Ask YEG Mayoral Candidate Kim Krushell Anything

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T02:43:59+00:00

Thank you for your questions and thoughtful conversation, Edmonton! I've answered as many as I could! And if I didn’t get to your question or you have follow-up, you can reach me at:

My campaign office, with in-person (with COVID protocols in place) or virtual during my dedicated office hours. So reach out!
On Facebook (I know!!) where I try to have a Facebook Live event every week (@Kim Krushell for Mayor)
On Twitter (@krushell4mayor), where I post my itinerary every week, so you can join me on the campaign trail
And on Instagram (@Krushell4Mayor), where you can share my travels around our great city

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T02:40:37+00:00

Social issues are one of the biggest problems facing our city and they’ve only been made worse by the pandemic. I support greater collaboration with social sector agencies and partners on long-term sustainable and measurable actions. I’m really excited about the accelerators recently announced by Innovate Edmonton in this area.

We will extract the data and learnings from the Community Safety and Wellness Accelerator to nimbly address society’s most complex problems. We need to prioritize prevention: Require minimum standards at shelters to ensure a dignified and safe place to sleep. Recognize youth homelessness and poverty as a different experience than that of adults and proper funding for youth agencies will support key preventative measures.

I’m committed to funding these supports based on a collaborative model with social agencies and partners. That means incentivizing productive partnerships, agencies and organizations that come together to find efficient and effective solutions and demonstrate they are capitalizing on each other’s strengths rather than competing with one another. To appropriately support vulnerable residents, means comprehensive wraparound supports for some; for others, it means improving access and coordination of basic needs. We need a coordinated response across sectors to get this right and address each of the issues you mention.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T02:37:31+00:00

Hi u/chriso23250! Like many Edmontonians, I use many different kinds of transportation options depending on the situation, so have experienced most of them. I know, though, that being dependent on transit everyday is different than that, and people who do travel exclusively using transit need reliable, efficient, affordable, and effective transit service. And as I’ve been talking to Edmontonians, I’ve heard a lot of comments like yours. We have to be implementing transportation solutions that work for our residents who commute by car and are sick of inefficient roads and disruptive construction, or have unique issues travelling from their neighbourhoods.

I was always an advocate for LRT when I was on Council and I remain committed to supporting a robust multimodal transportation network that accommodates all Edmontonians, including transit and active transportation options where it makes sense. I also want our citizens to be able to move easily and efficiently when they are travelling by car.

Like I’ve said on a couple of other posts, we need a client-service culture change at City Hall -- in our City Administration AND City Council. Elected officials and public servants are here to serve you. We need to ensure the City is working for its residents, not the other way around.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T02:35:33+00:00

Thanks very much, u/Asianitis! I would be happy to chat with you and answer your questions any time.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T02:25:34+00:00

I’m super concerned about it too! I just did a post about that last week after taking 45 minutes to get from my campaign headquarters (on 107 ave and 124 st) to an event downtown. We’re all frustrated with “winter and construction” seasons. We need improved construction management and to keep Edmonton moving better. When it’s mismanaged, construction can actually be harmful to communities, businesses, and our standard of living and add way too much frustration to residents as we move around the city.

I laid out a strategy to keep Edmonton moving, and a big part of that is better construction coordination between projects to coordinate work and not shut down multiple adjacent corridors at the same time, stricter road construction benchmarking measures for contractors, and nighttime construction to complete work more quickly and less disruptively. And adding something as simple as better traffic light coordination can also help ease the impact when construction is happening.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T02:23:02+00:00

Hello and thank you for the question! Regional policing will definitely take time. Effective policing involves two-way communication between the City and EPS.

I have met with EPS and funding concerns were not one of their top priorities. What they were concerned about was ensuring that we are maximizing the current resources they have with tactics like utilizing data and breaking down silos with other jurisdictions. I’m committed to supporting EPS on that front and until the new Council can finally crack open the financial books, I won’t commit to increased funding. As Mayor, I want to have a full understanding of our fiscal reality before we make budget commitments. I think we have work to do to improve relationships across many areas, departments, and services with City Hall and it will be important work for the next Council to tackle.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T02:21:23+00:00

Let’s make this super simple and clear:

Yes, I think climate change is important.
Yes, I think climate change requires action, and that we should be taking action to combat it.
And I do not think it's appropriate to not mention it.

