I served two terms on City Council, including roles as Chair of the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness, Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Energy Planning Committee.
During my first term we experienced some significant interpersonal conflicts amongst Councillors, but we were still able to move forward. We set aside personal frictions and found common ground to make progress on important issues, including: biomass district heating, building a new pool, new transitional housing, setting policies promoting densification instead of urban sprawl, and establishing new energy efficiency building codes. In some cases I felt that my arguments changed the course of events – such as securing a place for dog mushers to remain in Kam Lake rather than being forced to relocate to the industrial outskirts.
My experience chairing multi-stakeholder committees has taught me how important it is to have a clear mandate and purpose, and for expert recommendations to be taken seriously, otherwise these processes lead to frustration and distrust.
At times I disagreed with the majority on Council but was not afraid to articulate my own dissenting position – supporting a new temporary day shelter downtown, extending the Frame Lake multi-use path towards the Co-op, proposing a framework to protect green spaces within the City, proposing revisions to the terms of an MOU between the City and Chamber of Mines, and opposing a property tax increase during the first year of Covid.
My personal mantra has been that I do not need everyone to like me or agree with me, but I do want my decisions to be respected. I aim to respectfully consider as many perspectives as possible, align my opinion with evidence as well as my key values and priorities, and then be transparent in explaining my rationale.