Accessible. Accountable.

As a long-time resident in the city, I am now ready to serve my community, and my city, bringing a fiscally responsible perspective to City Hall.

Accessible.  Accountable.

One of greatest frustrations I hear out in the community is that for the past 8 years our Councilor has been out of touch and out of reach.  Repeated attempts at communication left ignored.  Interests not aligned with the community and day to day civic functions.

My commitment to Ward 8 constituents is to personally respond to every question and concern within 48 hours.   I may not have the answer you like, I may not have an answer at all (yet) but I will answer the call.

Safety and Security

We have all felt the pressure of increased crime, and a sense of less security in our neighborhoods.   As Ward 8 Councilor, I will commit to a realignment of enforcement priorities that reflect the needs of the Ward.  This would include:

1. Increase in visible police presence in the area.  They say there is never a cop around when you need one, we can change that.
2. increase neighborhood traffic enforcement.  An increased presence will inherently reduce unsafe traffic activities.  I will work to get the police out of the bushes on Circle and College Drive and onto the streets of our neighborhoods.
3. Work to develop a framework to involve the community in actively securing our neighborhoods.  Watch programs with a direct acces for quicker response.  People should no longer feel frustration their concerns are shuffled away into the bureaucratic abyss.  

Budgetary Prudence

Property taxes take an increasing chunk out of the household budget each and every year, raising affordability concerns for homeowners, and costs passed down to those who rent.  I commit to voting against any budget that proposes to increase taxes beyond the national rate of inflation.

The previous administration used city budgets to fund boutique vanity projects, climate initiatives beyond their scope, and millions spent on studies and consultants.  Frankly, we can't afford it, taxpayers are stretched to the breaking point and we need a council that reflects the economic hard times.

Saskatoon does not have a revenue problem.  We have a spending problem.  

Zoning

Our local government has failed in their responsibilities to the residents of Saskatoon with their new zoning plan. They surrendered municipal sovereignty to the Federal Government for 42 million pieces of silver.  We will have a new Federal government in a matter of months, with far different priorities.  Changes have opened up the city to massive legal vulnerabilities, and put us offside on future federal funding measures.  

Downtown Arena

I want to hear from the community on the Downtown entertainment district (DEED).  I believe the project has merit, but it would need to be achieved while maintaining my budgetary commitment as defender of my constituents.   A new entertainment venue is needed as we approach 500,000 metro population and it won't get cheaper to build if we kick the can down the road.   It needs to be done with respect to taxpayers, and it will require a dramatic realignment of spending priorities to make it happen.

Livable YXE- Policy In-depth

A group of citizens have created a socia media campaign under the livable XYE banner, that you may have seen on your feeds.

The group is  Climate Justice Saskatoon, Wild About Saskatoon, Swale Watchers, Saskatoon Cycles, Jane's Walk Saskatoon, Bus Riders of Saskatoon, Saskatoon Climate Hub, Strong Towns YXE, Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas, Saskatoon Nature Society, and SOS Trees. 

The bias for the group is upfront, and I commend them for being so.  They invited all candidates to give their inputs on various environmentally focused policies, and I have done so.  The answers may not be to the liking of the crowd that associates with those organizations, but I answered them honestly.

I don't think any candidate should ignore such requests, input from all perspective is welcome in not only my campaign but in how I will represent the Ward.  Link to the survey and my responses is here, and as of November 11 Scott Ford and Henry Chan have not responded.

 Candidate Responses – LiveableYXE – 2024 

 2SLGBTQIA+ 

I have been humbled to receive support from the  2SLGBTQIA+ community.  I will never vote for any measure that in any way rolls back any of the progress we have achieved over the last 20 years. and will work to ensure inclusion remains part of the official stance of the City of Saskatoon for the duration of my time on council.