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October 15 , 2004
Lynda Moffat Speaking Notes for September 28 Forum
Opening Comments
Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
I’m Lynda Moffat and I want to be St. Albert’s next Mayor! There is so much I want to do, so much I can do, so much I will do as your Mayor, to rebuild relationships, restore pride and get things done.
In my opening statement I’ll tell you what voting Moffat for Mayor means. I want you to know what you can expect when I’m elected. I’ll tell you about my record, my style, and my platform.
FIRST – MY RECORD
When you vote Moffat for Mayor, you vote for experienced leadership. Since 1992, I’ve been proud to call St. Albert home and I’ve contributed to the quality of life we enjoy here in many ways. I’ve demonstrated leadership in social areas, financial areas, and environmental areas. Please see my handout for more complete information.
When you vote Moffat for Mayor, you vote for someone who knows our business community inside-out. I’m no stranger to business, as a successful St. Albert businessperson myself and a former President of the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce.
When you vote Moffat for Mayor, you vote for solid planning and fiscal responsibility. Even before being elected to Council, I served as a member of the CityPlan Committee developing our Municipal Development Plan. I’m also very proud of our most recent achievements in the areas of planning and fiscal responsibility. We’ve got the City’s financial house in order and we finally have solid business planning systems in place.
When you vote Moffat for Mayor, you vote for someone who has demonstrated concern for our environment. I fought to establish St. Albert’s Council Environment Committee, which I now chair. This committee has a proud record of accomplishment. We developed our city’s statement of corporate environment policy, have just recently published St. Albert’s first-ever annual State of the Environment report, and much more.
NOW SECONDLY – MY STYLE
I believe in working hard and working smart. I demonstrated my commitment to providing you with outstanding leadership when I became the first person in Alberta to complete Muniversity, a course of studies developed by the University of Alberta and Alberta Municipal Affairs. And I’ve committed time and energy to preparing myself for exceptional civic leadership based on current best practices.
I believe in being firm but fair. I believe in collaborating and building win-win relationships. I believe that you can’t do a deal if you go into it expecting to have a winner and a loser emerge.
My style has earned the respect of other elected leaders in our region who recently elected me to the Alberta Capital Region Alliance Management Committee.
Now, let’s move onto what the future holds in store.
THIRD IS MY PLATFORM
As your mayor, I will renew pride in our city.
I will provide the strong leadership we need to be a city that responds to issues quickly, a city that enjoys a positive reputation near and far, a city that maintains its sense of community as it grows, a city that recognizes the needs of its established neighbourhoods. With my leadership, our great pride in St. Albert will be restored and strengthened.
As your mayor, I will re-establish our role as a leader and good neighbour in our region
St. Albert is now at a crossroads. Our relationships, with our neighbours and with other levels of government, need to be strong and they need to be beneficial to all. Our ability to successfully partner with others is key to moving forward in a positive direction.
Building win-win partnerships doesn’t mean letting St. Albert’s needs take a back seat. Our interests must be protected through Intermunicipal Development plans that are always supported by good financial information illustrating the consequences of our actions.
Together with our outstanding business community, I will work to strengthen our position as the marketplace of choice for communities to the north. And I will ensure our voice is heard as we collaborate with others in our region on economic development.
With my leadership we will regain our role as a leader and good neighbour in our region.
As your Mayor, I will strongly advocate for new stable and predictable revenue from other levels of government.
I will work with the Government of Alberta to make the most of recent provincial funding initiatives. And the new west regional road should rightfully be designated as Highway 2 so that it can be fully funded by the province and not be a drain on our local tax base.
I will work with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to ensure St. Albert receives its fair share of Federal gas tax rebates, and other initiatives coming from the “New Deal” for municipalities. With my leadership, St. Albert will benefit from the new revenue streams that are absolutely required to keep tax increases to the minimum and ensure the stability of our community.
As your Mayor, I will move ahead with annexation of the land we need.
I will immediately begin working together with Sturgeon County to complete a negotiated annexation of lands to kick-start the economic growth so urgently required to offset our dependence on residential property taxes. I have the proven ability to get along with our neighbours without compromising St. Albert’s best interests. With my leadership, we will annex the land we need to grow in a planned and orderly fashion so that leapfrog development does not occur.
All decisions related to development must reflect our community values, the quality of life we prize and the vision that we share as residents of St. Albert.
I will continue to work diligently to support community-driven economic development initiatives such as the St. Albert Economic Development Advisory Committee, Team St. Albert, and the Northern Alberta Business Incubator.
With my leadership, St. Albert will be a business-friendly City offering an environment where business is welcome and the development process is accommodating.
As your Mayor I will ensure we complete the west regional road, while protecting the environment we value.
We have unacceptable traffic congestion. Our transportation infrastructure must move our people and our commerce safely and efficiently and not break your bank account as a taxpayer.
