Council Candidate Vesna Higham on 5 Pillars of Her Election Platform

I’m running for City Council in the upcoming municipal election because I care about this community that has been our home for over 23 years. I care about what happens to our city, and believe I have the accumulated experience, skill set, vision, and leadership to make a difference on Council.

I’m a retired lawyer, committed wife & mother, experienced appeal board adjudicator (both locally, regionally, and provincially), former high school basketball referee for 14 years (in Red Deer, Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto), engaged community volunteer over many years, and former Red Deer City Councillor (2001-2004).

My husband Doug and I have been proud to raise our 5 children in this wonderful community that has blessed our family with marvelous opportunities to enjoy an active lifestyle in a visually attractive, park and trails inspiring, diverse, and peaceful community. Throughout the years, I’ve tried to balance a busy family life with meaningful community service and connection. After our youngest was born in September 2004, I took a break from public life, but always contemplated a return bid when the timing felt right for our family.

What I stand for …
? Approachable, Accountable, Transparent stewardship at City Hall – Councillors SERVE, not rule.
? I’m a FISCAL CONSERVATIVE who believes in balanced restraint and a common sense approach to spending your hard earned tax dollars.
? The freedoms, rights, and privileges we enjoy in this country were secured at a high price, and can only be maintained at the cost of an informed and engaged citizenry. “Where much is given, much is expected” … I believe is a true adage.

The 5 Pillars of my Election Platform are:

1. COMMUNITY SAFETY & SECURITY – Top Priority

My vision for addressing CRIME in our community is that we need to direct K-Division and local resources to identified, targeted needs: so YES, more officers on our streets, but also more police VISIBILITY & PRESENCE, and more police interface with ordinary citizens & community groups to engage and inform. Utilize “Notify Red Deer” as a tool to interface with citizens as needed.

? Citizens benefit by personal police connection to direct how we can become part of the solution (ie: report ALL crime, Neighbourhood Watch, Citzens on Patrol, regular meetings with neighbours (attended by police) to be each other’s eyes and ears on the streets, etc).

? Transfer some of the bureaucratic & paperwork burden from trained officers to increased clerical staff (at significantly less expense), to free up officers to maintain a greater police presence on our streets.

? More focus on innovative crime fighting strategies like ALERT, or Project Pinpoint – so that we work smarter, in addition to working harder. Speaking of which …

? COMPSTAT: Over a period of 8 years, Mayor Rudy Giuliani utilized the highly successful COMPSTAT program in New York City, to reduce murders in that city by nearly 70% and overall crime by about 65%! The impact of Compstat was immediate and revolutionary: major crimes fell 12.3% from 1993 to 1994. Murders and robberies dropped 17.9% and 15.5% respectively over that same initial first year.

The principle behind Compstat is simple: collect and analyze crime stats DAILY to identify patterns and potential problems. Transmit that data to a map of the city that shows geographical concentrations of criminal activity and sorts them out by hour of the day, type of crime, and day of the week. Produce weekly summaries to reflect trends over time, and THEN assign officers and resources to the targeted areas in a proactive manner. Other cities throughout the States have since implemented Compstat with similar results.

So, what can we learn from this?

I believe we should absolutely look to implement the simple, but rigorous tenets of Compstat to address crime in our community, rather than looking to reinvent the wheel – or merely “throwing more officers at the problem.” It may take some organizational effort and considerable “buy in” on several levels to bring our current operations on board, but if we’re serious about fighting crime, we have to be willing to do some things differently.

? MUNICIPAL POLICE FORCE: I also believe we should examine the future viability of a “hybrid” police service, consisting of a primary Municipal force, with an ongoing RCMP contract to address certain types of crime (drug trade and organized crime, etc.). There are significant benefits to having a municipal force, including local officers who stay long term in the city and are deeply rooted and vested in the community, as well as the flexibility to directly hire, train, oversee and govern the force without having to answer to a federal body. However, with the current state of crime in in our community, I don’t believe that now is the time to make a switch over to a new policing model.

At the moment, we need to be able to increase capacity and efficiency in our policing model, and the simple fact is the RCMP is considerably less expensive to operate per officer than a municipal force – not to mention the infrastructure and assets (fleet, equipment, uniforms, weapons, etc) we would have to fund on our own were we to set up a municipal force. Not that it can’t or shouldn’t be done – the timing is just not right at the present time.

Right now, we need the FOCUS, CAPACITY, and FLEXIBILITY of our existing model to swiftly address the crime spike in our community – then we can examine phasing into a “hybrid” service once we’ve achieved manifest results on that front.

2. FISCAL & ECONOMIC STEWARDSHIP – For most of the past 23 years, my husband and I have raised our 5 children on a single household income. So I understand the challenges of competing interests on a FIXED budget, and I would apply the same principles that guide our family budget to the City’s operations.

