It's time for a change

I’ve been a frequent user of the Buntzen Lake recreation area since 1980, and we were finally able to move to Anmore a decade ago.  I love the tall cedars and smooth alders, the moss that drapes the maples, and the omnipresent ferns.  I love the sound of frogs croaking at night and the coyote’s lonely howl.  So it hurts to hear chainsaws and then trees crashing down.  My goal is to protect and preserve the trees in town, and the green hillsides and clear-running streams that surround us.  To guard our environment I want to sit on Anmore Council.

I also want a seat on Council to help restore open government to Anmore.  I want councillors to be able to take documents from closed council meetings home with them to study in detail, something that has always been allowed until November of last year when Mayor Anderson took that basic right away from councillors.  This was immediately after receiving a lawyer’s letter demanding compensation from the Village of Anmore for damages caused by Mayor Anderson’s alleged interference in the daycare tender bidding process, and before showing the letter to the councillors.  How can councillors make informed decisions on our behalf if they’re not allowed to do their homework?

And just because Council can hold a closed meeting doesn’t mean it should.  A lot of what the current Council does behind closed doors should be done in public, and my background as a lawyer gives me the edge to know better when some controlling politician says for the umpteenth time that “legal issues are handled in-camera.”

My top five priorities after election are:

1) Rescind the Secrecy provision in the Council Procedure Bylaw;

2) Revise the Noise Bylaw to allow for maximum $1000 fines rather than the current $100 fines for off-hour construction noise caused by developers, contractors, and large trucks;

3) Introduce a Development Permit Process to allow the Village to maintain tighter control over development in environmentally and aesthetically sensitive areas, particularly steep slope construction zones;

4) Review and stabilize Village finances by planning for the long term rather than lurching from emergency to emergency;

5) Initiate a consultation process with Villagers and senior government to investigate, plan and maximize funding sources for a new Village Hall and community centre.

So I ask your support to elect me to pursue for you environmental protection and open government in the Village of Anmore.