By forming partnerships, we can create a legacy including both a Big Lake Provincial Park and enhanced recreation and education opportunities in the Sturgeon River Valley and Red Willow Park.
As your Mayor, I will foster the development of diversified housing.
I believe that our future as a sustainable independent City includes providing housing for younger residents and our seniors. In our efforts to attract business to our city, we must be able to provide housing for middle and lower income employees.
As your Mayor, I will capitalize on the strengths of our City administration.
We have very competent and qualified city employees I look forward to working in partnership with them to ensure all taxpayers receive the best possible value from every decision we make.
With my leadership, Council’s style of governance will reflect our confidence in our city departments.
In summary, ladies and gentlemen, I have a clear vision for St. Albert – it is anchored in the superb quality of life here that we all value. I see our City as a thriving, independent, and sustainable community that embraces the opportunities of the future. I see our City as an inclusive community – one that cherishes our youth and respects our seniors. I see our City as a community where St. Albert residents receive exceptional value for the taxes they pay. I see our City as a community where our elected officials’ decisions are guided by our Municipal Development Plan – a positive document that I was proud to contribute to as a member of CityPlan.
I see our City as a community that works in harmony with its neighbors and the provincial and federal governments. A community that is respected as a leader and a good neighbour in the region. I see our City as a community that understands and cares about the needs of St. Albert businesses and creates the environment needed for strong economic growth. I see our City as a community that recognizes St. Albert municipal employees as being second to none with respect to their qualifications and their commitment and that capitalizes on those strengths. Above all, I see our City as a community where residents are all proud to call St. Albert home.
I’ve told you about my record and my style and my platform. Now, I ask you to make the positive choice – to elect me as your next mayor!
Closing Comments
Thank you all so much for joining us this evening at this important forum. And I thank the Chamber of Commerce for this opportunity to share my vision of St. Albert with you.
I want to be St. Albert’s next Mayor! There is so much I want to do, so much I can do, so much I will do as your Mayor, to rebuild relationships, restore pride and get things done for the betterment of all of the citizens of St. Albert.
As citizens of St. Albert, we’ve long prided ourselves in being Alberta’s finest city. As your Mayor, I will renew that pride.
St. Albert is now at a crossroads. Our relationships, with our neighbours and with other levels of government, need to be strong and they need to be beneficial to all. As your Mayor, I will work to regain our role as a leader and good neighbour in our region.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we need more land to expand our non-residential tax base, to kick-start the economic growth so urgently required to offset our dependence on residential property taxes. As your Mayor, I will I will work with my colleagues in creating the win-win solutions that the successful negotiation of annexation will require. With my leadership, we will annex the land we need to grow in a planned and orderly fashion.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as you know, here in St. Albert, we currently have unacceptable traffic congestion. As your Mayor I will ensure we complete the west regional road in the currently planned location, while protecting the environment that we treasure. And, I will work with the Government of Alberta to designate the new west regional road as Highway 2 so that it can be fully funded by the province and not be a drain on our local tax base.
Folks, let’s not beat around the bush. There’s only one way to keep our taxes low while maintaining the high level of municipal services our community expects and that’s to expand our non-residential tax base. As your Mayor, I will kick-start the economic growth so urgently needed to sustain our City’s viability.
Ladies and gentlemen, we must ensure that our housing mix enables us to be an inclusive community, that we are providing opportunities for our children our young families, our employees and our seniors to stay in the community they love. As your Mayor, I will foster the development of diversified housing.
Folks, we must strongly advocate for exploration of new stable and predictable revenue from other levels of government. As your Mayor, I will ensure St. Albert benefits from the new revenue streams that are absolutely required to sustain our community.
Ladies and gentlemen, together, we can realize a brighter, more prosperous future! I ask you to make the positive choice.
Cast your vote for a positive future.
Cast your vote fora clear vision for St. Albert anchored in the superb quality of life here that we all value.
Cast your vote forSt. Albert as a thriving, independent, and sustainable community that embraces the opportunities of the future.
Cast your vote forSt. Albert as an inclusive community – one that cherishes our youth and respects our seniors.
Cast your vote forSt. Albert as a community where residents receive exceptional value for the taxes they pay.
Cast your vote for St. Albert as a community where our elected officials’ decisions are guided by our Municipal Development Plan – a positive document that I was proud to contribute to as a member of CityPlan.
Cast your vote forSt. Albert as a community that works in harmony with its neighbors and with the provincial and federal governments. A community that is respected as a leader and a good neighbour in the region.
Cast your vote forSt. Albert as a community that understands and cares about the needs of St. Albert businesses and creates the environment needed for strong economic growth.
Cast your vote forSt. Albert as a community that recognizes our municipal employees as being second to none with respect to their qualifications and their commitment and that capitalizes on those strengths.
Above all, cast your vote for a community where residents are all proud to call St. Albert home.
I ask you to make the positive choice – cast your vote for Moffat for Mayor
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