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.
Occupation (s): I am currently the Executive Director of the Central Interior Native Health Society a position I have held for 16 years.
Prior to that I was the Executive Director of the Prince George United Way, and a variety of nom-profit sector management and service provision positions.
Community involvement and contributions: I have been involved in community volunteer and community development activities for the past 40 years.
In recognition of those activities I was named Prince George's Citizen of the Year in 2000. I continue to volunteer my time on a number of community enterprises.
Other pertinent qualifications: I have served on city council a total of 12 years. I have served on the finance and audit committee for six years; the last three as Chair. I would bring considerable knowledge and experience to the position.
I am a past president of the North Central Local Government Association and currently I'm a director at large on the Union of BC Municipalities executive.
Why are you running for council? After four terms as a team player, I believe I still have something to offer the council team, city administration and the community. My goal is to contribute to an enviable quality of life for all our citizens.
What can you uniquely bring to the city? I am in daily contact with individuals who often have a difficult time getting heard by elected officials.
Through effective relationship building I believe I have credibility amongst elected officials at the local, regional, provincial and federal level.
I believe I have achieved that credibility by not only being a tireless social justice advocate, but doing the day-to-day governance work that is the responsibility of every council member.
As an executive member of the Union of BC Municipalities I would hope to continue work in the areas of First Nations and local government relations and child poverty.
What are your most pressing issues? With today's economic realities it is important to engage our citizens in a process that would explore what services that the City of Prince George provides are most important to local taxpayers.
There are many competing priorities that need to be taken into consideration.
How do you propose to address those issues? I would advocate for a community engagement process that would involve as many individuals and groups as possible, to develop a strategic plan for the next three to five years that would establish goals for operating and capital budgets and debt reduction strategies.
What do you hope to accomplish in your three-year term should you be elected?
I am committed to ensuring that the needs of Prince George's more marginalized populations are not overlooked. I would continue to work on the city's commitment to a housing first strategy and to the canadian municipalities against racism and discrimination initiative.