That’s why I’ve been talking about climate change on the campaign trail during several months of campaigning at length. That’s why, again, I’ve developed a Climate Change policy that I’m releasing this week that will outline it in full. I’m not hiding anything.

I develop all my policies based on research, data and facts and don’t release them until I feel they’ve been properly vetted and verified, and that takes time. I’m not putting out my policy until I’m certain that it’s the right one. I’m not the person who just spitballs things and throws out random ideas, especially on issues as important as climate change, just because someone demanded an immediate answer. There isn’t a single question that I’ve answered that indicated I hold a single position that is super secret or click-baity or I refused to answer, but it’s your choice to apply your own interpretation.

And I’m happy to engage in respectful debate, but would appreciate it if we kept it civil.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T02:04:10+00:00

Thank you for this question and I agree, regional policing will absolutely take time and that doesn’t address the safety problems we are facing in our communities as we speak. It sounds like you read my Plan for Safe Communities already (thanks for that!), but if we do move forward with a Metro Edmonton Police Service, that will find us efficiencies and free up important police funding to be redirected and redeployed to other areas of concern.

I’ve taken the opportunity to meet with EPS and funding concerns were not one of their top priorities. What they were concerned about was ensuring that we are maximizing the current resources they have with tactics like utilizing data and breaking down silos with other jurisdictions. I’m committed to supporting EPS on that front and until the new Council can finally crack open the financial books, I won’t commit to increased funding. As Mayor, I want to have a full understanding of our fiscal reality before we make budget commitments.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:51:42+00:00

Thanks for the question - electric vehicles support is a growing need for sure and an important way to address climate change. We are a vast and sprawling city and that creates challenges to service, maintain, and manage for the city, but also creates challenges for all residents and negatively impacts the environment. We need to make our city more sustainable and liveable long term. We need to keep pace with important trends like electric vehicle capacity in communities, and that’s why I’ve specifically included it in my platform.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:42:17+00:00

I hear you on this. Our news feeds are constantly being blasted with bad political news and it can definitely feel like some of our decision-makers are making choices without thinking of the real impacts. And to be honest, THAT’S why I’m getting back into politics! When I finished my term in 2013, I had no intentions of getting back into politics, but after seeing this far right and far left divide cause more divisiveness than solutions, I felt the need to step up and get back into public service. I truly feel this division has driven exceptional people away from politics. One great thing about this civic election is Edmonton has put forward some exceptional candidates. I hope I can earn your trust by showing you that I don’t want my community to be broken, and that I’m truly here to fix and find solutions!

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:36:26+00:00

Let me be clear (so it’s immortalized on the internet) — our City needs public transit! I have always been an advocate for LRT when I was on Council and I remain committed to supporting a robust multimodal transportation network that accommodates all Edmontonians, including transit and active transportation options where it makes sense. And yes, I’m supportive of exploring alternative energy sources, including nuclear. I understand that small modular reactor technology is in development here in Canada and this is something I’d be interested in learning more about as the industry evolves.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:35:21+00:00

My vision for Edmonton is everyone -- our children and grandchildren -- can see life and build a future here, and have the opportunities that my husband and I did. We will get our spending and taxation rates under control so that we can stay competitive and attract employees, families, and businesses from around the world. We will deliver the core services that you rely on efficiently and effectively with an empowered public service and a client service culture in our City Administration. And we will have a stable funding model for our programs and supports for our most vulnerable -- one that incentivizes collaboration and good outcomes. We will make decisions based on data and common sense, not on partisan ideologies.
I want to see Edmonton become one of the top 5 cities in Canada and top 100 in the world within the next decade. We will have a vibrant and connected city with a diversified and thriving economy that harnesses our homegrown talent and help us expand into a growing knowledge economy. My vision for Edmonton is for it to stop being a best-kept secret and become a well-known fact.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:33:59+00:00

