Current job/career: I have three –
- Entrepreneur - Revy Outdoors and The Pines B&B
- Coach – Crossroads Business Development
- Adviser – Queens University, MBA programs across North & South America
Why do you live in Revelstoke?
For my family and I it was three big reasons:
We believe that small towns offer a better standard of living than big cities. More warmth, less hassle, less stress.
Revelstoke is the real deal - an authentic mountain town with a vibe and feel that is decidedly warm and unique at the same time.
The opportunity to be able to exercise and play in the mountains - to be a part of nature each and every day.
Why are you running for council/mayor?
Conviction that the next 4 years will be critical to the future of Revelstoke for a long time to come.
Philosophy that what matters most is that the people get to decide what kind of town they want Revelstoke to be.
Belief that my experience with governance and management can be helpful to good teamwork on council and to achieving solid solutions for Revelstoke.
Knowing myself - that if needed, I am not afraid to stand up and be a leader to ensure that people are heard and that a quality process is used to make decisions.
Why do you think you are qualified for the job?
My work experience in both small and large corporate - managing people, creating and leading high performance teams, dealing with change.
Entrepreneurial thinking - most of my life has been as an entrepreneur creating new businesses with new methods.
Education and training - formal learning at the university level in geography, planning, and accounting, and at the masters level in business, leadership, and governance
Outdoor experiences - these have taught me about myself, the power of a positive attitude, and the importance of calmness and personal resilience.
What do you think the city should do to fund current and future infrastructure needs?
I don’t think I know enough at this point to be definitive, but I can speak to my sense of values around these issues. My convictions are that we should avoid debt as much as possible, that we should ensure we look at applying the right tool for each aspect, and that whatever package of funding we arrive at we must ensure that it is as fair as possible to users, taxpayers, and developers.
Pending learning more, common sense dictates that for high particular use situations the users themselves should mostly fund that through fees or metering, that for existing and basic infrastructure the taxpayers should mostly fund that, and that for new development infrastructure adds or upgrades the DCC’s should fund those. For the first two groups the key question of “do we need to do this” needs to be answered too.
What do you think the city should do to address affordability for the average citizen?
At its root this is a land issue question. After that the issue is a build model that ensures affordability is real.
I think we need to look at all possible sources of land - zoning, grants, gifts, master development plan mandates, BC housing funding for purchase, development partnerships etc.
After that affordability can’t be something a developer just promises, for those rarely work out well, but rather something contractually guaranteed, especially if stimulated in part by DCC credits, or other incentive tools the town might opt to apply.
We need 4 different kinds of affordability - rental for seasonal workers, rental for families, rental for seniors, and we need homes for families making the jump to ownership from rental.
Each of these is a different problem and all are pressing and all need to be solved by the next council. This is completely doable.
What other issues would you want addressed if you were elected?
The formulation of an updated comprehensive development plan so we can attract and incent the development we really want as a town.
Doing what we can to ensure all our economic business sectors grow – forestry, rail, resort/adventure, hydro, tech, traditional, and home-based.
Furthering our sustainability, environmental, and local food action plans.
Doing what we can to continue to reduce poverty in our midst.
Ensuring Revelstoke remains an authentic mountain town that does not fall into the traps other resort communities have.
Exploring how we can further the arts and history as an economic driver for Revelstoke.
Advancing our working relationship with our neighboring jurisdictions – CSRD, Parks, Tenure lands, etc.