EdmontonPublicLibrary

Taproot partnered with the Edmonton Public Library for a mayoral forum at the Stanley A. Milner Branch on Oct. 9. The in-person event was sold out, and more than 6,000 people tuned into the livestream, which was recorded to allow you to watch it in full afterwards. Ten candidates shared their vision for Edmonton’s future: Ronald Stewart Billingsley, Jr., Tim Cartmell, Tony Caterina, Abdul Malik Chukwudi, Vanessa Denman, Andy Andrzej Gudanowski, Rahim Jaffer, Andrew Knack, Olney Tugwell, and Michael Walters.

Here’s a recap of what some of the candidates said about infrastructure, property taxes, and infill.

Infrastructure

Tim Cartmell said, if elected, he would focus on maintaining the city’s existing infrastructure. “We’re $1.9 billion behind the ideal spend on maintaining the stuff that we already have. That is going to be absolutely key in the next four years — making sure that we actually are pushing back and biting it back against that deficit,” he said. Cartmell pitched private-public partnerships and working with other levels of government to reduce pressure on property taxes when paying for that infrastructure.

Andrew Knack noted that the city’s population has grown in record numbers over the last few years, and said most newcomers have moved into suburban communities beyond Anthony Henday Drive. “Those are areas that don’t have services — we are short for fire halls right now outside the Henday, we need the recreation spaces, we need libraries, we need parks,” he said. “We have a number of locations where their roadway infrastructure isn’t enough.”

Michael Walters said he wants to negotiate a fair deal between the city and the provincial government for infrastructure grants that can take some pressure off paying for infrastructure through revenue collected through property taxes.

Rahim Jaffer said, if elected, that he’d stop the “shotgun” approach to adding infrastructure, where the city builds several large projects simultaneously. “What I’d like to do is focus on some of the bigger infrastructure projects, and get those done within a certain quadrant of the city. As I mentioned, if there’s emergency issues that come up, we can move people accordingly, but just in order to allow those major arteries to remain open and clear, it’s very important to have that oversight, because otherwise you have this gridlock that continues to plague most of our citizens trying to get around.”

Property taxes

While some candidates have discussed cutting services to lower taxes, Walters proposed taxing only to a level that makes the city competitive for businesses, provides excellent public services, and promotes livability. “We certainly need to look at our budgets and our tax increases through those three lenses and make sure that we are not going much past inflation, particularly at a time when families are already struggling dearly to pay the bills,” Walters said.

Knack said partnering with the private sector wouldn’t fully address the budget pressure the city faces, and that he’s proposed a “responsible budget, one that is still going to invest in our city.”

Infill

Cartmell said infill housing should be focused on large swaths of mostly-empty land, like Blatchford, the Exhibition Lands, and surface parking lots in the east portion of downtown. “This is where we can build the housing that we really need to take the pressure off of established neighborhoods,” he said.

Knack said the city needs to densify to avoid growing only through suburban expansion. He pointed to recent zoning bylaw amendments that reduce the footprint of some infill developments in mature neighbourhoods. “We also need to do more on preserving mature trees — we’re one of the few large cities in this country that doesn’t have a mature tree protection bylaw,” Knack said.

You can hear from the 10 mayoral candidates who attended the forum by watching the recording of the event. Advance polls are open until Oct. 11. Election day is Oct. 20. Visit the Taproot vote site to find your ward and where to vote. You can also take the Taproot survey to match with candidates and take a look at how much money candidates have raised in the first part of the election period.

Watch a rep[lay of the debate by clicking the link.

Bookworms of all ages take note - Edmonton Public LIbrary is hosting the following contests for avid readers.........

1. Kids 12 and under have to read and record their six hours increments and submit their reading log at an EPL branch or online.
2. Teens and adults have to read seven hours and then participate in two activities on the tracking sheet
3. Daycares and day homes have to colour a poster by completing sections. KIds can track their progress and once complete (4 hours total) sumit the poster for a draw.

It will be interesting to see who the real book worms are.

Read on!