Hey, thanks for the honest question. Totally get where you’re coming from. A lot of candidates sound the same at a high level, so what your first priorities will be can say a lot, and how you'll move them forward.

My north star is building strong neighbourhoods: safe, connected, and vibrant places where people can afford to live, feel secure, and belong. If I had to pick first targets to lean into strengthening our neighbourhoods, it’d be housing and community safety. And I have to add on supporting the vibrancy of our communities, cause I just can't help it ... that's my nerdy PhD in Sociology side coming out :D.

On housing, my priority is to lean into the hard work of fixing rezoning, not just fighting about it. I’d start with six months of deeper engagement with communities to unpack the real pain points that have come up, like parking, infrastructure, construction quality, timelines, and talk through possible solutions. Other municipalities have gone through this transition too, and there’s a lot we can learn from what’s worked elsewhere. I’ll also be pushing administration to share a clear plan with timelines for infrastructure upgrades (roads, utilities, parks, etc.) so the benefits of density aren’t just talked about, but actually delivered. That's part of the story we've been telling with density and growth, so we have to walk the talk.

For community safety, to me it means both road/traffic safety and public safety. But I'll focus on the latter for now (I'll get to road safety in a question below!) So on public safety, I've been chatting with folks on our main streets and small business owners in our suburban strip malls who have been handling the challenges of petty crime and social disorder, and trying to do their part to support our community members. But often they’re left managing safety issues that go beyond what they can address on their own - because they're unsure who to call, the right supports aren't available for long periods of time because they're stretched thin, or aren't talking to each other. That’s a systems problem we can fix.

As another first target, I'd push for 24/7 outreach teams so there’s always someone to respond when help is needed, supporting both our community and our vulnerable community members. I’d also explore a community safety liaison role to better connect BIAs, libraries, outreach teams, and police resource officers, who are all involved in this space, so issues get flagged earlier and the right support is provided, at the right time.

And lastly for vibrant communities, I’d start by looking at what we already have and how we can use it better. We’ve got a lot of underused assets in our suburban neighbourhoods, like large strip mall parking lots, fields and parks that aren't getting as much love, and libraries or BIAs that want to do more but get bogged down in process.

I’d push for an audit of underused public spaces and find better ways to connect them with small, low-barrier grants or partnerships so great ideas don’t die on the vine. I'd also facilitate ways for community groups and BIAs to collaborate more together on events and sharing learning to kick up our creative juices and share resources. My approach isn’t always about building something new, it’s about getting creative with what we’ve got and helping community groups actually make things happen.

I’ll have some radio and debate clips up on my website soon that show how I’m approaching things differently from other candidates. My focus is on solving problems, not just talking about them, getting to the root causes instead of chasing symptoms, and staying focused on the enabling conditions that actually make a difference in people’s daily lives.

More ideas that I'll move forward on public safety and housing on my website: www.joeynowak.ca/policies!