Mayor Veer outlines the 6 themes of her election platform

Todayville

Published

8 years ago

8 minute read

From Tara Veer…

Platform 2017

Our community has made significant progress in many areas over the past four years, but we still but we still have serious challenges to address and emerging new opportunities to pursue together. If you choose to renew my mandate to serve you on October 16th, I will continue to work with our community, Council and City staff to effectively strengthen our city in the following themes throughout the term:

Theme #1: Citizen & Community Safety

Red Deerians have identified crime and public safety as their priority concern, so it is imperative that additional strategies are undertaken to ensure crime prevention and enforcement efforts are effective to respond to the safety challenges Red Deer is faced with. If re-elected as Mayor, Tara will continue to actively work to:

Ensure that local community policing priorities are established and enforced through the RCMP’s annual policing plan.

Strengthen the integration between municipal enforcement units and the RCMP to ensure common objectives, efficiency, and quality of service in all delegation of duties.

Prioritize reduction of organized crime, persons crime and property crime in the policing plan.

Identify consistent service standards for non-emergency calls to police.

Reduce the case load per officer and improve officers to population ratio by supporting the addition of new officers.

Reinforce enforcement allocations to foot patrols downtown and in the parks system.

Support the safety continuum from crime prevention through to emergency enforcement.

Increase citizen reporting to help inform crime analysis, intelligence-led policing and patrols.

Establish a strong local and regional regulatory response to the Federal Government’s legalization of marijuana.

Advocate for additional Crown Prosecutors to prevent criminal charges from being “stayed” because of capacity issues at the Red Deer Courthouse.

Hold the Provincial Government accountable for drug needle debris causing general community safety risks.

Theme #2: Fiscal Responsibility & Stronger Economy

Alberta’s recession has affected everyone in our community, and sound financial decision-making of City Council is essential to protect the stability of our local economy. If re-elected as Mayor, Tara will continue to actively work to:

Protect the affordability of living and/or doing business in Red Deer through responsible capital and operating budgets.

Preserve recently established financial strategies such as: the reduced debt ceiling, the capital savings plan, and competitive industrial and commercial tax ratios.

Ensure budget transparency through citizen input and by adopting operating budgets aligned to service standards.

Resolve the current price elasticity challenge to improve citizen access to City services such as recreation and transit.

Ensure City policy is business friendly and enhances our regional & provincial economic competitiveness.

Pending provincial legislative amendments, use new municipal tools to incentivize business attraction in areas of the City needing revitalization.

Position Red Deer for economic development & diversification by actively pursuing grants from other orders of Government, supporting the revitalization of existing community assets, and leveraging upcoming major events to maximize economic spin-off.

Solidify work underway with community partners to establish a strategic means of securing tourism and economic development opportunities for Red Deer.

Theme #3: Citizen-Focused Government & Service Improvements

The City’s daily purpose is to build quality of life for all Red Deerians. Citizen-focused local government & continuous improvement of City services for Red Deerians are strong priorities for Tara. If re-elected as Mayor, Tara will continue to actively work to:

Pursue the next phases of core public service improvements in areas such as (but not limited to): snow and ice control, transit route efficiency, and transportation integration and efficiency.

Proactively communicate to increase accessibility and transparency of local government.

Purposefully engage with citizens to ensure public feedback informs Council decision-making.

Modernize government services to make interactions with City government easier for citizens.

Support strong maintenance of existing City assets as an ongoing priority.

Build upon Council and City staff commitment to find operational efficiencies, innovations and savings that improve service to Red Deerians.

Theme #4: Protect Our Natural & Built Environment

Red Deerians are proud of the fact that we are a city in a park and that we accept responsibility for environmental stewardship. If re-elected as Mayor, Tara will continue to actively work to:

Support environmental modernizations and efficiencies throughout City operations.

Elevate Red Deer’s capacity to respond to extreme weather events by resolving the storm water infrastructure deficit.

Identify key areas for environmental protection before development conflicts occur.

Support the extension of the park system through trail development and winter clearing.

Emphasize food and water security in general and for citizen emergency preparedness for extreme weather events.

Theme #5: Build Community Life

The City’s primary mandate is to provide foundational services to our fellow Red Deerians, but the Mayor is also expected to build partnerships with and for our community in general. If re-elected as Mayor, Tara will continue to actively work to:

Build on our City’s prime geographic position by actively promoting Red Deer to fulfill our potential for business start ups, retention & expansion as well as trade & meeting, culture & heritage, and nature, sports & adventure tourism.

Work with indigenous community to implement municipal aspects of Truth and Reconciliation.

Work with community partners and the Provincial Government to mitigate the emerging risk to Red Deer’s net affordable housing stock and integrate related support services.

Theme #6: Advocate Our Community Needs

As Alberta’s 3rd largest City and region, Red Deer has critical infrastructure imperatives our community needs the Provincial Government to address. If re-elected as Mayor, Tara will continue to actively work to secure:

Expansion for Red Deer Regional Hospital

Polytechnic University status for Red Deer College

Addictions Treatment and Emergency Shelter capacity

Re-purposing of vacated Michener lands and the former Valley Park Manor

Protection of regional ambulance dispatch service and Advanced Life Support ground ambulance service.

