to you have to feel for them, I guess, because they uh you know that it's when they have uh a differing opinion, everybody's I guess everybody has to count. So for me, I try to find the common denominator in the issues, and we try to come to a resolution.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

So why did you decide to get into municipal politics and run for this particular election?

SPEAKER_00 4:17

Uh it's something I've always wanted to do, but uh as a business owner, I'm I'm quite busy, don't have much time for it, but now I have all the correct people in place. I have good employees, I have people that represent me well in my business, so I think it leaves me time to step out and you know possibly pursue some of my uh some of my desires.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

Okay, and how have you been preparing?

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Not a whole lot actually, because it was a last-minute decision. So, you know, I obviously put my name in the hat the the second last day. I guess I decided a day before that. So and yeah, I'm kind of going in uh blind sided here. So we're gonna, you know, I know that there's a lot involved, and but I feel that if the if I do get uh a seat in council, I'm sure I'll be uh quite prepared for it.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

So have you had a chance yet to think about um a bit of a platform or if not a platform, that's not always the right word, but in your viewpoint, what are the most pressing issues facing Fun Day, Albert?

SPEAKER_00 5:32

I hear a lot of stories at the garage, as you can well imagine. I have a lot of uh a lot of customers, so you know I hear a lot of stories about kids being hungry, and you know, just I know I know that we're we're an area of the province where we don't we're we're a have not area, I guess. So we don't get as much as uh some of the other communities throughout the province, but my my heart kind of bleeds for for children and families, I guess. So the economy, obviously, you want you want a better economic situation in your in your area, but I I I think it starts with family.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

So you mentioned already a little bit about time. We know that serving our community through municipal government can be time consuming. I've talked to a lot of uh counselors over the years and served myself for a short time before amalgamation. And we know that there are multiple meetings per month at various times of the day and evening, as well as community events to attend, boards to join, and I'm sure other projects that I have no idea exist. You mentioned that you're in a position now where you're freed up a little bit more for time. Could you speak to any additional concerns that voters might have about how you'll manage your time and how available you would be to serve your constituents if you were the um winning candidate?

SPEAKER_00 7:00

Um yeah, I guess I'm I'm there. Like my customers know me and people in my community know me. Like I I get things done. I uh when I commit to something, I don't back out of it.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

So earlier this year, there was a lot of discussion around mandatory training for municipal counselors or the lack thereof or the difficulty accessing it. Are you for or against required training for municipal counselors?

SPEAKER_00 7:31

I'm for it. I think that they, you know, I think everybody should be prepared. It's like uh I've always said with business, you know, they'll give out a corporation number or an HST number to anybody, but a lot of these people have no no sense of business, and a lot of a lot of business fail because of that. So I I see training, you know, we train in our shop. We you know, we have to stay updated on on uh everyday changes with vehicles. And you know, I don't I don't see any difference with uh you know leading your people or or being a representative of the people. I think you should have you know a knowledge of what you're what you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Okay, and building off of that, the New Brunswick Local Governance Act is the primary legislation that governs municipalities, rural communities, and regional districts. And following the major reforms that happened in January of 2023, there were some key updates to it that included regional service delivery changes, the new local governance commission, and as we know, the restructuring of local service districts. The act is what sets the framework for council powers, financial duties, and bylaws. Can you share with us your level of familiarity with the New Brunswick Local Governance Act?

SPEAKER_00 8:49

It would be something that uh if I got elected, I guess I would become more familiar with, but it seems like a policies and procedures uh that a lot of businesses would have and kind of directs uh what powers you have and what needs to arise in any given situation.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

In the area of transparency and conflicts of interest, social media has told us conversations and coffee shops. I'm sure there's been conversations in your business when you've had customers come in about the many situations around transparency and conflict. Um, there have been many public conversations around recurrent concerns in regards to this of local council and perceived conflicts of interest that have occurred around decision making of counselors. What would be your response to this concern and how do you think it's impacted local governance?

