Paul Richard
Overall Assessment
Paul Richard is a principled, equity-minded first-term councillor whose most significant contribution — moving the original motion to review Moncton's policing services in 2021 — set in motion a multi-year accountability exercise that this council needed to undertake regardless of the outcome. The fact that the resulting review concluded the opposite of what Richard advocated for does not diminish the democratic value of insisting the question be asked and answered properly.
His Ward 4 advocacy reflects a genuine equity orientation. His argument for locating the new aquatics centre in the Parkton area — "there are kids there that don't have, won't have, the opportunity to go places like Centennial Park" — reflects a vision of public infrastructure as a redistributive tool that is more explicit and more principled than most councillors offer on facility location debates.
The limitation is coalition-building. A 10-1 dissenting vote on McLaughlin Road rezoning, a consistent minority position across multiple major decisions, and an inability to build the cross-ward relationships needed to move outcomes in his direction all suggest a councillor who is frequently right on the merits but unable to translate good reasoning into winning votes. That gap between judgment and influence is the defining challenge for any potential second term.
Category Scorecards
Click "Read" to expand each assessmentSources
- Moncton council votes to review who polices city— CBC News
- RCMP or a new force? Moncton area set to debate future of policing services— CBC News
- Moncton to explore potential sites for new aquatics centre— CBC News
- Moncton OK's 18-storey tower, separate housing development neighbours opposed— CBC News
- Rezoning for McLaughlin Road development approved— 91.9 The Bend
- Moncton opts to keep RCMP in close vote— CBC News
- Moncton council confirms it will keep RCMP, votes down public consultation— CBC News
- Richard To Run In Moncton Ward 4— 91.9 The Bend
- E-mails show councillors didn't want critic on planning committee— The Times & Transcript
- Moncton woman feels singled out after council objects to her committee appointment— Global News
These scorecards were developed through deep research conducted by Claude AI. Each councillor is evaluated across six equally-weighted categories built around what defines effective civic leadership — independent of political affiliation. Category scores are derived from letter grades converted to a scale out of 100 (A = 100, A− = 93, B+ = 83, B = 75, B− = 68, C+ = 58, C = 50, D = 25). An overall score of 80 or above is rated Great; 70–79 is Good; 60–69 is Okay; below 60 is Poor.
Research draws from City of Moncton official records and official news sources. This evaluation is independently produced and is not affiliated with the City of Moncton or any political party.
Scores are updated by feeding evidence-based information to the AI algorithm, which uses it to further refine its evaluation of each category. To submit evidence that may affect a score, email info@monctonvotes.ca — all submitted evidence will be provided to the algorithm.