Johanna Raso wants to use her extensive knowledge and experience as a fixer of problems at public agencies to resolve issues facing the Town of Hawkesbury.

Raso holds a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) in finance and real estate. Her work has included firms such as Tri-Compas International, Samir Abboud, and Montreal Trust. Raso has managed portfolios worth more than $37 billion and in various roles worked with clients including Cadillac Fairview, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Caisse de depot, Ivanhoe Cambridge, and the Montreal Stock Exchange. Academically, Raso has taught a course for Harvard University delivered by McGill University. She has written several articles about real estate and finance and served as an expert consultant for a National Film Board of Canada production about commercial real estate.

Prior to relocating from Montréal to Hawkesbury, Raso was extensively involved with the Rotary Club of Montréal, La Rue des Femmes and the St-Justine Hospital Foundation. She is a member of Global Citizen and past Chair of the Celebration Committee for the 375th anniversary of the city of Montréal with the Montréal Division of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada. In 2017, Raso was awarded the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers by the Governor General of Canada on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.

Raso moved to Hawkesbury to retire but discovered she wanted to keep working. She previously resisted overtures to run for mayor of a borough in Montréal but now wants to put her experience to work for Hawkesbury. She said that managing large and often challenging situations made her a mayor of every file she handled.

“With the stakeholders and decision makers, I was at the table with them,” Raso said.

She wants increased opportunities for employment in Hawkesbury, particularly for young people. She said that will get them to stay, which will result in improved economic and social conditions. Raso added senior citizens in Hawkesbury do not have sufficient services for their needs.

Raso understands there are challenges to getting ideas and policies to the point of implementation but believes her record of getting things done successfully throughout her career can make it happen at the municipal level in Hawkesbury.

“It’s not just a promise,” she remarked.

Raso wants to focus on public transportation, both in town, and between Hawkesbury and other centres. She believes this could be achieved through making use of subsidies, grants, and partnerships with the private sector.

“Intercity (transportation) is an issue that’s come up with people a lot,” Raso said of her conversations with citizens during the campaign.

Education is another of Raso’s priorities and believes her background can bring a postsecondary institution to Hawkesbury.

“My education connections are good. I can bring in a college,” she said.

Raso said that what happens around the region, province, and world affects life in Hawkesbury.

“You don’t live in a bubble,” she remarked.

“You need someone who can talk there,” she said of her abilities to represent the town at other levels.

Despite her experiences and achievements, Raso emphasizes her down-to-earth personality.

“I’m just me,” she said.

Raso said concern for the community was always a part of her career.

“It was not all about the money,” she commented.

Raso believes someone from outside Hawkesbury with experience can lead the town.

“They need someone from the outside, they need someone with the real experience,” she said.

Raso concluded that she is offering her services to voters, and if they want them on election day, she will happily oblige.