Prince George goes to the polls Nov. 19 to determine who will be their municipal leaders for the next three years.
In an effort to better inform the community on the 24 candidates running for a seat on Prince George municipal council, The Citizen sent out a form to all hopefuls with a series of questions that we hope will reveal their histories, priorities, qualifications and personalities.
Here are what they had to say.
Name: Lyn Hall
Occupation: Commercial gaming auditor
Community involvement and contributions:
Chair, vice chair, trustee, School District No.57 Board of Education for 10 years; chair, management & finance committee for School District # 57 ; Co-Chair, 2001 BC Special Olympic Summer Games in Prince George; member, leisure services commission, City of Prince George; director, Prince George Region Development Corporation; member, Aquatic Centre building committee, City of Prince George; president, PG ringette association ; soccer and ringette coach.
Other pertinent qualifications: Helping to manage a $120 million budget for the past 10 years with increased cost pressures, while balancing the educational needs of students and staff, has given me the necessary experience for city council.
Why are you running for council?
I am running for council to strengthen our city from both a financial and social issues perspective. I believe I can provide experienced leadership, transparency and strong, proven community engagement skills to help create a strong council that encourages confidence and optimism within our city.
What can you uniquely bring to the city? I have essential experience of working within the fiscal challenges of increased costs pressures while balancing the need to maintain support and addressing concerns of students and staff. It is this experience that I plan to bring to city council. I also bring a strong connection to the community having lived, and continuing to raise my children in Prince George, along with my wife, for the past 26 years.
What are your most pressing issues? The pressing issues I believe need to be addressed:
A team approach within our community with a foundation of strong leadership, new ideas, transparency and community consultation is required to move the city forward. Strong leadership from council along with community engagement and positive actions with results creates confidence and optimism.
The development of an overall financial strategy, that allows council to work within the existing budget, by setting both long and short-term goals.
The establishment of an infrastructure plan for both short and long term concerns already identified within our community such as road maintenance and snow removal.
How do you propose to address those issues? There needs to be strong leadership from council with meaningful community consultation, which will identify priorities that council can use during deliberations. We need to frame both long and short-term budget needs and strategies based around the priorities from our community and the constraints of our current resources.
What do you hope to accomplish in your three your term should you be elected?
I would like to concentrate on reviewing expenditure of tax dollars, infrastructure needs such as roads and utilities, business development, senior's needs, as well as the needs of our disadvantaged and homeless while strengthening our community partnerships with residents, employees, educational groups and service organizations. To achieve a balance between existing needs, and fiscal constraints while utilizing the knowledge within our community to solve the concerns and build optimism and growth within our city.
