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) (past and present): For the past 27 years, I have been the owner of M. Turner & Associates. M. Turner & Associates is an organization that helps unemployed people find work and helps companies and organizations find good employees. We also design and deliver training that assists companies grow their workforce.
Community involvements and contributions: I am the past-chair of the Library Board of Trustees, Prince George and District United Way, Cultural Grants Committee for the City of Prince George and the Rotary Club of Prince George.
I have served as a director on the board of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, Prince George Community Foundation, the Northern John Howard Society, DARE BC and provincial boards such as the Private Post-Secondary Education Commission and am currently on the BC Multicultural Advisory Council.
Other pertinent qualifications: I have a background in strategic planning, project management and hold other certifications in management training.
Why are you running for council? I want to step into the public arena and work with a dedicated team of councillors to develop a strategic vision to make Prince George the center of business activity in the north and to make this the place to live, no matter where in the north you work.
What can you uniquely bring to the city? I have contracted with government for over 25 years and I believe in setting measurable objectives, working within a fiscal framework and finding innovative ways to deal with changes in the labour market without increasing costs
What are your most pressing issues and how do you propose to address those issues? As a city we must learn to live within our means, save for priority projects and be more accountable and transparent to the citizens of Prince George.
Mayor and council should clearly outline what their objectives are for the three years of their term, what strategies will be used to achieve the objectives, what the measurable outcomes will be, what the costs are and report back to the public at minimum on a semi-annual basis on progress made on each of the objectives.
Council needs to set priorities and tell the public what the timeline is and report back to the public on progress made or revisions to the plan.
We need to be a city that is easy to do business with. The guidelines we establish for development should use language that encourages development rather than language that sets up roadblocks.
We need to make Prince George a true northern capital by becoming the business centre for the north and we need to let people know that no matter where they work in the north this is the place to live.
What do you hope to accomplish in your three-year term should you be elected:
I would like to see the development of a three-year strategic plan that lets the public know what the mayor and council specifically want to accomplish during their term.
