Coquitlam City Council candidate Craig Hodge talks to Patrick McCarthy (TCCTV) about running for a fourth term. Craig grew up in Coquitlam, became interested in photography in high school and went on to work in the newspaper industry including helping to start the TriCity News in 1984. Craig also has an interest in community and heritage. He is past-president of the TriCities Chamber of Commerce and is a Scout leader and sports coach. COVID caught everyone by surprise and quickly changed the social fabric of the City. Despite shutdowns, the City provided essential services and addressed social isolation. Parks were open to support both employees and residents, and meals were delivered to seniors. People worked from home, but construction continued as an essential service. Fiscally, the City did well during COVID thanks to Council and City Management. Coquitlam collaborates with other municipalities on policing, recreational facilities, and economic development. Groundwork for the City Centre development has been laid with attention to transit, density, park access, a hotel and conference centre, and potentially an entertainment district. Burke Mountain development is underway with shops and a recreation centre. Keeping traffic flowing and minimizing impacts on local neighbourhoods is a challenge and the TriCities has to work together to absorb additional traffic and to improve transit. Residents value the natural setting and trails. Burquitlam development focuses on infilling, Fraser Mills is a riverside community (like New Westminster Quay), and Burke Mountain is single family homes and townhouses. Densification, driven by sky-train, is happening in City Centre. Issues include housing affordability. A range of housing options including market housing and rentals is needed. Providing transit options and passes is important. The City works with developers to provide childcare spaces. Land is limited, so increasing housing density and providing shared amenities is necessary. Recent changes to campaign financing reduce unfair financial advantages. Coquitlam candidates are independent and don’t pool resources, so running a campaign is expensive. The City mail-out helps candidates share the mailing costs. Total campaign cost is around $10,000. Coquitlam has a good Council that works together. Craig chairs the Union of BC’s Community Safety Committee and says there is good leadership at the local level in disaster response. However, Federal money is needed to maintain infrastructure and fund resilient communities.