The future of the Millsite is extremely important to our town as it has long been the industrial hub of the community. When the town was initially formed much of the land was given to us by the owners of the Millsite, but there is a clause that city council could not restrict what was built there in any way. With the closure of the mill, it makes sense for us to revisit this arrangement. The citizens of our town deserve a seat at the table and the ability to negotiate to make sure that any industrial development makes sense for the future of our town. While I am in support of development happening at the Millsite I would want to adjust the town charter so any development must follow the same rules industrial development would need to follow elsewhere in town.

Specific to data centers, they would not be my first choice for what to do in the Millsite and I would want assurances about noise and environmental pollution as well as a strong financial benefit to our community before I even considered one as they are not big job creators and offer little to the community.

As someone who works within it I can see that our community is rapidly becoming a premier outdoor tourism destination. To continue this growth in a sustainable way we need to protect our natural resources, and support our local businesses and non-profits that service them. Powell River is and will continue to be an amazing community for people who seek the outdoors. I will support those who recognize this on council.

Our community is home to many beautiful natural resources, and their maintenance is our responsibility. From invasive plant removal to fire protection to ensuring land trusts get developed into parks appropriately we can and should be doing our part to live alongside nature.

It’s incredibly important that the next council do an effective job of building relationships, not just with each other and community leaders, but with other levels of government such as the Tla’amin Nation, the regional district, provincial and federal government. Regular meetings and willingness to share resources is necessary for us to grow our economy and solve problems we all face.

I am a relationship builder and have been meeting with local leaders and starting to build those relationships already. I seek to keep doing this and am always happy to meet and talk with people. This and listening to those you speak with with an open heart is key to repairing damaged relationships and necessary to complete any projects locally. Keeping lines of communication open between those who the city must work with is extremely important to making sure we take advantage of opportunities that present themselves in our community.

I believe the best thing for our community is to change the current name of the town from Powell River to something else and I think the discussion shouldn't be should we change the name or not, but what is the best name to change to. I challenge everyone to have discussions about what other names of the town could be and what would be an exciting new name for you. This is a huge opportunity for our community to pick a new name that best suits everyone who lives here. We shouldn't squander it.

Third places are where you hang out when you're not at work or at home. I know they need to be defended and protected. Whether you hang out at the pickleball court, coffee shop, bar or library those places are important to the fabric of our community and I pledge to do what I can to help them flourish because they're where we connect with each other and meet each other.

Poverty is a national problem and it needs to be tackled at all levels of government. I will work with federal and provincial partners to help us all tackle this problem. I will support an approach that seeks to create homes and get help to those in need in our community, and continue the city’s support for the planned Joyce Avenue shelter. I will also support charitable and non-profit programs that can help at the community level.