My campaign speech

I am sorry I couldn’t be here in person.  We are off on a much anticipated holiday that was planned a long time ago.  Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce for hosting this Forum for the Candidates.

I decided to let my name stand for Council because I felt I owed it to myself to see if the voters in Coronation still trusted me to serve a third term.  It is a big commitment and I did think about it long and hard, mainly because it is a four year term.  I think I still have the energy, drive and sense of commitment to my community and that I still have what it takes to be a good Councillor.  I will put it in the hands of the people and let them decide if I would still be a good choice to represent them based on my experience and on my record.

I have some goals for the next four years and I would like to share them with you.

I believe we have to address the question of equitable and fair cost sharing with the County who serves about half of the people who call Coronation home; and are using and taking an active part in all of the recreational, social and general every-day life in town.  We are at a critical crossroads in our community mainly due to the fact that we have all of these services and supports that are available to all the people who chose to use them but mainly funded by the Town of Coronation taxpayer.  We are at the moment unfairly burdening our town taxpayers and we really need to have a discussion about this.  Without all of these good things in life we will not have much of a community, therefore, we need to come up with a better plan in order to keep providing for future generations.

We have already proven that we can forge mutually agreeable cost sharing initiatives, first with the formation of the Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee and then with the new Fire Agreement with the County.  It can be done, there is more work to do, with the right people it will happen.

 I believe that I have the skill set, the knowledge and the experience to initiate and move ahead with these discussions.  I am hopeful that we will all reach a better level of understanding and cooperation in this regard.

I would also like to see more frank and open discussion amongst our townspeople when it comes to the future of this community.  I want to see more community engagement and continued participation in our pursuit of a Wellness Centre, locally driven Economic Development plans, retention and recruitment of physicians and other health care professionals and affordable housing for our seniors and for those who need our help.

 I would also like to pursue more dialogue with our provincial government moving forward as a small community.  We need to take advantage of everything that we can and ask the provincial government to always consider us in their plans.

People have voiced their concerns over high taxes and high water bills.  I wish I had the magical solution to that.  I am sorry but I cannot promise that taxes will go down or that water bills will not rise.  It would be wrong for me to do that.  It would be my job to bring concerns forward to council and administration.  We need to work together to address these very real concerns.  The only source of revenue that we have comes from taxes.  We have to be able to make this community sustainable and attractive for those who live here and for those we hope will come here to make it their home.  We need to spend the money that we do have as wisely as we can and I have seen some areas where it could be spent in a different way.  We need to be talking more about cost sharing opportunities at a regional and provincial level in order to keep costs at a reasonable level for the people who live here.

I believe I am qualified for the role as Councillor for the Town of Coronation due to my past experience on council as well as by being involved in the community on a lot of fronts.  I have a good track record.  I go to my Council meetings and I go prepared.  I feel that I can continue to provide leadership for this community and I will continue to try and make decisions for the good of the entire community.

If elected I will be one of seven decision makers, one voice, and hopefully a good and proper voice.  Seven people will sit together for four years and seven people will have discussions and eventually make decisions and become the united voice for the Community.  I understand my role.  I am proud of and confident in our Town CAO.  I am secure in the knowledge that we will get the information that we need to make those decisions.  I believe I have been a good representative for Coronation and I would like to continue for one more term.

Good luck to all the candidates.  My name is Bonnie Danylyshen and I am asking for your vote on October 21^st.  Thank you.