To kick off our municipal election coverage, The Interior News asked all the candidates to prepare a 250-word submission that answered the following questions:
1. What is the most pressing issue facing your municipality?
2. As mayor/councillor, what do you intend to do to address that issue?
3. What is it about your background, experience, knowledge and/or personality you believe makes you qualified/suitable to be successful in the position you are seeking?
Hi, my name is Gladys Atrill and I’m honoured to be your incumbent mayor. I’ve been working hard over the past term on behalf of this town, that I grew up in and love. I was so pleased recently to see a few of our community initiatives, the Main Street landscaping, the skate park expansion, and the Alex Cuba block party, come to fruition. Community projects like these, supported by the Town, can help bring us back together after what has truthfully been a difficult couple of years.
We can strengthen our community fabric with respectful dialogue, compassion and determined attention to our challenges. This includes addressing difficult, important issues like housing and community safety.
I have and will respectfully invite people into one room to tackle hard issues like homelessness. I know there is more to do. We need thoughtful and diverse voices at the table. Solutions to our big, urgent issues require collaboration and I have forged good working relationships locally and with the members of the Provincial Government.
On housing, we have used the resources of the Town, including regulatory tools such as zoning, permissive tax exemptions and the Dollars to Doors program to incentivize private sector housing development. Where the community benefit is large, land has been provided for non-profit housing, for example at LB Warner where 30 units of family housing will be built next year.
I am experienced, hardworking and committed. I hope I can count on your support on October 15.