Just a Framer

Neil Saravanamuttoo put out a video recently.

He wanted you to know he’s an economist. And that I’m just “a homeframer.”

Well, let’s talk about what a framer actually does.

I’ve spent my career running crews on job sites across this city. I hire all the people. I manage the contractors. I keep timelines that don’t move, because a house isn’t done “eventually,” it’s done on a date, with a family waiting to move in.

I do the budgets. I make payroll, on time, out of money I have to go earn first.

And when the weather turns, a supplier is late, and two guys don’t show up, I solve it that day. Not next quarter. That day. That’s the reality of running a business.

I grew up in Herongate. It wasn’t an easy start, and I know what it’s like to not have much.

From there to running a company and making payroll for other families – I’ve been a lot of different people in this city along the way.

I’ve walked a lot of different roads. I’ve worn a lot of different pairs of shoes.

But here’s what got me about Neil’s video.

If I’m only “a framer” to him, what’s everyone else?

Just a cashier. Just a nurse. Just a mechanic. Just a hairdresser. Just a small business owner trying to make rent on a storefront downtown.

That’s the tell.

An economist looks at a city and sees a spreadsheet: inputs, outputs, rows to optimize.

I look at a city and see the person the row in a spreadsheet is supposed to represent. The nurse doing a double shift. The dad framing houses so his kids have a life. The small business owner who can’t make the numbers work because city hall keeps changing them.

With an economist as mayor, your life is a line item.

With a carpenter as mayor, your life is the point.

I’m proud to be a framer. I’m proud of every person I’ve hired, trained, and paid. That’s the resume I’m running on.

If someone looks at everything I’ve been through and everything I’ve built and still only sees “a framer,” they’re not going to see you either.

They just don’t understand you.

I need your help to get the word out.

Ottawa needs change. It needs leadership that hasn’t spent their life behind a desk.

If you can, chip in and help us reach more people like you: Donate

If you’ve got time instead of dollars, hit reply and tell me. We need doors knocked, signs put up, and neighbours talked to.

Either way, we need you.

We’ve got a lot of work to do.

Ottawa deserves better. See you soon. 

Alex