Our Priorities

Housing Attainability and Overall Affordability

On paper, previous council was able to meet near-term housing targets under the federal and provincial programs. However, simply building new units has not solved the affordability crisis as rents are still high and most young individuals cannot afford their first home.

We need to promote building new, affordable housing and promote overall affordability by:

• Eliminating the red-tape bureaucracy and making it easier for developers and homeowners to convert single-family homes into multi units, as well as build new housing units.

• Incentivising developers to include more affordable housing in their new developments.

• Focusing on rent control and eliminating unlawful evictions, while simultaneously providing common sense support for landlords

• Committing a portion of space in London’s urban growth boundary to building smaller, affordable units instead of larger single family homes.

• Investing in trades and training to address the construction labour shortages.

• Focus on income growth and decrease in unemployment through new manufacturing, trades, tech expansion and overall workforce growth.

Homelessness

A significant problem that has been at the forefront in London Ontario for at least 2 previous council terms, requiring a multi-faceted approach and requiring significantly more than simply providing housing units.

• Expand supportive housing to include permanent housing, on site mental health support, addiction services, and life skill support.

• Work with provincial government to provide additional funding for addiction treatment such as long term rehab, recovery housing, and detox beds.

• Eliminate ER crowding by providing mobile crisis teams, mental health nurses, and outreach workers paired with police to provide immediate relief to those in need.

• Balance compassion with enforcing public standards by actively eliminating public encampments, blocking of sidewalks/business entrances, and banning open drug use.

• Actively prevent homelessness earlier by introducing key interventions including youth support services, unlawful eviction control, mental health support, and providing education/employment opportunities.

Infrastructure and Traffic

As London has expanded in size and population, infrastructure has not been able to keep up with the growth, resulting in significant traffic congestion and inefficient neighbourhoods.

My plan to alleviate these issues includes:

• Improving Bus Rapid Transit and transit reliability by finishing dedicated lanes, increasing frequency service, more predictable arrival times, and public education regarding BRT reliability to increase ridership.

• Understanding that most Londoners use cars and we must accommodate that by lane expansions in major intersections to increase capacity, better traffic light synchronization, and elimination of unnecessary stopping.

• Better neighbourhood planning to encourage mixed use developments by building neighbourhood grocery stores, clinics, schools, retail, and recreation facilities.

• Improve road construction

  • Avoid parallel corridor closures

  • Work overnight

  • Maintain stricter construction timelines

• Promoting active transportation, like walking and biking, while not losing critical vehicle transportation options.

Common Sense Leadership Approach

Our city needs leadership that transcends idealism and political party allegiances. City Councillors must think of Londoners first to create a vibrant, safe, and affordable city.

Our policies must be based on common sense rather than serving any particular ideology and pressure group. As I have done my entire life, personally and professionally, I hope to bring a common sense approach to city council when creating policy:

Avoid drastic property tax increases by managing city services better, attracting federal and provincial funding for housing, transit, homelessness costs, and housing grants. Additionally, enduring that tax dollars are spent wisely to promote smart infrastructure development, more efficient services, and enhanced public safety.

Downtown revitalization requires vision and smart planning. As a former downtown business owner, I understand the importance of consulting with existing owners, promoting events, and investing in new businesses. First, we need to understand that homelessness and open drug use must be eliminated before we can have a vibrant downtown. We owe that to current business owners and Londoners in general.

Public Safety throughout the city, but most importantly, in our own neighbourhoods requires a law enforcement presence and maintaining neighbourhood integrity. This includes strategic neighbourhood planning, eliminating open drug use, maintenance of derelict properties, and more.

Neighbourhood green spaces, parks, splash pads and community centres are vital for community development and identity. As someone who grew up playing in Ed Blake Park, and often bring my own son there, I understand the importance of these spaces. As a city councillor, I would ensure to promote, develop, and expand these spaces for all neighbourhoods to enjoy.