Patrick McCarthy (TCCTV) interviews Ben Craig (Coquitlam City Council candidate). Ben has been a financial planner for over twenty years and lives in Coquitlam with his wife and two children. Last election he came within seven votes of winning. His goal is to bring some financial discipline to City Hall. Ben has been deeply involved in two neighbourhood associations and has a good understanding of how the City works. Ben feels big decisions are made at the City before the public has an opportunity to weigh in. Ben wants to bring communities back into the conversation. There are twelve community associations in Coquitlam and Ben would like to see them engaged in steering the agenda at City Hall. During COVID the City was hiring across departments while citizens were struggling. Ben wants to see the City make adjustments instead of leaning on taxpayers. Municipal government has a tremendous impact on affordable housing. Asking developers to include rental units adds to the end-cost of the market housing. Ben feels most families can afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment; however affordable housing is out of reach for seniors. Below-market rentals are needed but raise the cost of living for others. Provincial and Federal governments have a billion-dollar fund which will supply affordable housing. Many housing options are needed including carriage homes, rentals, co-op and shared housing (especially for seniors). Campaign success depends on ideas, financing, and especially on name recognition. Some level of barrier is acceptable to ensure qualified, skilled people are running. Ben works on name recognition by doing volunteer work in the community. He says it’s important to get into the City mailer for campaign brochures. The Mayor sends out a mailer endorsing eight candidates, which is a form of slate. This may end with a group of Councillors supporting each other instead of the best interests of the public. Ben is a strong supporter of conservation and tree canopy. People tell Ben all big trees are being removed during redevelopment. We need to come to a happy medium in preserving greenery in older neighbourhoods. Ben supports densification around sky-train stations and transit-hubs and less dense areas with single-family housing. Ben says his messages of bringing fiscal discipline to City Hall and community engagement are resonating with citizens.