Submitted questionnaire

Mike Rose

Landscape Gardener

This is the candidate’s public questionnaire. It is not a ForChange recommendation. The committee’s recommended candidates are published on the Candidates page.

1. 01 · Why are you running for Kelowna City Council?

   I'm running for city council because I believe that we need a selection of candidates from a number of diverse backgrounds in order to properly represent our constituents. Unfortunately, many of the current nominees didn't really resonate with myself or others in my community so I decided to put my name forward and be their voice.

   I've had the privilege of calling Kelowna my home for approximately 22 years now, and during this time I've witnessed first hand the damage a poorly run municipal government can cause to future generations. Because of these bad decisions and lack of action, many issues have snowballed into huge problems present day when they could have been avoided with a little proactive planning inside the council chamber.

   I am an extremely imaginative and detail oriented person, I like to consider every possible scenario when making decisions to get the best possible outcome. When it comes to financial matters, I believe efficiency and affordability are essential. I will make sure that every dollar spent is done so with accountability and respect in mind to the people that worked hard to provide it.

2. 02 · Issue #1: the issue, the specific actions you would take, and how City Council can actually influence the outcome.

   The number one issue in our community is addiction. The homelessness, crime and violence in our city are simply byproducts of addiction and this is why the Federal and Provincial government are failing to make headway in fighting it.

   Quite simply, in order to make any progress with this issue we will need involuntary care. This is not something we are generally supposed to deal with on the municipal level but if higher levels of government won't act, we must. You cannot treat addiction by enabling an addict.

   On the municipal level we are lobbying for change but in the meantime we can look at bylaws addressing where and what non-profits can operate in the city and increasing bylaw and RCMP presence. We are currently a destination for addiction tourism and I would prefer Kelowna to be a national example of addiction treatment.

3. 03 · Issue #2: the issue, the specific actions you would take, and how City Council can actually influence the outcome.

   Our city is growing faster than our infrastructure.

   Over the past few years there has been explosive growth in our city due to provincial mandates requiring we meet certain housing targets. Unfortunately these targets don't come with funding for the increased demand on local infrastructure so we are starting to fall behind.

   The other issue is because of these new housing starts, we are often tearing up existing infrastructure that we just paid to upgrade. Instead of getting 15 years of value from a roadway, water or sewage that we built 2 years ago, we now have to rip it up and pay for it again. This is a wasteful use of tax dollars and also disruptive to citizens.

   I want to hold the province accountable and lobby with the UBCM to demand proper funding for infrastructure if housing targets are met.

4. 04 · Issue #3: the issue, the specific actions you would take, and how City Council can actually influence the outcome.

   The younger generation feels alienated from our community.

   We need to put a greater focus on engaging with the children and young adults in our community. This is perhaps the most important demographic in Kelowna for healthy population growth and often the most neglected. We cannot afford to keep losing these people to other cities because they don't feel connected here.

   I would like to see more programs funded by the city that keep the younger generation involved in activities like music, art and sports. For example, we can look at property tax breaks for businesses that host shows for local bands or art exhibits.

5. 05 · What experience, skills, and community involvement do you bring to the role?

   I have been a landscape gardener in our community for approximately 20 years with a focus on parks, and strata maintenance. My work takes me all over the city and I see first hand what does and doesn't work with infrastructure and developments. My goal would be to work with developers and city planners to address common issues before they are built.

   We don't need to suffer with tight parking stalls, lack of sidewalks and traffic congestion, when we can build them right the first time around. Because of my critical thinking, I am the type of person that can find faults in design immediately. If I can suggest a change that makes someone's day less stressful to navigate, I'd call that a win.

   Playing music is my true passion, I play both the bass and electric guitar in multiple bands in the Okanagan. I absolutely love meeting and listening to other musicians at shows and encouraging each other's creativity. We have so many talented individuals in our community and I think we should invest in that.

6. 06 · How will you approach council decisions when priorities compete for limited resources?

   I will use a priority system when resources are limited.

   For example, If we have to choose between building yet another park or upgrading our infrastructure, I'll choose infrastructure every time. As a municipality I think it's extremely important that we do everything in our power to make life easier for citizens. If our roadways are constantly congested that just contributes to everyone's stress levels, people have enough to worry about in life without the city making poor decisions.

   The best built infrastructure never crosses a persons mind, the worst built is cursed daily.

   I also think we are losing money on bad decisions. For example, the Bertram overpass ended up costing tax payers 12.1 million instead of 4.4 million because the city dragged it's heels getting it done. I would also like to mention the 1.2 million dollar dog park, somehow costs on this ballooned 450k higher. Let's not forget council also basically gave away the old RCMP property at 350 Doyle Ave for 7 million dollars. Given the proximity to the library, community theatre and city hall, this never should have happened.

   We will have more resources to spend with better management.

7. 07 · How do you work with people who see an issue differently than you?

   I fully understand that not everyone has the same opinions or temperament but I truly believe that everyone can find common ground on issues, especially ones important to the citizens of Kelowna.

   I can work with anyone as long as they are willing to be respectful and listen to both sides of the debate. At the end of the day, we all want what we think is best for our city and we might just have differing opinions of how to get there.

8. 08 · What else should voters know about you?

   I cannot in good conscience do election signs, I think they are both wasteful and an eyesore. After this election I think it would make sense to modify our bylaws in regards to signs. There is no good reason that one candidate needs 50+ signs on the boulevard of Clement, this also creates issues for parks maintenance staff when they need to service areas weekly. We are in a digital age where almost all of our media is consumed online instead of newspaper and I think election signs should follow suit.

   To be an effective municipal leader I believe that you must treat this as a full time position. As such, if elected I will be a full time councillor and devote the next 4 years to making real progress on issues in our city.

   If anyone has any questions about my platform feel free to email or message me and I'll do my best to get back to you. We are only given 1200 characters per question so I had to keep it short and sweet. I'll be updating my Instagram account in the following weeks with expanded solutions and ideas as well.

   Do your research of each candidate and get out there and vote!

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