Running for: St. Albert city mayor
Years resident in community: 47 years
Neighbourhood: Oakmont
Age: 49
Family status: Mother of three teens
Education: Bachelor's degree in science. NAIT diploma in medical lab tech
Occupation: City councillor
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.cathyheron.com
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/cathyheront8n
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cathyheron
Q: What was your primary motivation to seek elected office?
Having served for seven years on council, I believe it is time for me to lead this city into the next decade. There are many opportunities available for us to tackle our challenges and I believe with a collaborative and hard working council we will be able to achieve great things together for our residents. Connecting to the residents of St. Albert and advocating for all interests whether they are the majority or minority is important to me. As a lifelong resident of St. Albert, volunteer, and active member of our community, I am confident I have the skills to connect, listen, understand, and be the mayor of this city I love so deeply.
Q: What skills and experiences have prepared you for this office?
I have approached my time on council with a 100 per cent effort. During my time on council I have given my full time attention and dived into as many opportunities as I can to learn and gain experience while building relationships. I am now ready to serve you as mayor for the next term. I am a university-educated, long time resident who plays a very active role in this city though volunteering, kids activities/schools and committee work. I have experience leading teams in the private sector and more recently in the public sector.
It is time for new solutions to old problems and I now have the knowledge base and experience to bring these non-traditional ideas that I have acquired from peers across the region, Alberta and the country to build our city into the #1 city in Canada again.
Q: What do you think are the most important issues to the community at large?
We need to start the next term on the right foot and build a respectful relationship among council, our staff and the residents. I see a need to heal some old wounds and restore public trust. With that as a foundation, I see a need for a strong strategic plan that will tackle our pressing infrastructure needs. St. Albert is in a strong financial position, but there are many tough decisions that need to be made. We need to maintain our services to residents and provide high value for our tax dollars. It will be important to be business friendly and encourage the right type of development.
Q: What specific goals would you work to achieve if elected?
I want my three children to live in St. Albert as adults which means we need to encourage more affordable housing options for them as well as for seniors who want to down-size and stay in our community.
I want to improve the local transit routes and examine speed limits on both residential and arterial roadways. I don't like that photo radar is perceived as a "cash cow," so I want to ensure it is only deployed in areas where there are safety concerns.
I want to continue to reduce traffic frustration on the trail, a project I have been working on for some time through my lead on Smart Cities.
Our natural environment is something St. Albertans are proud of and it needs to be fiercely protected. Green building and living practices should be adopted by not only the city, but developers, businesses, industries and our residents.
Please see more at www.cathyheron.com
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