I committed here to communicate my top 3 priorities in 2008 as one of your representatives on Kamloops City Council. Its just a bit past mid February, so this post is a little late in coming.
I hesitated a bit to write about "top" priorities, because there are really so many important things we touch on council. I try to spend time on many things, because that is what I feel I am paid to do and because I really enjoy learning about and working on a such a diverse range of issues.
But, there are a few issues where I think I should be spending a little more energy over the next months. These are issues where I feel I have a bit of knowledge because of the committees to which I have been appointed to by the Mayor (capital M). These are also issues which I consider quite fundamental to the overall health of the community. So, without further preface and in no particular order:
- Helping the Business Community Engage in Social Issues in Our Community: That's a long title, but its an important issue. If we are really going to house the homeless, or even help people who are housed but not to their satisfaction, we are going to have find more ways of bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to the table. Business and professional people want to help on the root cause social issues because they know it is the right thing to do from almost any standpoint - moral, financial, for community wellness.
- Helping the Whole Community Embrace the Opportunities Presented by Climate Change: I believe global climate change is the defining issue of this century. Most of us agree that, if we don't change a lot of our ways, we are in serious, serious trouble. This will be challenging, no doubt about it. But, what I prefer to focus on is the opportunities. There are huge opportunities in going towards a more sustainable, green house gas free Kamloops.
- Better Tapping into the Wisdom of Kamloops: How do we come to the best decisions for our community? How do we get real buy in on often very complex and perhaps difficult issues? There are a lot of people in our community who don't really engage in local issues. We need more people's thoughts, their engagement, and we need to do it in ways that best suit their lifestyles. Only then do the elected folks feel truly empowered to do the work we need to do, in the best interests of the community. A great past example of "tapping into community wisdom" was the Kamtalk forum, hosted several years ago by former Mayor Mel Rothenburger.
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