SPEAKER_00 9:48

I don't think that there ever should be a conflict of interest. I think that if there is, uh it should be uh stepped away from immediately. And I think uh, you know, most people, including myself, would like to see uh, like you said, transparency of like, you know, limit limit your behind closed door meetings. Like people want to know what's going on and why. Why is it happening that way?

SPEAKER_01 10:12

And if you're the successful candidate, um, how would you hold yourself transparent and avoid conflicts of interest within your municipal work? What are some ways you would demonstrate that?

SPEAKER_00 10:25

I'm here, I I would be there to represent the people, not myself. I always put myself last. I've always been that way. You know, I work hard and I've been successful doing that, but I still put myself last. My customers come first, actually. When you want to talk about uh hierarchy, it's like for me, it's God, it's family, it's my my my area that I live in and my country. I love them all. I'm I'm I'm I'm convicted, so I I have to live my conviction and I can't uh I can't be doing stuff for me and and be convicted.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Now, as we move forward into our questions, as I mentioned when we chatted earlier, um we have taken a variety of questions from the community which have already been represented, but the rest I've kind of clumped together into specific files that would be related to municipality. So the first one is under nature and environmental concerns. The village of Funde Albert has a lot of resources, but perhaps the most obvious is our connection to our natural environment. It is so significant that it's highlighted when Funde Albert had their rebranding into the tagline friendly by nature. We're also part of the UNESCO Fund Biosphere Region, which is a huge and globally significant designation. How do you see the municipalities' role in maintaining, managing, and utilizing our natural resources?

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Well, first of all, I don't think we should be uh be chopping them down and uh and leaving barren land. I know that uh we need to, you know, like land needs to be groomed and it needs to be maintained, but I don't think uh part of that is is eliminating it. You know, the animals that we see in our in our area, we you know it's a blessing and you know they're there for food, they're there for for uh you know, our entertainment and uh it's just it's just nice to see just nice to see creation and I don't think we we should be ruining that through any any means by you know cutting down a forest uh uh spraying as you had mentioned in your in your letter. Um you know, like we we drink the water, we eat off the land, we eat the animals that eat these trees, so you know, it's very important to us.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

And so building off of that, uh you made reference to the questions we had asked, and that is one specific question that has come up about what your thoughts are about the spraying of glycophates in the forests.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Well, my my opinion on that would be would you uh take the guy that's spraying it and hand him a cup of water with some glycosphate in it and let him drink it? Would he drink it? Do you think he would drink it? I don't think he would.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Moving into the file on housing, poverty, and cost of living, I've clumped those together. We know there's always a lot of discussion around the challenges of living, but I think it's safe to say in the recent few years, we've seen a major increase and shift in that. And it is a huge impact on the residents of our village. Precarious housing is a problem in our region. So some statistics suggest that there is a hugely significant number of our residents that are within just a couple of paychecks at risk of homelessness or being displaced. We've seen the increased use of food banks and other food security resources. And I could go on. How have you or how will you use the full range of the municipality's tools and resources to increase access to things like affordable housing, reduce or eliminate homelessness, increase food security, or in general have a positive effect in any area of poverty reduction?

SPEAKER_00 14:31

So, first, I'm not sure what the powers of the municipality is as far as providing those things, but I do believe that every child should have something good to eat and not not be hungry, especially going to school. They should be they should have a well-fed tummy. Um as far as housing, I'm not sure what's available for funding, but I know I've spoken to other people, and I know if we if we get in, um one of our one of our main objectives is to go after money. It doesn't appear that we've uh we're getting our fair share of money in in our area. It seems like uh there's other areas of throughout the province that get a very large sum of uh money from the government, and we get very little. So I think that needs to be more proportioned.

unknown 15:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

And in the area of economic development, what do you think the municipality or the municipal council's role is in regards to economic development and the best ways to grow our community?

