CITIZENS AND BUSINESS-OWNERS IN NEW WESTMINSTER BELIEVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS NOT LISTENING TO THEIR CONCERNS AND HAVE AN “ACT NOW, CONSULT LATER“ APPROACH TO DECISION-MAKING
New Westminster (August 18, 2022): One of the core values of the New West Progressives (NWP) is community engagement. Throughout the campaign, NWP mayoral candidate Ken Armstrong and council candidates have been meeting and connecting with New Westminster citizens to get their input on the current state of city programs and services. If elected on October 15, 2022, the NWP Team will continue to build a strong sense of community through meaningful public engagement because the voices of New Westminster residents’ and our business community matter.
“We want to hear from New West residents and business-owners about the issues they care about the most,” says Queens Park resident and council candidate Karima Budhwani. “Whether it’s about local amenities, property taxes, waste management, or community safety, your feedback is valuable in how city council will allocate its resources and improve our services. Sadly, over the last several years, way too many decisions have been made without proper public consultation.”
The NWP will make permanent the use of both in-person and online platforms such as Zoom. This will allow better access to city hall for all citizens, not just in council chambers, but throughout various neighbourhoods in New Westminster. The NWP commits to hosting at least one town hall and two regular council meetings per year in Queensborough. Currently, there are significant segments of our community that are being neglected and unheard.
“We promise to always gather the community’s ideas and implement them where we can,” says Budhwani. “Not only will we be regularly consulting with every neighbourhood, we also commit to reporting annually on the progress of the recommendations made by the Mayor’s Taskforce on Public Engagement. Transparency and collaboration are key to our collective success as a thriving city.”
Meaningful engagement will extend beyond council chambers as well. “Both our Mayor & Council and School Board Trustee teams are committed to listening to residents, businesses, students and parents,” says school trustee candidate Teo Dobre. “Our students and parents can benefit from better collaboration between School Board and Council, which is why if elected, we commit to creating a joint Council-School Board Long-Term Planning Committee within 100 days.”
Over the next several weeks, NWP candidates will be sharing many of their policy ideas aimed to address the concerns they have heard from New Westminster residents and businesses, leading up to the unveiling of the NWP’s 2022 campaign platform next month. Follow all campaign announcements at nwprogressives.ca/platform.