I have several goals, but only one promise. I will change the way the city thinks and operates, if not by approved policy changes, then by example.   I believe the current municipal government has a record of broken promises and lack of accountability in this city. As such I will work diligently and effectively to follow through on this promise.  I want the other ward councillors to be asked: “If Aronec in Ward 5 can do it, why can't you?”

Rather than try to place all the information on one page, my intention is to make this page the top one to a hierarchical multi page  set of web pages which will take you to various content.  The key subject areas I have identified are shown below and will be maintained and augmented.. Keep checking back. I wrote an Oped piece for UnPublished Ottawa and it can be found by clicking here. It shows an elaboration on improving city hall.

For specific details of each of the core planks please click here or the Platform Details tab above. For examples on an issue basis. please click here or the Platform examples tab above.

Three Core Planks

1. I will initiate an evaluation of core services by revising the City’s priorities to be more responsive to the residents:  
I will launch a review of the City of Ottawa’s Core Services. I believe that we need to determine what the City’s Core Services are and ensure that they are funded appropriately. For the services that are not deemed a core service we need to re-evaluate why the City of Ottawa is involved.

2. Improve Long Term Financial Health within the city:
There is an ever increasing stress placed upon the financial health of the City of Ottawa. I believe that we can still increase the value that tax payers get out of their taxes. The first way I would do this is by creating greater controls on procurement and infrastructure. I would create a city wide Project Management office to work towards standardizing project success. I would institute bidding controls that work towards on-time and on-budget projects. We would need to have a frank conversation with city of Ottawa contractors to understand the true costs of projects. The second thing I would do is tie long term forecasts and transfers to reserves. We need to save what we will be spending for future projects.

3. Rural Identity and Values:
I believe we need to bring more rural identity and values to city hall. I believe that the first step is creating trust and entrusting responsibility with city staff. We have seen to many cases of when staff go above and beyond and then are reprimanded for going the extra mile. I remember we used to have a shared responsibly between the local government and the residents when it came to looking after our municipalities.  I believe that poor leadership at the council level has led to a slow rot of an entrepreneurial spirit among city staff to find creative and cost effective ways to get the job done. I as well support strongly the idea of citizen lead initiatives. Whether it is environmental initiatives, social, economic or community focused, I support implementing better support mechanisms from the city.