Susan Miller, council.
• Occupation:
First Nations consultant.
• Political experience/qualifications for running in this election:
I have almost five years experience working in the political arena as the chief of the Katzie First Nation. Additionally, I have 37 years experience as manager and administer, so am adept at reviewing and implementing strategic plans. I also have many years experience on various boards of directors, the most recent being the B.C. Assembly of First Nations.
• Reason for running:
I am running because of my strong and unshakable connection through the history of my people, the Katzie, who came out of Pitt Lake over 12,000 years ago. I have come to love the community of Pitt Meadows, as deeply as I love the Katzie community, whose past, present and future, comprises a significant and lasting part of Pitt Meadows. I look forward to the opportunity to serve the residents of Pitt Meadows with the same commitment, passion and leadership I provided to my nation.
• What do you consider to be the top two issues this election and how would you address them?
I consider the most talked about issues are the Golden Ears Business Park and transportation, whether it’s the road networking or public transportation.
Although phases one and two are complete in business park, phases three and four will be undertaken soon. Residents have a wide array of feelings on this and further discussions may need to be had. The current mayor and council have worked diligently to create a commercial tax base while keeping residential taxes low.
The transportation and road networking will affect the ability of how residents move around the city, for work or pleasure and needs to be enough to meet a growing population needs.
Communications and consultation with Translink, as well as with provincial and federal representatives will be especially important and understanding how the plan works into the Metro Vancouver 2040 Regional Strategy.
With both issues, residents and council need to keep the communications lines open through respectful, open and transparent dialogue, with an eye to creating a sustainable, livable community that will continue to thrive for many generations to come.