‘I believe in a Kamloops for everyone’: Unger launches bid for city council seat

While crime and community safety remain top of mind for voters, Unger also said the city is being too “narrow-minded when talking about safety.”

“It’s far too easy to punch down on the vulnerable citizens in our society but we shouldn’t be villainizing them,” Unger said. “We should be offering them wraparound supports so they’re set up for success.”

“Safety is also more than just the vulnerable citizens. Safety is making sure if another atmospheric river hits and we’re cut off from Vancouver, we have adequate amounts of groceries and local food producers. Safety is recognizing every year, we have more and more wildfires and maybe we need to think about semi-permanent housing for evacuees.”

Unger is a political newcomer, but he’s also confident he’ll be able to affect change at city hall, as he says he’s worked closely with unions, community and neighbourhood groups as well as city staff.

“I believe in a Kamloops for everyone and I have a pretty decent understanding of the behind-the-scenes, like how the parks department works, how the social development department works, how the sustainability department works,” Unger said.

“I already have my finger on the pulse, and I think what we need are candidates who listen to the needs of the residents, and I plan to do that.”

Unger is one of 29 candidates who filed paperwork to run for the eight councillor spots at City Hall.

“The people we vote for at the municipal level are the ones who have the largest impact on our day-to-day lives,” he added. “They’re the people who fix our potholes, they decide where to put more community gardens, they decide how our bike lanes work – they make all the small decisions that affect our daily lives.”

by Victor Kaisar

‘I believe in a Kamloops for everyone’: Unger launches bid for city council seat

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