You are one of almost 1.1 million people who call Calgary
home. What attracts you to Calgary in
general and to your neighbourhood specifically?
Calgary is great because people can choose when, where, and
how they want to live. Whether you want
an outdoor lifestyle, a place in the heart of the city or a family home with
room for the kids to run round in, you will find it in Calgary. It is this
choice combined with access to arts, green space and recreation facilities, and
a strong sense of community that makes Ward 12 and this City great. It was that same sense of community that
brought Calgarians together during the June 2013 Flood. I was very humbled at
the willingness, selflessness, and efficacy in which Calgarians came together
to support one another.
Calgary is one of the fastest growing cities in North
America. What do you consider to be the
key challenges presented by rapid growth in Calgary and region?
Sustainable growth -- Produce sustainable plans for new
communities and provide incentives that encourage developers to implement smart
growth tactics. This includes high
quality public transit, walking and cycling, employment centres and a greater
mix of housing options. In doing so,
this will provide residents with greater access to economic and social
opportunities. In saying this, I do not support the use of social engineering
to create higher densities in the inner city.
What makes Calgary great is the lifestyle choice between different
housing options.
Transportation and Accessibility -- Providing Southeast
Calgary with a reliable, speedy and comfortable mode of public transit is
Calgary’s number one priority. This would benefit not only Ward 12, but all of
Calgary. The benefits of improving transit include increased employment
opportunities, reduced congestion and travel times, and less strain on city
infrastructure in and around the downtown core.
To do this, we need to improve accessibility and switch from our current
transit service model that primarily connects outlying suburbs with downtown to
a model that gives Calgarians the opportunity to travel to and from all quadrants
of the city.
Municipal spending and debt has emerged as a key issue in
this election. What steps would you
propose to tackle this issue?
Continue to find ways to ensure the right balance between
keeping taxes as low as possible while continuing to provide essential
services. As Ward 12 Alderman I can
proudly say that many of my Notices of Motion promoted a fiscally responsible
vision. I often asked the question--Is
there a better way to spend taxpayer money? For example, the City of Calgary
maintains a vast inventory of land and building assets. I put forth a Notice of
Motion to cut red tape and administrative overhead by making it easier for administrators
to manage these assets. This includes
the creation of an accessible database that would allow the City to evaluate
properties and determine whether each property is being used in the most
efficient manner possible. The saved
revenue from creating this database could be used toward projects that may
otherwise be delayed or go unfunded.
The Municipal Development Plan sets out substantial
densification targets. What are your
views on meetings this targets?
I think it is important to promote density development, but
not at the detriment of consumer choice. Calgary is Alberta’s largest city and
in recent years has experienced rapidly growing population and infrastructure. Much of this development has occurred in
suburban neighbourhoods. I think it is
important the city and developers meet the minimum intensity thresholds as
identified in MDP. Newer projects are increasingly incorporating varied housing
types and higher densities. For example,
Mahogany was planned and built before the MDP, yet it has met and in many cases
exceeded its core measures that serve as proxies for sustainable social,
environmental and economic growth. The
result—Mahogany has won Calgary’s Community of the Year two years running.