Question of the week: What would be your first three goals as mayor?

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This article was published 08/10/2022 (1220 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Until election day, Oct. 26, the Sun will ask Brandon’s two mayoral candidates a weekly question on an issue facing the city. 

This week: What are three things you promise to do for the city if elected mayor, and how do they fit into your vision for the city’s future? 

Jeff Fawcett

I hesitate to make election “promises.” We have all heard too many: “end hallway medicine,” “eliminate the GST,” etc.

Rather, this is what I will do. First, better establish Brandon as Manitoba’s second city. As I stated in the April 2 edition of The Brandon Sun, “we need to step up and make sure we’re addressing our large urban issues and representing our city and region … be more ambitious.” Look at the results that Winkler, Steinbach and Morden have reached over the last decade. I want us to match, and better, the collective visions those communities have.

While our large institutions (city, BU, ACC, school division, PMHA, large industry, CARM, Brandon chamber, for some examples) get along, we need to step out of our silos for the greater collective. On issues such as economic development, provincial and federal funding, it is essential we work together as one voice, or to champion one another when needed. Over the years I have built up strong relationships with these institutions and I believe that with the other leaders in the community, we can get this done.

Also, I stressed the “need to be prudent with taxpayer dollars, while maintaining and improving services.” During my past 10 years on council, our tax increase has never been over two per cent and only three years was it over one per cent. Our growth dividend has been a factor in keeping tax increases low. Therefore, continuing responsible growth is paramount to balancing cost increases, and maintenance growth and improvement going forward. I will take responsibility to help lead council in these more difficult financial times to continue to be as conscious as possible to residents in having our management team create palatable budgets while growing our city and tax base, while enhancing services.

Indigenous relations have been a goal of mine during my three terms on council, and I continue to believe it should be one of our highest priorities. Also, I am a huge believer in physical activity for all ages and we have great opportunities in recreation/healthy lifestyle activities moving forward.

That said, downtown is difficult, and that is why we need to take it on. Coun. Jan Chaboyer (Green Acres) and myself have already engaged BU professors to help us research options and opportunities for downtown. Those include championing downtown as a destination for women, as well as the beneficial impacts of immigration on downtowns. As part of Brandon’s downtown safety and wellness committee and as a member of Brandon’s Community Wellness Collaborative, I know we have started working better as a community to address our social issues. I also want to challenge our local entrepreneurs and business people to make the downtown a destination.

To end, “I PROMISE”: I will continue to be as dedicated to this community and city as I have been over the last 30 years. I will represent our community as best I can at all times. I will champion our city at all times.

— Jeff Fawcett

Elliott Oleson

This is a difficult question for me because I dislike making promises unless I am 100 per cent certain it will come to pass. Owing to the nature of council, it isn’t possible to have that certainty and so I am reluctant to make ironclad promises but as that is the requirement here, I will do so.

Promise 1: I promise to prioritize infrastructure maintenance beginning with a full survey of the road conditions in Brandon with the explicit intention of determining which roads are in most immediate need of attention and attending to them in order. Much of the cumulative damage we see is a result of deprioritizing repairs on those roadways for reasons outside of simple need. I promise to make need the directing criteria.

Promise 2: I promise to work proactively to rehabilitate the downtown. This rehabilitation would begin with aggressively tackling the problem of abandoned/neglected properties that do nothing but take up space that could be used for housing while simultaneously stealing from every resident within a multi-block radius. My goal is bylaw revision to allow a period of one year for the development and implementation of a plan to remediate/develop the property. If no meaningful action is taken in that year the city would annex the land and put it to use for the increase of Brandon’s livability.

Promise 3: I promise to act in concert with frontline services in town to determine what needs they have that the city can help with. Cities have resources and capacities beyond the mere throwing around of money. One example of what could be done is removing the fee for background checks done for volunteer positions with non-profits. It is insulting and counterproductive to tell people that their skills are desperately needed and then make them pay before they can put them to the community is betterment. There are other ways that the city can use its machinery in furtherance of addressing the social concerns that are top of mind for many Brandonites and those need to be discovered and implemented.

These promises are all contingent on co-operation from council and buy-in from the various sectors involved. The one promise that I can, and do, make without qualification is that I will end the cult-like secrecy that council and some city boards — I’m looking at you police board — operate under as a matter of assumed privilege. Their actions are in the interest of every person living in Brandon and on day one of my tenure the secrecy surrounding their activities would end — full stop!

— Elliott Oleson