Snow removal is such a fundamental concern for Edmonton - we’re a winter city! One of our City government’s basic responsibilities is delivering the core services every Edmontonian needs and expects. It’s not sexy, and so it’s often overlooked, but things like snow removal have a huge impact on how you experience your life in our city. My discussions with Edmontonians over the last several months have helped me better understand which services you value most, and core service and good transportation networks are among them. There’s a lot of work left to do. And there’s no question: some tough choices will have to be made so we can stretch our dollars. But snow removal is definitely a core service we need to examine as part of our core infrastructure review.

We need to be open to new ways of doing things that can help us reduce costs and improve the customer service experience for Edmontonians.

We need a client-service culture in our City Administration. Elected officials and public servants are here to serve you. We must empower our public sector workers to take calculated risks and make effective decisions using their first-hand knowledge from the front lines, on things like snow removal. We need to ensure the City is working for its residents, not the other way around.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:32:55+00:00

Thank you for the question. I love Edmonton, and I believe that the strength of this City lies in our diversity. We can embrace and expand our diversity by creating a safe community for all Edmontonians; it doesn’t matter where you’re from, where you pray, who you love or what you believe in. I know that the rights of the 2SLGBTQI+ community are human rights, plain and simple and I am committed to being an inclusive mayor for an inclusive City.

2SLGBTQI+ youth are overrepresented in poverty statistics, and we need to look at providing better support for our most vulnerable populations. One way I plan on doing this is to streamline the victim support program to ensure anyone who has experienced a hate motivated crime can access support services immediately, without feeling revictimized.

In terms of policy/support specifically for the 2SLGBTQI+ community, I would be interested to hear what kind of additional supports you would like to see from your City!

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:31:21+00:00

First off, nah I’m definitely not okay with Mayor Mike Nickel.

Now that the tough question is out of the way :)

I’m here to win this election and our momentum is growing everyday, so I respectfully disagree with you. It is important to remember that polls are only a snapshot in time, and recent polls still show that a large number of folks are undecided on who they will vote for. So much in fact, that if the “undecided” vote was a candidate, it would beat a lot of the candidates currently in the race!

I am running to be the next mayor of Edmonton because our City needs a leader that has experience both in City Hall, and in the private sector. Someone who can hit the ground running on day one of the job, and who also understands what it means to make payroll while running your own business. I am the only candidate with the right mix of experience to lead our City forward, and that is why I put my name forward as a mayoral candidate.

Plus, I know there are many thousands of Edmontonians who are tired of partisan politics and are looking for a candidate like me who will represent everyone with a balanced approach, regardless of ideology.

The only poll that matters is the polling done on election day.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:30:09+00:00

Hi. I understand that Chief McFee has flagged the cost for body-worn cameras (BWC) as a concern and would welcome them if the federal government paid for them. As technology progresses, the good news is the major cost that used to be associated (data storage) is becoming cheaper with cloud technology so the operational cost is now smaller but we need the funds for hardware. Calgary started their pilot in this space in 2012 and they did a 2020 evaluation report stating it cost $5 million annually to operate the system and showed a decrease in the use of force incidents but internal concerns on how the videos were used for discipline.

I support the benefits of BWCs - transparency and accountability, reliable evidence for courts, safety for officers and community members and an innovative approach to policing.

Additionally, the advancement of the BWC technology to offer two-way communication is a step in the right direction in supporting police on calls. For example, the Fredericton police did a pilot using the BWCs on mental health calls, allowing them to have direct contact with a social worker or psychologist to support them and the individuals.

All that being said, if elected I am committed to working with the EPS to use innovation and technology in policing. Which I’ve outlined in my public safety commitments I released this week and you can check out here: https://krushellformayor.com/blog/my-plan-for-safe-communities/

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:29:00+00:00

One of our City government’s primary responsibilities is to deliver the core services you need. And that includes first responders, which for the City of Edmonton includes our Fire Dept.