3. CORE COMMUNITY SERVICES – We need to look for efficiencies in the delivery of our public services. Easy to say, but MUCH harder to do, I understand; however, there are things that we can and MUST carefully review and weigh out in order to identify ways in which to realize the priority objectives this community demands and deserves. Here are some of my platform objectives under Core Community Services:

– Run dedicated bus routes up and down Gaetz Avenue for greater ease of access and to bolster daily commuter patrons.

– Synchronize traffic lights along key corridors to move traffic more efficiently throughout our community.

– Standardizing traffic circles so people can acclimate to one pattern of traffic movement throughout the city.

– Review the City’s Snow & Ice Removal policy. I believe the City has made significant improvements in this area over the past term (4 years), but people do still approach me with concerns about this issue. For your review, here’s a link to the current snow removal policy, as found on the City’s website:

http://www.reddeer.ca/city-services/roads/snow-and-ice-program/

In my conversations with the public, people are generally more focused on addressing crime than snow removal, because we have the 2nd highest Crime Severity Index in the nation, and because the City has made laudable improvements in this area.

What I would want to do before proposing any change to the current policy is to hear from the community by way of invitation to submit comments online – which could be managed by a quick request sent out on NOTIFY RED DEER to registered residents. By the way, are you registered for this wonderful communication tool? If not, sign up using this link:

http://www.reddeer.ca/whats-happening/notify-red-deer/

Also, we could easily consult with people by advertising in the paper, online, or with a quick, postcard like mailer that could go out in with the next city bill. I would like to hear from residents about what they need and want in respect of this program, because on my street up in Kentwood, the current policy seems sufficient.

– Maintain annual contributions to a Capital Savings Fund to spread these costs over time and plan wisely for ongoing & future capital investment.

– Find cost savings in projects or operations currently “approved in principle” – like the 100 million dollar Aquatics Center project which ought to be revisited and adapted to the pressing needs of the entire community at the present time. We know, for example, that we need more money to fight crime in the upcoming 2018 budget, so rather than increase taxes to fund policing, let’s look for ways to balance out funding pressures by either scaling back the Aquatics Center project, or by encouraging community fundraising or corporate sponsorship to fund a substantial part of the project.

4. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY – While Homelessness is currently down slightly over recent years, the IMPACT of their plight is more pronounced due to the growing opiate addiction crisis in our community. The province’s plan to install a Safe Injection Site in Red Deer merely hacks at the leaves without tackling the ROOT of the problem: addiction. We desperately need an Addiction Treatment Center in Red Deer to address the blight of addiction – both to give people back their lives, and to ameliorate the impact of drugs and crime on our entire community.

We also need to lobby the province for additional funding to address the CRITICAL need for hospital expansion, as well as lobby the province and feds for funding to bring vulnerable souls off the streets with more warming shelters and soup kitchen facilities in our city.

5. THE ENVIRONMENT – We ought to review and embrace trusted technologies to convert our WASTEWATER into ELECTRICITY with an Electric Co-Generation process that is both green smart and economically beneficial.

Also, around 40% of average household garbage in Red Deer can actually be composted, thus diverting organic material from our quickly depleting landfill. We should take the lead in advocating for a Regional Compositing Facility, to both extend the limited life of our landfill and to generate long term cost savings by involving participating partners in a pro-rated schedule of capital and operational expenses per municipality. It would be a win-win for all involved, and would evidence true environmental stewardship across our region.

Three words that define my candidacy are: INTEGRITY, EXPERIENCE, and COMMON SENSE. During my term on Council, I worked hard to bring the perspectives of ordinary working individuals and families to the council table, and to advocate for a common sense approach to municipal governance.

I have lots of ideas to address the pressing issues of this campaign on my VoteVesna Facebook page, whereon I post regularly on various issues. Or, please contact me at 403-505-1172 for a campaign brochure or modest car magnet (a lower-cost, drivable “lawn” sign!).

I believe that INTEGRITY matters.

I bring COMMON SENSE and real-life EXPERIENCE as a former City Councillor, and I would be honoured by your vote on October 16th. Thank you.

#VoteVesna
#Integrity #Experience #CommonSense

votevesna

Follow Author

Council Candidate Vesna Higham on 5 Pillars of Her Election Platform

Community / 7 years ago

City Council Candidate Vesna Higham Unveils Crime Platform

Community / 7 years ago

Council Candidate Vesna Higham Answers Citizen’s 7 Questions

Community

SPARC Red Deer – Caring Adult Nominations open now!

