My Priorities for Ward pihêsiwin
Families are feeling the pressure of rising costs, infrastructure that doesn’t keep up, and community groups that often lack the resources they need.
At City Hall, my focus is clear: deliver practical, accountable solutions that make life more affordable, support local jobs, build infrastructure that lasts, and keep our neighbourhoods safe and connected.
Taxes: Accountability and Value
Edmontonians are paying more but not seeing enough in return. Year after year, property taxes and fees increase, yet people don’t feel the benefits in their daily lives. Families are paying higher utility bills, businesses are carrying heavier costs, and too often City Hall is not showing where the money goes.
Taxes should be the foundation of reliable services and thriving neighbourhoods. When dollars are wasted through poor planning or duplication, people lose trust and that trust needs to be rebuilt.
Here’s how I’ll deliver:
- Tie every dollar to results: Require spending to be linked to improvements residents can see.
- Public dashboards: Use technology to let residents clearly track where money is going.
- Cut duplication: Eliminate overlapping programs and poor planning that waste resources
- Use purchasing power to save families money: Negotiate bulk rates for electricity so residents pay less without cutting quality.
Value for money: Focus on outcomes and efficiencies so residents get the services they pay for.
Deliver more housing choices: Work with housing developers to add affordable and mixed-income housing along transit corridors and in growth areas.
Infrastructure: Build it Right the First Time
Infrastructure is about how a city grows, connects, and supports its people. Right now, poor coordination means construction projects drag on, transit falls behind, and local businesses are left to absorb the costs of delays. Too often, City Hall reacts to problems instead of planning for growth.
This needs to change. Infrastructure should mean reliable transit that connects communities, coordinated planning so roads aren’t being torn up twice for different projects, and community facilities that keep pace with the needs of families and businesses. Growth in our city can’t come at the expense of planning that works.
Here’s how I’ll deliver:
- Build once, build right: End costly overruns by planning and executing projects properly the first time.
- City-wide coordination: Synchronize projects across departments to save money and minimize disruption.
- Transit reliability: Restore removed routes, improve frequency and safety, and ensure any tax increases come with visible service improvements.
- Smart infrastructure: Integrate sustainable technology (solar, green tech), plan for the future, and partner with local innovators.
- Fix roads faster: 24–48 hour pothole response program and annual pothole fund.
- Better bus shelters: Heated shelters with digital ETAs and delay notifications.
- Bike lanes that work: Build protected lanes connected to transit and where ridership is growing and align with road work to reduce costs.
- Debt fairness: advocate so the other levels of government to pay their share of big projects instead of overburdening homeowners.
- Community Revitalization Levy: Use CRLs for housing, small business support, and public spaces not corporate subsidies.
Community Safety and Connection
A safe, connected city is one where people have places to gather, programs to join, and support when life gets hard.
Right now, too many communities are missing the programs and spaces that keep them engaged and supported. Youth programs are underfunded, mental health and housing services are stretched thin, and many community leagues are left without the resources they need to bring neighbours together.
I believe safety starts with prevention and connection, backed by responsive policing and strong, well-lit public spaces. We need to invest in both the hard infrastructure that keeps people physically safe and the social infrastructure that keeps communities strong.
Here’s how I’ll deliver:
- Support community leagues: Expand city resources for leagues to upgrade facilities, run programs, and build stronger neighbourhood connections.
- Invest in youth and families: Fund after-school programs, mentorship initiatives, and safe recreation spaces that give young people positive pathways.
- Expand wraparound services: Strengthen partnerships for mental health, addiction, and housing supports so help comes before crisis.
- No service cuts: Protect core services (snow clearing, fire rescue, transit) and community programs (libraries, recreation, seniors’ programs).
- Transparency in spending: Show residents where every dollar goes and invite input on budget priorities.
- Neighbourhood livability: Advocate for timely school site development during community planning and ensure sidewalks, crosswalks, and transit access are ready as neighbourhoods grow.
- Safer streets: Improve high-accident intersections, add lighting and traffic calming, and strengthen pedestrian safety.
- Better crisis response: Expand PACT and HELP programs so police focus on core duties.
Economy: Supporting Local Jobs and Businesses
Small businesses and entrepreneurs are the backbone of Edmonton’s economy, but too often they’re slowed down by City Hall. Whether it’s permits, approvals, or basic services, delays and inefficiencies make it harder for businesses to grow.
When businesses succeed, communities succeed. Strong local economies mean more jobs, more opportunities, and a city that can thrive long-term. But for that to happen, City Hall needs to be efficient, responsive, and committed to partnership.
Here’s how I’ll deliver:
- Streamlined permitting: Cut approval backlogs by incorporating technology so small businesses can open sooner.
- Smarter spending: Review procurement to keep more city dollars in Edmonton.
- Leverage city contracts: Direct city spending toward Edmonton businesses that meet strong labour and community standards.
- Target growth sectors: Invest in technology, green industries, childcare, healthcare care services and other growing sectors for sustainable, better-paid jobs.
- Fair business support: Tie city grants to fair wage and safety compliance so good employers thrive.
- Ward pihêsiwin Business Roundtable: Establish a formal council or association of local business owners and entrepreneurs to act as a collective voice for the ward, ensuring their insights shape permitting, zoning, and economic development decisions.