Kelowna 2005 Civic Elections - Michele Rule for City Council

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Michele believes that city council's decisions are key to creating a vibrant economy while maintaining and enhancing the quality of life that has made Kelowna such a desirable place to live. She will bring a balanced approach to city council, an approach learned through many years of involvement in the community.

Michele’s platform reflects her passion for the community. She will fight for a healthy community, a greener community and intergovernmental cooperation.

For more information, please visit www.rulesview.blogspot.com, e-mail therules@telus.net or call 762-3749.

On November 19th, vote Michele Rule for a balanced approach to municipal government and community.

Michele Rule’s Platform:

A Healthy Community

Safe Streets:
I strongly support the removal of dumpsters from the downtown core, the immediate clean-up of graffiti, the addition of washroom facilities and better lighting, and a needle exchange program that would keep dirty needles off our streets and play areas. I also support the Downtown Patrol and the RCMP street presence, as well as community policing stations.

Support Services:
I support the work of the Gospel Mission, the Kelowna Drop-In Centre, the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Centre, the IHA Street Nurses, Iridian Youth Detox and the Dental Clinic, as well as the many other non-profit service providers throughout Kelowna. These services are critical to ensuring that people in our community have a hand up in their time of need.

Prevention:
The way to keep our children and our city safe for the future is through prevention programs now. I support the CATCH committee, DARE program, drug-free zones, and the restriction of the sale of alcohol and cigarettes to youth, along with other prevention programs.

Affordable Housing:
I believe that in order to provide affordable housing the city needs to make incentives for developers available, including density bonuses for housing agreements and DCC breaks for rental housing. Further to this, the city needs to play an active role in drawing provincial and federal funds for core-need housing.

Keeping it Green

Development:

Development must be balanced and sustainable. The way development is managed in Kelowna has a huge impact on our quality of life. I believe that each proposal needs to be looked at to determine the benefits to the community, the detriments, the aesthetics of the project and the need. I am strongly in support of the town centre model that keeps future development focused in our four urban centres: downtown, Pandosy, Orchard Park and Rutland at the crossroads.

Parks and Green Space:
One of Kelowna’s most attractive features is its green space and outdoor recreation opportunities. We need to expand on these spaces, making them accessible to all our residents. This includes the waterfront as well as natural wilderness lands. In addition to this, I believe that playgrounds and sports fields should be widely available throughout the city to encourage our young people to be more active. I also support the creation of more dog parks in Kelowna.

Going Greener:
I support the continuation of the recycling program and would like to see it expanded to include other materials. I am strongly in favour of improving transit service and making our city streets more pedestrian and cyclist friendly. As the population of Kelowna grows, it is vital that we all participate in keeping our environment healthy.

Intergovernmental Cooperation

Kelowna does not exist in a vacuum, nor should City Council operate in a vacuum! I believe that City Council should represent its citizens through cooperation with other levels of government, both horizontally and vertically.
Horizontal Inter-governmental Cooperation:
City Council and the School Board must operate in partnership over location of schools and use of school buildings for the community. City Council must work with the municipal councils of Vernon, Penticton, Lake Country, Summerland and Peachland on a valley-wide air and water quality strategy as well as a transportation strategy. I support the initiatives of the Okanagan Clusters in this regard, and would like to see even more real decision-making power allocated to these valley-wide coalitions.

Vertical Inter-governmental Cooperation:
City Council members need to become experts in the gaps and assets in the community for services that are funded by provincial and federal governments in order to properly lobby for funding of these services in our community. This includes highways, education, and social services including core-need housing, detox and prevention services, mental health services, income assistance and shelter allowance.

Michele Rule

Phone: 762-3749
Email: therules@telus.net
Website: www.rulesview.blogspot.com




MoveKelownaForward.com has contacted this candidate and received permission to publish this information.


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