I'm honoured that Prince George has elected me three times to serve our city. An effective elected official remembers that she or he is working for you.
You have a right to know how your money is spent. I have successfully brought forward motions for transparency to council that were years ahead of even the province, so that you can see any expenses claimed to the city.
You need to have councillors working for you who know to make budgets work for the city. I have consistently sought ways to offset the huge costs that we all saw coming a decade ago. By working with allies through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), we lobbied and ensured the federal government would commit money to fix aging infrastructure. The current commitment is $180 billion across Canada.
My background as a tech entrepreneur and businessman set me on a path to being past-president of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce and a six-year member of the Province of BC Small Business Roundtable. When you listen to networks like that, you hear that businesses need more (and better) supports, such as improved broadband. I have been a voice lobbying successfully for the redundant fibre link, which will break ground in spring of 2019. It will help level the playing field for our businesses and attract new high tech firms to Prince George.
I focus my experience and expertise on making Prince George better for you. I am effective on my own, but I'm very happy to collaborate as part of a team to make our city better. This past term has seen the results of good, collaborative governance, confidence in the economy, record construction numbers, and business groups lauding Prince George as Number 1.
On Oct. 20, I ask for your vote so I can build on our successes with a strong council.