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Well, I think I think through entrepreneurship is is probably one of the greatest ways of uh growing your area because you know that's where our tax base comes from. You know, 90% of our taxes come from uh small business, and uh I I think that's where it's at as far as uh you know you you need plans, you need people to to come forward and say, you know, this is what we should do, and you need to take all that stuff into consideration and if the money's there and if it's a good plan and and there's uh jobs to be created, then you know, and then you act on it.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

And do you have any ideas for strategies on growing the community where you think you would or would want the community to move in what direction?

SPEAKER_00 16:28

You need business, so you know when you like I see Alma, like it's it's kind of flourishing in the summer because it's a uh tourism uh hot spot and you know everybody flourishes down there, the community flourishes, but I think when it comes to uh the other areas throughout Fundy Albert, they you know they struggle because there's very very little business going on and I I you know you need money.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Okay. Moving into the arts, culture, and history file. Do you think art, culture, and history adds value to our municipality?

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, when you look down through through uh waterside, you have wineries, you have pottery areas, you have people that do quilting, like there's all kinds of uh like uh area for arts and culture, and yeah, I think it's great. It brings a lot of people in the area, and I think it's good.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

What ways do you think the municipality can engage with the history, arts and culture file through things? And these are just examples like strategic planning, policy, investment, programming, so on and so forth. What are your ideas on how the municipality can engage with them?

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Well, if the money is available, I believe, like if you like I was saying earlier, if you go after money for the area and we get our allotted share, well then you can invest in these people and and their businesses and you know their ideas, but without the money, you're you're you're not gonna you're not gonna move very far ahead.

unknown 18:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

And moving into infrastructure, we know, especially this time of year, roads are always a concern for residents. We also have the uh situation where we have a wide um geographic area and lots of different types of infrastructure within that area. How would you utilize the municipalities' tools and resources in the management, maintaining, and improving of important municipal infrastructure or potentially developing new projects or initiatives?

SPEAKER_00 18:51

So it was mentioned to me by another person running for council, and he's he's a wise person, and he he had mentioned, you know, we get the possibly Route 114 designated as a uh tourism road, and that way it gets better maintained as far as your side roads and stuff, you know, we can we can uh reach out and and see if there's more money available to to fix them and maintain them. They're they're in bad shape. The bridges are bad. Like I know they they've invested quite a bit of money on 114 replacing culverts and stuff, but a lot of the side roads are bad too. Um I'm not sure what the tax base is throughout our municipality, but I'm sure that there's money there for these projects, we're just not getting it.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

As we wrap up our conversation, we've touched on a lot of different topics from a wide range of uh folk that have contributed. Is there anything we haven't covered that you would want municipal residents to know about you and your bid in this election?

SPEAKER_00 19:56

Like I said, I I love my area, I love uh Fundy Albert, I love uh I love my country. The people's voices would be heard through me. I don't know what we would uh what powers we have to to do things, but we would uh definitely be hearing the voices and and trying to uh move forward on all the we we would want to make sure that everybody's voice is heard and everybody's satisfied at the end of the day that we did our job.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

And I think that's a great place to uh wrap up our conversation. If you are listening to this podcast and you want to know more about Darren Phillips in Ward 6, you can reach out to him. I believe all your contact information is listed online under the candidate profiles. Um, those are found on the New Brunswick uh government election pages, or you can reach out to us at CAC. And I'm sure there's somebody you know out there that knows how to get a hold of Darren as well. So feel free to do that. And uh again, we uh do appreciate your time. Part of what we're doing with Connecting Albert County is to try and have people, one, be aware that the election is happening, two, be able to engage with it so we can get more voters out there and be able to make educated choices. And so we thank you, Darren, for your time in allowing us to offer this service to the community. We do appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 21:18

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

You have a great day. And if you are listening to this podcast, make sure to check out all of the interviews with our candidates. We have all candidates running as well as all the uh mayor oral candidates. So listen through and get to know the people that will be representing you in uh the next year.