Campbell Riverite Sue Moen is throwing her hat in the ring for a City Council position in this fall’s election.
Moen says that the community is going through a number of crises, but that the community already has the means to solve them, all that’s required is people elected who are willing to take steps to implement them.
“People understandably react in fear and many, including mayor and council have taken to identifying our challenges and the people affected by them as problems. This perspective, more than anything else galvanized me to step forward as a candidate for city council. I want to participate in solutions.” says Sue Moen in a press release. “Collectively, we have the answers we need. We need elected people who will take the necessary steps to implement them.”
She is interested in exploring the kinds of tools that city council has access to, that she says could be better used to benefit the community and the people who live here.
“I feel very very strongly that the municipalities have a lot more power to affect positive change that cities are not using for the betterment of the city and their citizens,” she said. “I would like to see those tools taken out of the tool box and actually applied. We are facing multiple crises, all of which demand urgent action and immediate action. We can’t keep punting this stuff down the road.”
Those include things like pre-zoning and rezoning certain areas to allow for improved housing stock, looking closely at the industries and initiatives supported by council, and implementing some of the plans that already exist at city hall, but could be expanded upon.
“Urban agriculture is a good example of that,” she said. “We have a great plan sitting on a shelf. If we started enacting some of those recommendations and went a little further, a lot of employment and economic benefit could be realized locally that would address food security.”
Moen is also committed to reconciliation, which she says has to be an active endeavour.
“I don’t think we can wait for other levels of government or somebody else to take action and hope that it trickles down,” she said.
“We need to be doing a lot more to honour and respect First Nations rights and title, their knowledge and seek partnerships and interaction that is beneficial to all of us, and not just tokenism.”
Moen has worked in non-profit and community service work for 35 years. Until recently, her focus has been on the provincial and federal jurisdictions.
However, after moving to Campbell River three years ago, she has begun to realize the kind of difference that can be made at the municipal level.
“Being a resident certainly has exposed me to a lot more issues, and the activity – or lack of – of current mayor and council,” she said. “When you become a resident of somewhere, you start to pay attention to your elected officials and I think the city needs some new people at those tables.”
She hopes that her willingness to learn from citizens and her willingness to take bold action help the people of Campbell River through these myriad crises.
“Too many people are hurting,” she said. “I commit to getting the job done, and to representing all residents. I get that every elected official is accountable to all citizens, not just the ones that voted for them.”
Moen can be found online at suemoen.ca.