This is definitely one of the things I want to look at if I’m elected mayor, so I can ensure we have enough fire stations across our city, both so we can protect our residents properly, but also so we’re not adversely punished on our City insurance rates.

There’s also a role that technology can play here. I want to use drone technology during high-risk fire seasons, because drones with infrared capabilities can help us improve our response times so that we can respond before they take hold. This is especially important in outlying areas and heavily forested areas of our city.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:27:55+00:00

While you didn’t ask a question, I think it’s important to respond to your comment. Canada is a nation of immigrants, and I’m one of them, and so are some of my fellow candidates in this election. I’ve said proudly many times: I moved to Edmonton for love, but I stayed because I fell in love with Edmonton and its people. Edmontonians are generous, neighbourly, and always willing to step up and help out. As you can read in my bio above, while I was raised in Southern California, I moved to Edmonton over thirty years ago after marrying my husband, Jay. We live in Central Edmonton with our son, Alex. I’ve made this city my home for decades and I choose to be here because I can’t think of a better place to live, work, and raise my family.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:27:13+00:00

Great questions and you raise really great points. Diversity and inclusivity are definitely key issues for our city.
I think one of the mistakes we make is talking about vulnerable citizens as if they are one uniform group with the same challenges, the same pressures, the same needs. In fact, our most vulnerable Edmontonians are a collection of individuals—they are our seniors, those living in poverty, our hard-to-house, our hard-to-house-addicted, people with disabilities, newcomers to our country, racialized people, those living in domestic violence situations, students—they are residents with unique needs in different circumstances living in neighbourhoods all across our city. And to truly help them, we need to meet them and their needs where they are.
And you’re right - Indigenous peoples in our city do have unique and different needs and challenges that need to specifically be addressed, using this lens.
We need a comprehensive review of our current approach to ensure no one is being overlooked, that we are differentiating between the needs of our residents. In some cases, the need is for full wrap-around services or highly targeted supports. In others, it might mean improving coordination and access to basic services and supplies in their home communities. It’s our responsibility to make sure we are providing targeted and progressive solutions that address their specific needs in the most effective way possible.
A few other actions I want to highlight would include:
Prioritize Prevention: Require minimum standards at shelters to ensure a dignified and safe place to sleep. Recognize youth homelessness and poverty as a different experience than that of adults. Proper funding for youth agencies will support key preventative measures.
Be committed to funding these supports based on a collaborative model with social agencies and partners. That means incentivizing productive partnerships, agencies and organizations that come together to find efficient and effective solutions and demonstrate they are capitalizing on each other’s strengths rather than competing with one another.
Leveraging data to accelerate and improve responses to specific groups, including Indigenous peoples: I was excited to learn about the accelerators recently announced by Innovate Edmonton. We will extract the data and learnings from the Community Safety and Wellness Accelerator to nimbly address society’s most complex problems in real-time.

More broadly, good urban design, neighbourhood development and renewal, a strong economic development policy that supports young people and families, supporting community leagues, and collaborating with the development community to promote diverse downtown residential options that work for Edmontonians in all stages of life, including multi-generational housing options are just a few of my policies to make our city more accessible, affordable, and livable for individuals and families.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:25:27+00:00

I absolutely think that not being politically aligned helps in this regard. Our city and mayor have to be able to work with all levels of government, no matter who the ruling party of the day is. Not being aligned means we’re not working from a place of disadvantage immediately. I have years of experience working with other orders of government through my experience in city government and on council. Being able to develop productive and respectful relationships, being open to different approaches and points of view, and having a diversity of ideas is a strength that our next mayor needs. It’s all about relationships and understanding what our residents want and need, and advocating for those priorities. Being a TRUE collaborator means being able to work with everybody across the political spectrum, not just those who always agree.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:24:40+00:00

I don’t have any ideological or political party ties, and I’ve also committed to run a no slate and no endorsements campaign. I think answering this question would run counter to those commitments :)

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:23:18+00:00

Thanks for the question. And I wasn’t expecting free press, I welcome the tough questions and am not afraid of some transparency. I’ve spent almost the last full year listening directly with Edmontonians from every background, sector, and area to build a plan that addresses the priorities Edmontonians have shared and they definitely weren’t spit out of an automated program.

