Election Platform

My Election Platform was delivered city-wide by the Juniper Centre earlier this week and I'm excited that the word is getting around.  One particular pet peeve of mine is when candidates run on a negative campaign.  I'll tell you one of the most fundamental lessons that I've learned in my ten months on Council is that it's easy to sit and criticize - it's tough making decisions!  As such, my campaign is a positive and constructive approach to making Thompson a place we can all be proud to call home.

I've chosen to focus my campaign on three priority areas:  Creating the Conditions for Opportunity, Building Sustainable Partnerships and Fostering Community Pride.  I believe these priority areas outline a positive vision for the future, while at the same time address important issues of the day, such as community policing, infrastructure renewal and generating value from your tax dollars.

Please read further to learn more about the details of my campaign and remember to vote Erin Stewart for Thompson City Council this October 27th.

What Does Your Thompson Look Like Four Years from Now?

Here’s what Erin Stewart is committed to work toward:

1)    Creating Conditions for Opportunity

-         Continued commitment to the Final Phase of the Thompson Regional Community Centre and enhanced recreation programming from cooking classes and pottery to kid-friendly programming and state-of-the-art fitness facilities for our residents

-          Promoting a safe and healthy community through safe routes to school, expanding brushing, provision of bike racks throughout the City, safe and reliable transit service, etc.

-          Creating affordable housing options for seniors, families, students and young people to ensure they can afford to live, work and play in our community

-          Commitment to University College of the North in Thompson, which includes educational facilities, student housing and child care facilities as integral components of the expanded campus

-          Enable and encourage responsible development and investment in our community to add value, expand our choices, increase sources of municipal revenue and invest in our long term future

-          Engage and invest in our youth by creating City Hall internship program for high school and/or university students to learn about municipal governance and build leaders for tomorrow

2)    Building Sustainable Partnerships

-          Build positive working relationship with Government – Federal, Provincial and Aboriginal – to access new sources of revenue, funding and programming to fulfill our municipal needs

-          Work with corporations, businesses and community groups to provide quality services through partnerships – as in the Humane Society, Boys & Girls Club, and the Thompson Aboriginal Accord, etc.

-          Work with the RCMP and Vale to arrive at the best possible options in 2012 when the RCMP Municipal Policing Contract is up for renewal and the City’s funding agreement with Vale is set to expire

-         Continue to work with residents to enhance communications at City Hall – enhance community meetings, re-vamp website as more user friendly, support quarterly City Hall newsletter to inform residents on the value they are receiving for their tax dollars, and enhancing City Hall as a public space

-          Engage the Association of Manitoba Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to lobby on behalf of Thompson at the Provincial and Federal level, including the development of a funding plan to replace our aging municipal infrastructure

3)    Fostering Community Pride

-         Commitment to showcasing our strengths as a community and promoting Thompson as a progressive and innovative community, inside our City limits and beyond

-          Enhanced professionalism and value for municipal service provision; encouraging environment of access, responsibility and respect

-          Highlight community safety as a priority area in municipal budget, enhance property standards enforcement and commit to targeting behavioural and social issues in our downtown with respectful, but firm enforcement standards

-          Commitment to our City’s investment in the Thompson Sustainable Community Plan, allowing our community to grow responsibly and sustainably into the future