I'm Jean Coles. I've been your Municipal Councillor for Ward 1 since being appointed in 2024, and I'm running to continue this October.

I live in Ilderton with my husband, our two teenage daughters, and our pup Coco - you've likely seen us out on the trails together since I'm an avid trail user. I'm also a part-time professor at Fanshawe College, teaching in the Business degree program, including Entrepreneurship and Strategic Human Resources. I love helping students connect classroom theory with what it's actually like to run and manage a business.

That's not just theory for me. I've owned Franchises in London since 2013, learning firsthand what it takes to build something and keep it running well. I'm also a lifelong learner myself, a Western University graduate (BACS, 2001), with an MBA from Norwich University and a Marketing Management Certificate from Humber College.

Before joining Council, I served as a board member with the Ilderton and Area Business Association, Community Futures Middlesex, and the Hyde Park Business Improvement Association, and as a committee member with the Thames Valley Parent Involvement Committee. Locally, I was part of the Home and School Committee at Oxbow PS for over 10 years, the Optimist Club of Ilderton, the Ilderton Ladies Association, and the Community Services Advisory Committee at the Municipality. This past year, I helped put together the Ilderton 150 Celebration and Concert and brought the Terry Fox Run back to Ilderton.

Since being appointed in 2024, I've served on the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, the Economic Development Committee, and the Bluewater Recycling Association, along with attending the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conferences.

A few other things to know about me: my favourite board game is currently Rummikub, I ran my first 5K at the 2022 Pinery Fall Classic, and I'm happiest meeting new people. If you want to chat, find me at a door this fall or drop me a line.

Why I'm Running Again

When I was appointed to Council in November 2024, I made a promise to myself: to ask hard questions, plan responsibly, and always keep residents in the loop, not just on votes, but on why those votes were made.

Two years later, that promise has become my record. I've sat on the Budget Working Group and helped navigate a $78.87 million municipal budget with taxpayers front of mind. I've pushed for Ilderton Arena improvements, and better road safety, because Ward 1 deserves infrastructure that keeps pace with how our community actually lives. I've asked tough questions on development, because growth only works if it happens in the right places, with the roads and services to support it. And when decisions got complicated, I made it my job to explain what was happening in plain language, not just post an agenda and hope residents would piece it together.

None of that happened because I was appointed. It happened because I showed up, listened, and did the work. That's exactly why I'm running this October. I believe Ward 1, all of it, Ilderton, Birr and Denfield, deserves a councillor who treats every part of this community as equally important. I've lived here since 2010. I've raised my family here, and spent years showing up, through the Ilderton Optimists, the Business Association, Community Futures, and most recently leading our Terry Fox Run. This isn't a community I'm asking to represent from the outside. It's the community I've been part of the whole time.

I'm not running because I have something to prove. I'm running because there's more work to do, and I'd be honoured to keep doing it with your support.

— Jean

Meet Jean Coles

Ilderton 150 Celebration

2025-2026

This past July, Ilderton marked a genuine milestone, 150 years as a community, and I was proud to be part of both the Ilderton 150 Committee and the Ilderton 150 Concert Committee that helped bring it to life. Over the July 10–12 weekend, that work came together in celebrations that brought residents together to look back at our history and celebrate what makes this community special, including an outdoor concert at the Ilderton Fairgrounds featuring Max Smith, Genevieve Fisher and Jade Eagleson.

Events like this don't happen on their own. They take months of planning, coordination between volunteers, local organizations and businesses, and a shared commitment to getting the details right. Being part of that effort was a reminder of why I love this community, not just the celebration itself, but everyone who showed up to help make it happen.

Oxbow PS Home and School Volunteer

September 2013 -June 2025

For more than ten years, I was part of the Home and School Committee at Oxbow PS, work that kept me closely connected to families across our community long before I ever ran for Council. As the Hot Lunch Coordinator, I helped organize a program that families relied on week after week, the kind of steady, behind-the-scenes work that keeps a school community running. One year, I also led the planning for our Grade 8 graduation, coordinating everything from the logistics to the celebration, so students and families could mark that milestone the way it deserved.

This kind of work isn't glamorous, but it's exactly the kind of consistent, hands-on involvement that's shaped how I show up for this community, quietly, reliably, and for the long haul, not just around election season.

Terry Fox Run Organizer

2026

This year, I took on the role of lead organizer for Ilderton's community Terry Fox Run, coordinating everything from the route and logistics to rallying local volunteers and getting residents out to participate. It's part of a broader effort to build a lasting local tradition around the run, something Ilderton hadn't had since the pandemic. Supporting cancer research is now something our whole community can do together, year after year, rather than something people do individually or drive elsewhere for. Bringing an event like this to life takes the same kind of coordination and follow-through I try to bring to Council work: listening to what the community wants, organizing the details, and making sure people feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves.

Community Involvement

My Commitment to You

The Ilderton 150 Committee Members

Listen First

I will take the time to understand your perspective and priorities.

Build Relationships

I will continue to work collaboratively with Community Members, Council and the Municipality.

Thoughtful Advocacy

I will represent the interests of Ward 1 with integrity and professionalism.

Represent Ward 1

Representing your interests, I will be your accessible voice a the table for Ward 1.

Responsible Growth
Safer, Stronger, Connected Communities