Platform
Protecting What Matters
A strong city starts with strong communities — where people feel safe, supported, and proud of where they live. Here’s what that means to me:
- Preserving our heritage communities → Supporting and strengthening active community associations, and advocating to completely eliminate the Housing Accelerator Fund so blanket rezonings cannot be forced onto established neighbourhoods.
- Listening to local concerns → Working alongside neighbourhoods in the early stages of changes being introduced, so solutions are shaped collaboratively rather than forcefully.
- Strengthening community policing → Filling vacancies while encouraging and deepening opportunities for policing through presence — officers being part of community life, whether that’s showing up at events, engaging with residents, or building the same kind of connections we see when firefighters host summer spray park days.
- Emergency services → When Station 2 is shut down, it puts stress on the entire system. I will strongly advocate for an end to dynamic staffing and work toward ensuring Station 2 never goes dark again.
- Maintaining and building upon Red Deer’s success → From our parks and trails to our open spaces, I will continue to champion Red Deer’s beauty and cherished community life.
Prioritize Core Services
A strong city must work to ensure its core services are strong, reliable, and available when people need them most.
- Responsible budgeting → We must recognise there is a clear hierarchy of importance in the city budget. Core services like police, fire, roads, and utilities must always come first — so let’s go line-by-line in our budget to ensure we aren’t leaking money that should be directed toward those services.
- Emergency services → Red Deer cannot afford to keep running short. We must add depth to our fire services which will, end costly reliance on overtime, and ensure Station 2 is never shut down again.
- Safe roads → We are a winter city for most of the year, yet I’ve heard countless people say their roads haven’t been completely plowed even once in the last two years. When people can’t get to work because of road conditions, it costs everyone. We can do better — and it starts by listening to our frontline staff who are on the equipment every day and know how to find savings to make snow clearing more efficient.
- Policing resources → Make sure police have the staffing and tools needed to serve every corner of Red Deer. Right now we are short 17 positions, with another 25 officers on leave, leaving Red Deer well below capacity. This shows why policing must remain a top priority in our core services, so we can police through presence rather than being forced into a reactive model.
Target Wasteful Spending
When budgets grow and results shrink, something’s wrong. Taxpayers deserve respect — and that means stronger oversight, clearer reporting, and accountability that actually means something
.
- Line-by-line accountability → Council must commit to a true line-by-line review of the budget, cutting spending that doesn’t directly serve residents and keeping the focus on essentials.
- Listen to frontline staff → The people delivering services every day know where inefficiencies are and how to fix them. By listening to our frontline staff, we can save money and make services more effective.
- No more pet projects → Red Deer can’t afford to pour millions into flashy add-ons while core services are underfunded. Spending must reflect community needs, not political wants.
- Tackle costly overtime → Leaving services short-staffed leads to runaway overtime bills. By budgeting properly and staffing fully, we can protect services and stop wasting taxpayer dollars.
- Public transparency on big projects → Large capital projects should not be buried in obscure newspaper ads no one reads anymore. I will push to require open, accessible updates — including social media postings — so residents know what’s being considered before millions are committed.
Communicate Effectively
The City has tried to improve communication — but too often it feels outdated, clunky, or hard to navigate. Residents who want answers shouldn’t have to dig through layers of red tape. Communication must be modern, clear, and accessible.
- Meet residents where they are → City communication needs to be on the same platforms people use every day. We must enhance social media and digital channels so information is easy to find, not hidden in obscure corners.
- Simple tools for answers → Imagine asking: “Who voted on last year’s budget?” and getting an instant, clear answer. Simple digital tools can make that possible — improving accountability without adding costs or staff.
- Councillors must be allowed to listen → Communication isn’t just about pushing out updates — it’s about showing up. When councillors are told not to attend public events out of fear of “bias,” residents lose the chance to be heard. That must change.
- Council as your voice → Councillors are elected to represent people, not to act as a mouthpiece for administration. Our job is to carry your voice into City Hall and make sure it is respected.
- No surprises → When “in camera” decisions (behind closed doors council meetings) blindside frontline services, no one wins. We must be open and transparent from the start of decisions, so we don’t end up with council digging in its heels instead of finding solutions.
Build What Lasts
Building what lasts means making decisions that will still make sense decades from now. Quick fixes might patch today’s problems, but they don’t set Red Deer up for long-term success.
- Plan responsibly → Growth must be managed with care. New development should fit with our city’s long-term vision and strengthen, not strain, the services residents rely on.
- Strong infrastructure → Roads, water, sewer, and utilities are the backbone of Red Deer. These must be built and maintained to a standard that stands the test of time — not short-term patches that cost more later.
- Smart, future-ready choices → Decisions today should lower costs tomorrow. That means building systems and infrastructure that are efficient, durable, and ready for the needs of the next generation.
- Leave Red Deer better → Every major decision should be judged by one standard: will Red Deerians benefit from it 20 years from now, or be left cleaning up the consequences?
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