Vote Blair
Ward 2
Four Point Priority Platform
Platforms are not created to get elected, but rather, are created to be implemented when elected. This is my promise to keep, as I will stay focused on the needs of Ward 2 and not become politically distracted.
Safety
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I will make public safety a priority by maintaining and expanding on the work of the Downtown safety coalition and the crime and violence prevention strategy. I will advocate for walking and bike patrols by the police and work with the police to build relationships with its people. Public safety is crucial for a prosperous city, as people must feel safe in order to feel free to avail themselves of city businesses and public services. Whether going for an evening stroll, walking to and from public transportation, or just feeling safe at home, everybody has a right to security.
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I will work to protect public and private property by improving street lighting and implementing a neighborhood watch program.
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I will facilitate all of the above by making sure there are concrete solutions from the $1.83 million funded Building Safer Communities Steering Committee.
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No more #patchcity!! Investing in fixing our roads is crucial. The City of St. John's will be transparent about which roads are impacted by underground infrastructure repair, and provide reasons when it is not active in fixing streets and roads. The city will engage in dialogue about the particulars of street repair.
Health and Wellness
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Physical and mental health public awareness and education are crucial for the city’s well-being. I will work at building onto and expanding mental health services and collaborative workshops, as well as maintaining the collaboration with the Canadian Mental Health Association while also exploring other possible collaborations.
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I believe the city should do more to support both external and internal incentives of physical and mental health. One external incentive might be offering mental health collaborative workshops with a $50.00 grocery gift card honorarium for each attendee.I will also review the policy on the children and adult subsidy program, to ensure that more groups within the city can benefit from this program. An internal incentive could be establishing an annual physical and mental health appreciation day.
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I will work at building recreational community partnerships by bringing together Sport NL, Recreation Newfoundland and Labrador, AvalonSport & Social Club, East Coast Trail Association, and Special Olympics Newfoundland and Labrador.
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I will advocate for improving outdoor recreational infrastructure by repaving, refencing and repainting.
Housing
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I will work with the other ward councilors to share the housing load so that it does not always fall so heavily on Ward 2.
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My priority is to reestablish a housing first perspective by promoting supportive and affordable housing projects. The increase in emergency shelters is only a stopgap and does not provide a form of supportive housing, which is a form of transitional housing that provides counselling and life skill coaching, to help individuals regain independence. Housing and homelessness is a complex social issue and there is no one shoe that fits all, but a variety of approaches need to be attempted in order to service our city’s specific needs.
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Communicating and collaborating with the province will be key–build a plan, share resources and be an example for the provincial funding practices.
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I will communicate and collaborate with End Homelessness St. John's, to end chronic and episodic homelessness.
Accessibility
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I will make sure the City of St. John's maintains its commitment to the 2024 accessibility plan.
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​I will help develop and implement innovative transportation solutions by working with Metrobus.
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​I will work to increase the accessibility to healthy food options by working with Food First NL.
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I will promote the accessibility of healthy neighborhoods & people, urban design, transportation, environment, housing and inclusion to such groups as urban indigenous people, LGBTQIA2S+ people, migrants and immigrants, refugees, persons with disabilities, children, youth, young adults, and seniors.
Tax Savings
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I will explore legislation about banning water meters.
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I will engage in a serious dialogue about the $6M St. John's sports and entertainment subsidy.
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I will analyze the budget and assess budget conversations about the city’s part time council salaries (City of St. John's: just over $55,000. By comparison: Moncton, just over $30,000; Halifax, just over $90,000; Fort McMurray, just over $45,000; Quebec City, close to $50,000). The 2024 budget had increases in council salaries, corporate communications, employee benefits and pension, all of which I will consider.
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I will research and explore revenue sources from other provincial municipalities. Increasing property tax is regressive, as it adds financial pressure on seniors, low-income homeowners, landlords, and renters. Will we continue to rely on increasing property tax as revenue source or explore other revenue options?
Sustainability
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We must maintain and protect our wetlands by ensuring the stability and growth of the 2024 amendments to the Envision St. John's Development regulations. In addition, I will further consult with wetland experts to ensure that the City of St. John's is accountable to its protection of wetlands.
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I will work to make our adaptation strategies more robust by ensuring best practices in decision-making processes to advance infrastructure resilience. The stormwater infrastructure must be able to withstand extreme weather in our current ongoing climate crisis.
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I will promote education and access to community gardens by collaborating with Food First NL and the local community. Community gardens provide therapeutic benefits, not least of which is the creation and strengthening of communities. They also can offer affordable produce during the growing and harvest season (July-October) and enhance skill development.
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I will make monitoring the Corporate Climate plan a priority, to ensure that the City of St. John's is upholding its promise to reduce annual energy costs of their buildings by $517,914. In addition, I will lobby the province to add a CONA Green Building Maintenance Technician program, as we have city green technology buildings, but no professionals in our province to maintain them. This will reduce the current costs of flying green building technicians to our province.