Matt Djonlic shares his priorities and visions for the City of Coquitlam and what inspired him to run for Coquitlam City Council in the Oct 15, 2022 election.

Matt grew up in this community and was inspired by the fact that he and his partner plan to make their home here. He is concerned with the affordability crisis and would like to see diverse housing options and a voice for young families on Council. Filling in with some ‘gentle’ density including co-ops, townhomes, rowhouses and creative opportunities to allow residents at all stages of life to stay is key to a thriving, healthy community.

Having a working relationship with developers is important to ensure maximum benefits from developments are realized. It’s Council’s responsibility to set up the criteria and frame the needs of the community. However, Municipal, Provincial, and Federal governments all have a role to play in the continuum of housing.

There is also a huge role in terms of mental health and community resiliency for Community centres (with neighbourhood-specific programming), recreation centres, public spaces and libraries, investment in sports, senior centres and other spaces in getting people out of their homes and engaging with each other. Matt does not believe that simple austerity measures necessarily benefit the community.

He is a supporter of the arts community and expresses an appreciation of creativity and public art. Matt talks about balancing the need for a healthy public urban forest with respect to climate change, keeping temperatures cool and mental health, with the need for higher density development. He stresses the need to use public land in the public interest and to not just build up, but to build smart, walkable communities.

Matt says local government is the level of government that affects people in their day to day lives, whether it be garbage pickup, filling a pot-hole, snow plowing, water treatment, land use planning and other core city services. Mayor and Council do a lot of things that affect your daily life and citizens should be engaged in that. It is also important to have a Council that represents the community.

Bringing a younger voice to Coquitlam Council will bring diversity that we don’t currently see. Disagreeing on Council in a respectful way is part of the work and Matt wants to bring positivity and a willingness to work together to Coquitlam City Council.