Ahead of the Oct. 15 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 occupation and your historical connection to the Kamloops area.
I have long taken an interest in local issues and as a long-time resident I want to see Kamloops grow and prosper in an inclusive and sustainable way.
I moved to Kamloops in 1965 and was raised in both Kamloops and Clearwater. I attended Cariboo College before leaving for the University of Victoria where I obtained degrees in Biology and Economics. I returned to Kamloops in 1996 to raise my family. I am married to Lynn and we have two adult children.
I am president of Peak Solutions Consulting and provide consulting services in economic development, feasibilities, and impact assessment across Canada. I have also worked for the B.C. provincial government serving as a regional economic development and project development specialist throughout the Thompson-Okanagan Region.
I have been active in the community over the years, sitting on several boards and committees. My board activities in Kamloops include Community Futures Thompson Country, Venture Kamloops Business Care program, the Aberdeen Neighbourhood Association, Kamloops Voters Society, City of Kamloops Revitalization Tax Exemption Committee, and the Kamloops Area Preservation Association. I am also a member of the Kamloops Kiwanis Club and Kamloops Chamber of Commerce.
Outside the city, I have sat on the board of the BC Economic Development Association, FORREX’s (Forest Research Extension Partnership) socio-economic advisory committee, and the provincial government’s Inland Port Steering Committee.
What differentiates you from the other candidates?
I have extensive work experience with local governments having worked for more than 100 municipal and First Nation communities over the past 30 years. Combined with this is my work inside the provincial government. Further, my consulting assignments in impact assessments often involved charting mitigation approaches on specific challenges facing communities experiencing various stressors, while my work in economic development regularly involved strategic planning processes that charted a course to capitalize on opportunities or address changing community initiatives.
What do you think is the best way to resolve disagreements or conflicts with your peers, those in a different department or those in a different jurisdiction?
Firstly, as a councillor, there is a protocol in place on how we would work with departments within the city. Concerning other councillors and in different jurisdictions, I feel a key to success is to have dialogue based on respect, resolving disagreements through fact based and collaborative approaches. This often takes time to listen and investigate, but also often leads to the best outcome for all parties involved.
What do you think is the biggest issue facing the City of Kamloops and how would use your elected position to address it?
It is important to recognize many issues are interconnected. Concerns with underhoused and safety are tied to issues of housing, planning, and policing which are tied to the city’s overall strategic planning approach. Specifically, my platform is based on six focus areas: Spending; Safety and Security; Shelter; Supporting Business Success; Sustainability; and Shared Engagement. These are interconnected and interdependent, with a holistic approach leading to the optimal outcome. Too often we see bureaucracies compartmentalizing issues or opportunities, focusing on a siloed approach that often creates unintended challenges for community success.
Further, how Council develops and implements its strategic plan is critical. It must be focused, transparent, and clearly connected to tangible outcomes. It must be tied to an annual workplan and the CAO’s annual performance review. The public should clearly see, in regular reporting, how Council’s priority outcomes are being achieved. Council is thus held accountable for progress. It is the glue that holds all the initiatives together, ensuring resources remain focused, connected, and coordinated.
Finally, with drug toxicity deaths going from 26 (2019) to 77 (2021), my highest priority is centred around changing the direction of this. We need to chart a path on Safety and Security with four key actions highlighting my approach, including:
1) Work with the community to ensure we have adequate housing for those who need it. The City needs to accelerate its partnerships and play a more direct role.
2) Ensure supporting services are adequately resourced and can be accessed in a timely manner – too many people are falling through the cracks. The City must advocate more specifically for those missing pieces.
3) The City must advocate for a pilot project, focused on consequences for bad behaviour along the line of European models, to address street entrenched persons. Increased efforts to address property crime and criminal activity would be included in the pilot project.
4) The City needs to establish clear performance measures, working with service organizations and the province, to demonstrate progress and value for investments.
How do you plan to involve Kamloops residents in your decision-making?
One of my six strategic focus areas is Shared Engagement. Here I am proposing key actions that include:
What does a sustainable future for Kamloops and area look like to you and what does it need from mayor and council?
A sustainable future for Kamloops includes:
Mayor and council will need to take a leadership role in setting a clear strategic plan with clear outcomes. It will also involve council advocate as a region and across community interest to push forward ideas and goals that can be best achieved with support from our partners.