Up Next

Rocky RCMP looking for your help catching Armed Robbers

Don't Miss

Jasper RCMP investigate attempted youth abduction *update composite sketch

Todayville

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

Trump makes impact on G7 before he makes his exit

conflict / 9 hours ago

Trump: ‘We’ have control over Iranian airspace; know where Khomeini is hiding

conflict / 10 hours ago

Trump Threatens Strike on Khamenei as Israel Pounds Iranian Military Command

Daily Caller

Watch As Tucker Carlson And Glenn Greenwald Get A Good Laugh Over CNN Pretending Biden’s Decline Is Breaking News

Published on May 30, 2025

Todayville

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Hailey Gomez

During a podcast Friday, Daily Caller News Foundation co-founder Tucker Carlson and independent journalist Glenn Greenwald couldn’t stop laughing over CNN’s sudden realization of former President Joe Biden’s mental decline.

CNN’s Jake Tapper along with Axios’ Alex Thompson released their book, “Original Sin,” on May 20, which details Biden’s cognitive slide over the last four years — a concern Republicans had raised even before the 2020 election. While appearing on “The Tucker Carlson Show,” Carlson joked that Greenwald had been “scooped” by CNN on Biden’s mental fitness.

“So you are, I think, the dean of alternative media. You’ve been doing this longer than anybody that I know personally. So it must be a little weird to get scooped by CNN on Joe Biden’s dementia, like you had no idea,” Carlson said. “None of us knew.”

“None of us knew,” Greenwald teased. ” There was that debate, and we were all shocked, but we were told he had a cold. So I was like, ‘OK, he’s on some cold medication. Who hasn’t been there before? It makes you a little dragged, a little groggy, a little just like dragged.’ But no, now Jake Tapper has uncovered the truth. It turns out Joe Biden was in cognitive decline.”

Sources told Tapper and Thompson that Biden’s mental fitness had declined rapidly during his time as president, with his mental state becoming so severe at one point that aides discussed putting him in a wheelchair.

WATCH:

Tapper has faced pushback from both Democrats and Republicans over the timing of his book and the revelations it includes. The CNN host has long defended the former president.

Carlson went on to joke with Greenwald about how he believed Tapper gathered the material for the book.

“Just a hardcore shoe leather investigative reporting,” Greenwald joked. “He’s working his sources, calling all the people in Washington, digging up FOIA documents.”

“It’s one of those things where you kind of can’t believe what you’re witnessing because Jake Tapper is pretending to have uncovered a scandal that he himself led the way in the media, or one of the leaders in the media, in covering up,” Greenwald added. “To the point where if somebody would go on his show and say ‘Joe Biden is obviously in cognitive decline.’ He would say ‘How dare you bully kids who stutter?’”

Greenwald went on to reference how Tapper had accused President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, of “mocking” the former president over his stutter during a 2020 interview.

Despite Lara Trump pointing to what she believed were signs of Biden’s problems, Tapper dismissed her remarks at the time, saying she had “no standing to diagnose somebody’s cognitive decline.”

In addition to Lara Trump, Tapper also dismissed former Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips during a 2024 interview after Phillips expressed his “concerns” about Biden running for a second term.

“Obviously, he wanted Biden to win desperately and would not tolerate anyone going on the show and saying that Biden was in cognitive decline,” Greenwald said. “Now he’s making millions of dollars off a book.”

Following the media coverage of Tapper’s and Thompson’s book, Biden appeared to tell reporters on Friday he could “beat the hell out of” the two journalists.

International

Bongino announces FBI will release files on COVID cover up, Mar-a-Lago Raid and more

Published on May 12, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced that the bureau will begin releasing information on a number of controversial investigations long shielded from public view.

Key Details:

Bongino said the FBI is clearing information on high-profile cases, including COVID, Crossfire Hurricane, and the Trump Mar-a-Lago raid.
The bureau is actively working with the DOJ on releasing Epstein case details and cracking down on child sexual abuse content.
Bongino dismissed media attacks on FBI Director Kash Patel as “verifiable lies” and accused the press of fabricating stories.

Diving Deeper:

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino disclosed on Saturday that the bureau will begin releasing information previously kept under tight wraps, including cases that many Americans believe were swept under the rug for political or institutional protection.

Bongino, a former NYPD officer, Secret Service agent, and outspoken conservative commentator, took to X to announce that his office has already started cooperating with Congress and the public by providing long-requested information. Among the cases he cited: the attempted assassination of Rep. Steve Scalise, the Nashville Christian school shooting, the Crossfire Hurricane probe, and the COVID-19 origins and cover-up.

“This isn’t business as usual anymore,” Bongino wrote. “We’re clearing information to Congress, and the public, as quickly as possible.”

One of the most politically explosive revelations relates to the FBI’s handling of the Mar-a-Lago raid, an unprecedented move to search the home of the sitting president’s top political opponent, President Donald Trump. Bongino’s announcement signals that internal communications and case files may soon be scrutinized by congressional investigators and the public alike.

Bongino also confirmed that the agency is working closely with the DOJ on the Epstein case, noting the overwhelming volume of child sexual abuse material that must be reviewed. He emphasized that protecting children remains a core mission of the FBI under his and Director Kash Patel’s leadership.

“Operation ‘Restoring Justice,’ where we locked up child predators and 764 subjects, in every part of the country, is just the beginning,” he wrote. “Think twice if you’ve targeted children, because you’re next.”

The deputy director didn’t hold back in pushing back against media reports that characterized Patel’s leadership as unserious or performative. “The media continue to entirely fabricate stories,” Bongino wrote, describing reports about Patel skipping briefings and attending sports events as “a verifiable lie.”

He defended Patel’s work ethic, noting that the FBI director routinely works 10–12 hour days and meets with top counter-terror officials and global law enforcement partners.