Roadmap for Change

(remarks from the campaign platform launch Sept 10, 2010)

Earlier in the week, I said that I would be a different kind of mayor than our incumbent. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I am a different kind of mayoral candidate running a different kind of campaign. Today I would like to share with you ideas that could encourage Brandon's growth into the kind of city we want it to be. The come from a year of reflection and effort, looking at Brandon's strengths and weaknesses. There are no gimmicks, slogans, or 5 point plans. And I apologize in advance, because despite the advice from some great political minds, it is dense, single spaced and double-sided.

Brandon is facing complex issues, and therefore needs a reasoned response that matches in complexity. Our platform today is not made of superficial headline grabbers, but thoughtful ideas with substance. Because challenging an incumbent is difficult, and my only legacy after the election many be the power of ideas.

I call it a road map, because the points are connected, and they do lead somewhere. so let's get started on the journey.

For the past year, I've been listening to people in Brandon talk about the future of their city. It sounds like they are not confident that Brandon has the leadership necessary to get where they want to go.

Today we're going to talk about four critical elements that form the foundation for the future direction of Brandon. Within the four broad themes are examples of policy, programs, or services that illustrate how the loft concepts of planning, process, vision, and leadership translate to their kitchen table.

#1: PLANNING- Many people in Brandon feel that we do not have a cohesive plan for our City. Yes, there are plans. They are gathered together in many binders, and are sitting on shelves all over the City. But how can you say we have a plan for a city when we're closing down recreation facilities, when we build fire halls next to congested highways, where we spend 10 years purchasing different properties for that same fire hall, and then a week deciding to put it in a questionable location. that's not good planning, in fact that's not planning at all.

Specific platform announcements during the week of Sept 12-18 about how we PLAN to make Brandon more people-focused include:

• How and why we need to make Brandon an Age-Friendly City
• How and why Brandon needs to take a more active role in childcare.
• What Brandon can do to be a more attractive community for young people.

#2: PROCESS- People in Brandon feel shut out of the decision making process at City Hall. they only hear about decisions after they are made,they only get to comment on them on e-Brandon or Sound Off.They don't know WHY decisions are made. they pay a lot of money through their taxes but yet have no voice, except at election time. The mayor and Council announced that they were changing the garbage collection system. Have they listened when we told them about seniors unable to drag the bins through snowbanks? About ugly line-ups of dozen of bins behind apartment buildings? about the struggle to get grass clippings, garden trimmings, and leaves to central depots?

Specific platform announcements during the week of September 19-25 about the PROCESS we'd put in place to make Brandon more people-focused include:

• Mayor's Priority Survey
• Transparency processes including benchmarking
• Public access to the Mayor and the Mayor's responsibility for public accountability.

#3: VISION- We need strategic thinking for a growing city. Where do we want our city to be in 5 years, in 10 years? Where is the vision for our downtown? How is Brandon adapting to our immigration boom? To the new knowledge-based economy? What are we doing to create a city that young people want to stay in or move to? I believe that you cannot build a prosperous city on a large pool of low skill, low wage jobs. Therefore, how are we going to utilize a couple of our key competitive advantages- the RHA, BU, and ACC to strengthen our economy?

Specific platform announcements during the week of September 26-October 2 about the VISION of what could make Brandon more people-focused include:

• Downtown revitalization
• Quality of Place- culture, heritage, and recreation
• Housing Strategy
• Once Smart City- economic development strategy for the new economy.

#4: LEADERSHIP- Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course.Poor planning, poor communications, lack of accountability, lack of transparency, no vision- these are all symptoms of a lack of leadership.

We only have to look outside Brandon to see what communities with strong leadership can accomplish. Carberry's downtown is a designated heritage district, Virden is pushing ahead with an impressive rec centre, Brandon families are driving to Souris to use their pool, Portage is embarking on an innovative and progressive cluster economic development strategy, Neepawa is building seniors housing. Brandon used to be a leader in Western Manitoba- now we only have size on our side.

If I'm elected mayor, the doors to municipal government will be open to new ideas, and the "can't do" attitude pervasive at City Hall will be gone for good.

If I can sum up in one word what I believe we need most from the office of mayor, that word would be leadership- clear, consistent, decisive leadership. Leadership that will move us forward in a way that makes a tangible difference. Leadership that doesn't confuse rhetoric with results. Leadership that doesn't confuse activity with achievement.

It seems that Brandon has lost its edge, that we've lost our drive. We can change that. On October 27th, we can take it back.