Is it time? Time to move past the basics of getting our house in order? Our sewers are working, our water is safe and our city is running more like a business now than it ever has before. Like any business, some aspects require constant and ongoing attention; attracting and keeping qualified, talented people and giving them well thought out and workable policy direction. Policy direction that will keep living in Grand Forks affordable.
I am running for council because I believe that leadership is as important as running the business. I feel we are at risk of losing the excitement of shaping our community with projects that will take us from nice small town to great small town. I see this positive future vision in projects like the Rotary Children's Spray Park, the small house initiative, the continuing of downtown improvements and the Learning Garden.
We need legacy projects like a community hall that will have lasting impact on the town and the region. We need projects that avoid using local tax dollars and instead will attract funding from the federal and provincial governments and potentially from the Columbia Basin Trust.
As a councillor I will introduce some immediate short-term issues to the agenda, for example: humane animal services including cats, our relations to the regional Habitat for Humanity, and a review of traffic signage and road safety within the city.
In the longer term I imagine long-term water security, thriving agriculture, increased local food production, and alternative energy projects.
Our economic development message will invite investors to a stable and well managed community. I know from experience what good management looks like and I will hold city hall to the highest standard.
It is time to stop the attack on city hall. There is no conspiracy, there is no hidden agenda to privatize our water or to poison citizens with RF radiation or chemical jet trails. Rumours, innuendo and insinuations and the constant vilification of city management is damaging to everyone and must stop.
I will bring a positive attitude to the table; I will support the mayor's efforts to move forward and I will demonstrate personal commitment to a team approach to governing our city.