Published on March 10, 2024

SPARC Red Deer

Red Deer community let’s give a round of applause to the incredible adults shaping the future of our kids. Whether they’re a coach, neighbour, teacher, mentor, instructor, or someone special, we want to know about them!

Tell us the inspiring story of how your nominee is helping kids grow up great. We will honour the first 100 local nominees for their outstanding contributions to youth development. It’s time to highlight those who consistently go above and beyond!

To nominate, visit Events (sparcreddeer.ca)

Addictions

‘Harm Reduction’ is killing B.C.’s addicts. There’s got to be a better way

Published on January 28, 2024

Todayville

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Susan Martinuk

B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy

Since 2016, more than 40,000 Canadians have died from opioid drug overdoses — almost as many as died during the Second World War.

Governments, health care professionals and addiction experts all acknowledge that widespread use of opioids has created a public health crisis in Canada. Yet they agree on virtually nothing else about this crisis, including its causes, possible remedies and whether addicts should be regarded as passive victims or accountable moral agents.

Fuelled by the deadly manufactured opioid fentanyl, Canada’s national drug overdose rate stood at 19.3 people per 100,000 in 2022, a shockingly high number when compared to the European Union’s rate of just 1.8. But national statistics hide considerable geographic variation. British Columbia and Alberta together account for only a quarter of Canada’s population yet nearly half of all opioid deaths. B.C.’s 2022 death rate of 45.2/100,000 is more than double the national average, with Alberta close behind at 33.3/100,00.

In response to the drug crisis, Canada’s two western-most provinces have taken markedly divergent approaches, and in doing so have created a natural experiment with national implications.

B.C. has emphasized harm reduction, which seeks to eliminate the damaging effects of illicit drugs without actually removing them from the equation. The strategy focuses on creating access to clean drugs and includes such measures as “safe” injection sites, needle exchange programs, crack-pipe giveaways and even drug-dispensing vending machines. The approach goes so far as to distribute drugs like heroin and cocaine free of charge in the hope addicts will no longer be tempted by potentially tainted street drugs and may eventually seek help.

But safe-supply policies create many unexpected consequences. A National Post investigation found, for example, that government-supplied hydromorphone pills handed out to addicts in Vancouver are often re-sold on the street to other addicts. The sellers then use the money to purchase a street drug that provides a better high — namely, fentanyl.

Doubling down on safe supply, B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy — though for now that effort has been stymied by the courts.

According to Vancouver city councillor Brian Montague, “The stats tell us that harm reduction isn’t working.” In an interview, he calls decriminalization “a disaster” and proposes a policy shift that recognizes the connection between mental illness and addiction. The province, he says, needs “massive numbers of beds in treatment facilities that deal with both addictions and long-term mental health problems (plus) access to free counselling and housing.”

In fact, Montague’s wish is coming true — one province east, in Alberta. Since the United Conservative Party was elected in 2019, Alberta has been transforming its drug addiction policy away from harm reduction and towards publicly-funded treatment and recovery efforts.

Instead of offering safe-injection sites and free drugs, Alberta is building a network of 10 therapeutic communities across the province where patients can stay for up to a year, receiving therapy and medical treatment and developing skills that will enable them to build a life outside the drug culture. All for free. The province’s first two new recovery centres opened last year in Lethbridge and Red Deer. There are currently over 29,000 addiction treatment spaces in the province.

This treatment-based strategy is in large part the work of Marshall Smith, current chief of staff to Alberta’s premier and a former addict himself, whose life story is a testament to the importance of treatment and recovery.

The sharply contrasting policies of B.C. and Alberta allow a comparison of what works and what doesn’t. A first, tentative report card on this natural experiment was produced last year in a study from Stanford University’s network on addiction policy (SNAP). Noting “a lack of policy innovation in B.C.,” where harm reduction has become the dominant policy approach, the report argues that in fact “Alberta is currently experiencing a reduction in key addiction-related harms.” But it concludes that “Canada overall, and B.C. in particular, is not yet showing the progress that the public and those impacted by drug addiction deserve.”

The report is admittedly an early analysis of these two contrasting approaches. Most of Alberta’s recovery homes are still under construction, and B.C.’s decriminalization policy is only a year old. And since the report was published, opioid death rates have inched higher in both provinces.

Still, the early returns do seem to favour Alberta’s approach. That should be regarded as good news. Society certainly has an obligation to try to help drug users. But that duty must involve more than offering addicts free drugs. Addicted people need treatment so they can kick their potentially deadly habit and go on to live healthy, meaningful lives. Dignity comes from a life of purpose and self-control, not a government-funded fix.

Susan Martinuk is a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and author of the 2021 book Patients at Risk: Exposing Canada’s Health Care Crisis. A longer version of this article recently appeared at C2CJournal.ca.