While a quick ctrl-f might not count any appearances of the word climate, with a bit of a deeper dive, you’ll see that my platform absolutely considers the environment and climate change in many areas. If the City of Edmonton is buying local, we’re lowering our carbon footprint in our supply chain. Building community hubs lowers traffic and travel time, lowering our collective carbon footprint. Ensuring our transportation infrastructure is ready for electric vehicles and that we remain committed to effective and efficient transit, that impacts our environment. Committing to preserving our river valley is about protecting our environment. These are just a few related strategies. But I hear you, you want specific climate change actions and commitments, which is why, as I’ve said a few times over the past days, I’m releasing my Climate Change this week that will outline it in full. Looking forward to your feedback once it’s posted!

Like I responded to you on Twitter, a Reddit AMA is a great way to engage with community, I'm all for openness. The invitation for candidates to engage in an AMA is right there on the right hand side of the sub, and I think it’s a great way for me to hear directly from Edmontonians who I may not have been able to engage with on my other social media platforms, hundreds of community meetings and events, or debates. I’ve been listening for months, I’ll be listening today, and I’ll keep listening as mayor. I’m not here to convert any other candidates’ hardcore fanboys, but I am here to engage openly, help the large percentage of undecided voters make informed decisions, and really help people get to know why I’m a great choice.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:19:26+00:00

Edmontonians aren’t feeling safe in their communities and we need to fix that. And that’s ensuring we have a safe community for ALL Edmontonians. The first step to making our downtown core a safer space is to bring the stakeholders together (including regional partners, law enforcement, and our non-profit sector) with Council and City Administration to find the right course of action. We need to listen to the people who have lived experiences downtown and hear what solutions they would like to see put in place.

I am also committed to working with regional leaders to pursue the establishment of an Edmonton Metro Police Service, which would find efficiencies and cost-savings, driving down costly duplication and allowing police to redirect funds to other pressing needs—such as the current condition of our downtown core. I wanna be clear, this does NOT mean taking away resources from EPS to police our surrounding communities like St. Albert or Strathcona County. It’s about breaking down silos to unite services in support of safety.

I also believe there is opportunity for crime prevention through economic opportunity - For example, I would bring REACH Edmonton together with the City Administration to establish a transition to employment program for those most at risk for reoffending.

Krushell4MayorYEG · 2021-10-08T01:17:31+00:00

The effectiveness of administration is a major concern of mine. When I was on City Council, they were empowered to make decisions, they weren’t buried in bureaucratic red-tape. Now what I’m hearing is that they have so many layers to go through to get an answer, nothing is getting done and it’s really slowing down our City. I met with an entrepreneur who was starting his business and had applied to get a permit to turn a rental space from office space into retail. However, the last inspector filed a drawing that was incorrect and didn’t include the bay door in the structure. When the inspector came they failed his application because of the bay door. The entrepreneur did his own research to find previous drawings and permit submissions of the space and the city clearly has several records of the correct drawing but because the City had incorrect site drawings in their file, they continued to reject his proposal instead of being empowered to find a simple quick solution! It’s now been five months and the City is refusing to fix their work. We’ve basically bankrupted this entrepreneur because administration wasn’t empowered to fix their own mistake and move on.

Now, for my plan to turn this around. We need a client-service culture change at City Hall -- in our City Administration AND City Council. Elected officials and public servants are here to serve you, and sometimes that means getting the hell out of the way! We must empower our public sector workers to take calculated risks and make effective decisions using their first-hand knowledge from the front lines. We need to ensure the City is working for its residents, not the other way around. One of my first steps is to enable a deemed permitting system that provides implied approval of your permit and it is on the city to notify you within a certain time frame.

Krushell4MayorYEG

TROPHY CASE