Ahead of the Oct. 17 municipal election, CFJC Today asked candidates for Kamloops City Council to complete a questionnaire, offering voters the chance to evaluate their candidacies.
QUESTIONNAIRE:
Describe yourself, your professional background, and why you’re running for public office in Kamloops?
I am a lifelong Kamloops resident, 40 years old, with a track record of community involvement and contributions to our local government. I work in the non-profit sector, managing a nature education and conservation charity, the Kamloops Naturalist Club, where I oversee our employees, grant funding, reporting, and build strategic relationships with other organizations, as well as running some hands-on ecological restoration projects that draw on my education background in horticulture and specialty in native plant propagation. I’ve also sat on a number of different boards and committees for groups like the Kamloops Food Policy Council, Kamloops Pride, Kamloops Film Society, BC Interior Community Foundation, TRU Open Press, and Kamloops Voter Society. I want to use that connectedness and knowledge to help make our community flourish and to contribute meaningfully to discussions around public safety, protecting the environment, and improving quality of life.
What do you think is the biggest issue facing the City of Kamloops and how would you use your elected position to address it?
How we manage growth and maintain infrastructure is our biggest issue. It may not be what is always top of mind for voters – that is likely public safety at the moment, and we need good measures there too – but fundamentally good government at the local level always comes back to roads, water, sewer, police, and fire. Asset management, spending enough money to maintain infrastructure that we already have and saving enough money to replace it at the end of life, and making sure our service levels are appropriate for protective services, is the type of thing we need to stay focused on getting right. As the city grows, making sure we are planning for amenities like neighborhood parks, playgrounds, as well as larger recreational and cultural facilities is part of that conversation. In this role, I plan to spend a majority of my time on those budgetary conversations and long-term planning pieces, while still bringing unique contributions, as part of a larger team, in the other focus areas I’ve talked about in my platform.
Following a term highlighted by infighting and tension at city hall that impacted Kamloops’ public image, how would you ensure civil discourse and good governance would take place between yourself, fellow elected officials and city staff?
Carefully understanding and following the code of conduct is important for anyone who has been elected. However, something I think is also important is attitude. Is someone bringing an attitude of public service? Of friendliness, positivity, energy, and an earnest desire to improve the function of our community. That requires starting from a place of generosity and good faith that others are also working towards that same goal. Remembering that we are all on Team Kamloops and returning to that core belief when difficult conversations arise. Accountability is important, but suing teammates, investigations, complaints, holding grudges and carrying on grievances is definitely something that we need to turn the page on.
Considering recent years of large municipal tax increases in Kamloops, how would you address the city’s tax rate going forward?
We need to focus on ways to improve service delivery, make strategic choices and have some tough conversations around service levels, and find ways to grow the tax base to bring us on a more sustainable path than what we’ve seen in recent years. Annual tax increases should generally match the municipal inflation rate, unless services are being expanded. However, artificially lowering rates to offer temporary relief can deplete reserves or create underinvestment in infrastructure needs, which will cause the rates to spike after a couple of years. A phenomenon former mayor, Ken Christian, used to call “0-0-10.” That approach is not sound fiscal management, and voters should be weary of anyone offering to cut rates or a quick fix. As we seek to rebuild our reserve accounts, it’ll be a gradual process of lowering annual rate increases to a more sustainable level.
As major infrastructure projects are on the horizon in Kamloops, how would you prefer the city go about gaining the electorate’s approval – via referendum or the alternative approval process (AAP)? Why?
Both are permissible tools for borrowing and have their place. The AAP should generally be for projects where the need for them has been identified through a comprehensive planning process, and councillors have received a mandate to pursue them as part of their election platforms. Regardless, the AAP will need some reforms, such as only having one item up for discussion at a time, using mailouts with return forms enclosed, scheduling them during times of the year when the public is more likely to engage, and extending the return period. For projects that have not been well discussed by the community, then it is up to council to either lead those discussions until a consensus forms or else head to a referendum.
What are your thoughts on communication between the City of Kamloops and its residents? Are there areas of improvement you’d like to see?
Ongoing dialogue between the city, council, and residents is very important. It can also be tricky to get right. Public enquiries and townhall style meetings are good but are not always representative. They require skilled facilitation so that it is not the loudest voices that dominate the conversation and create a false impression of where the community is at with an issue. We need to continue to use a variety of methods, including satisfaction surveys, workshops, community event booths, engagement groups, Let’s Talk page, and targeted outreach. Everyone should have the ability to contribute their thoughts and have questions answered in a timely answer. I am a supporter of open government and would like more proactive disclosure of information without filtering it through the city’s communications department. The people who are working directly on an issue and know it best should feel empowered to put information out in a timely manner.
