2. What makes you stand out over other candidates?
I have actually been doing this work in public service and community safety alongside Peel Police, City staff, the non-profit sector, and even our current Councillors for years all the way up until I submitted my name for nomination on July 6th. For nearly 10 years, I have had the privilege to support our entire city in crime prevention from home break-ins through my leadership of the Neighbourhood Watch program with Safe City Mississauga, to hate crime prevention with Peel Police and the Countering Hate Committee. Through this work, I’ve worked alongside youth, seniors, and communities of all walks of life and it’s allowed me to really understand the diverse needs of our city.
I have a proven track record of strong relationships and collaborative work with the people and organizations that want to continue to bolster our city, and I know as City Councillor I can continue to amplify and accelerate that work.
I have a particular vision for Ward 7 based on what’s realistic, what I can bring to the table, and what I know I have the expertise to accomplish. It may not be 100% in line with what you want, but I’m not going to lie to you about what’s feasible and what I can accomplish.
But I also want to add my perspective and philosophy. I want us to spend less time on the politics of grievance and musing on what’s wrong and why every other councillor or candidate is awful, but more time on what actually makes this city happy and livable. This is the philosophy that I will bring to City Hall, and I hope that it is a more refreshing and less cynical way of politics that residents will find more welcoming…and fun!
And one last note on fun – I have also trained in several martial arts! I’m an assistant coach in Pekiti Tirsia Kali (a Filipino weapons-based art), and I’ve trained in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do (the martial art created by Bruce Lee). So no one can say I can’t “fight” for my community!
3. What are your key campaign priorities?
My key campaign priorities are building a safe, strong, happy and affordable Ward 7. All sound like great philosophical concepts, so let me explain what they look like in practice.
We can improve public safety by creating a Ward 7 Community Safety Collaborative. This Collaborative would use data and existing technology to diagnose why certain public safety issues occur in which spaces and why. This will then determine which stakeholders we need to deploy (ex. Police, Neighbourhood Watches, bylaw and property standards enforcement, non-profits, etc), who is responsible for what, and then allow us to evaluate.
We can build a strong Ward 7 by working with the local BIA and small businesses to incentivize local spending by local residents in local businesses. Building upon the safety of Ward 7 will also improve the strength and attractiveness for business in Ward 7. This will all be especially important once the LRT is completed.
We can create a happier Ward 7 by advocating for the use of property tax dollars on things that actually affect your day-to-day life, whether it’s your ability to enjoy a walk on the street with proper shade and rest options; speed bumps that help make your street more accessible to other forms of active transportation; or arts and community building projects that make you proud to live in Ward 7.
We can improve affordability by advocating for new ways to generate revenue at the City level, advocating for equitable taxation of Regional costs, and understanding opportunities to improve the efficiency of service delivery.
These priorities are applicable to all of Ward 7. But I want voters to understand that these priorities will also allow us to explore ways we can transform the Cooksville core into the true heart of Mississauga and a true destination that will encourage LRT use upon completion. We can’t hit the Undo button on the LRT. By making sure Cooksville can become a destination that welcomes the world, we can make sure the LRT is properly used and does not become a white elephant project that will do more harm than good.