Victoria is an extraordinary city. As Mayor, I’ll make City Hall work better.

Victoria has spent years on plans, pilots and crisis responses. Follow-through has been missing.

After five years working with street youth, I know how easily people fall through gaps when systems do not connect. As Mayor, I will strengthen coordination among the City, police, health, housing and outreach partners. Each priority needs a named lead, deadline, and measures set in advance, with public reporting on whether results were achieved and sustained. When provincial gaps block progress, I will not delay in pressing the responsible minister to act. The goal is homelessness that’s rare, brief and non-recurring.

City Hall belongs to the people of Victoria. Residents tell me City Hall does not listen between elections and often leaves them unsure what is being decided.

People should have a meaningful say before major decisions. That means involving residents early enough to shape genuinely different options, with their costs and trade-offs clear and public input reflected in the decision. Early in my term, I will bring forward a Citizens’ Assembly, giving residents a direct role in Victoria’s future. If Council will not fund it, I will pay for it from my salary as Mayor.

Victoria needs more housing. We also need to ensure that students, families, seniors and long-time residents can afford a home and remain in Victoria.

City Hall can help by making approvals faster and more predictable, using public land strategically, and partnering with non-profit, co-operative and other housing providers. Housing needs cross municipal boundaries, so I will work regionally and keep infrastructure in step with growth.

Everyone deserves to feel safe in Victoria: residents, workers, women, families, seniors, young people, business owners, visitors and people living unhoused.

People living unhoused are particularly vulnerable to violence. Public safety policy should focus on harmful behaviour, not housing status. Compassion does not mean accepting violence, harassment or serious disorder. I support appropriate policing alongside prevention, safer public-space design, late-night safety, and civilian and health responses where they fit. Safe streets should be judged by lasting results people can see and feel.

Much of the controversy about our streets could have been avoided if we’d listened earlier and built a shared transportation vision before making big changes.

Without that shared vision, debate can pit drivers, cyclists and transit riders against one another. What matters is whether people can get where they need to go safely, reliably and without needless delay. Victoria needs a safe, connected cycling network, better transit, accessible streets and practical fixes for congestion. Transportation decisions should improve how the entire network serves people, however they travel.

Climate change is already here. We’re seeing hotter, drier summers, heavier storms, wildfire smoke and more strain on our infrastructure.

City Hall must prepare Victoria for these effects while continuing to reduce emissions. That means resilient public facilities, better water management, more efficient buildings, local food security, public transit, active transportation and protection for people most exposed to extreme weather. I’ll build on the progress already made and focus the next phase on cost-effective measures. Progress should mean lower emissions and a more resilient Victoria.

Being pro-business and pro-worker are not competing ideals. Local businesses create jobs, bring spending into Victoria and keep our commercial streets alive.

Renewed U.S. tariff pressure makes it especially important to support local and Canadian suppliers and keep more dollars circulating here. That includes supporting co-operatives, social enterprises, Indigenous businesses, non-profits and community ownership. Businesses absorb costs they didn’t create: unsafe streets, slow permits, weak City services, traffic that doesn’t move. City Hall should reduce those avoidable costs and make it easier to invest, hire and do business here.

Public money, public land and public power should create lasting public value. Residents should be able to see where their money goes and what value it creates.

Major spending and projects should come with straightforward public accounting: what was promised, what was spent, what changed, and whether the result justified the cost. Affordability includes the cost of local government, so I’ll protect essential services, closely examine new recurring costs and make existing services work better before spending more. A Mayor should welcome scrutiny, not dismiss it.

Arts and culture are at the heart of Victoria’s energy and character. They create jobs, bring people together and help us experience different perspectives.

Artists, performers, designers and cultural organizations need places they can actually afford to live, work, rehearse, perform and create. When they can, neighbourhoods get stronger, visitors come, and the city stays interesting. Arts and culture also foster the creativity that drives entrepreneurship and innovation. A healthy city gives creative people room to experiment and makes it possible for them and their ideas to stay and grow.