Incumbent city councillor Ahmed Yousef has announced he will seek a second term on Maple Ridge council.
“After much consultation with family, friends and associates I decided to seek a second term to continue my work as a voice for the community, a voice for sustainable growth, a voice for taxpayers, and a voice for inclusive civil debate,” he said in announcing his candidacy.
“We must be cognizant of how hard earned those tax dollars are, and spend them responsibility and efficiently.”
Yousef noted he voted against council’s budget increases in spending in three of his four years on council.
He has brought his own ideas to council, including the promotion of rent to own programs to address housing affordability, a city ban on single-use plastics, and a TransLink sea bus service on the Fraser River.
Yousef was first elected to council in 2018, finishing fourth among councillors at the polls with 6,871 votes.
He has lived in five countries, visited more than 30, and says he “has learned to find common ground when differing opinions are involved.”
Prior to Canada, Yousef has lived in his native Egypt, Kuwait, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates. He met his wife Shelley in 2002, when she was teaching in Abu Dhabi, and he was working for the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research. They married the next year, and moved to Maple Ridge in 2010. They have three children.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in political science and a Master’s degree in International Relations. He runs his own business and says he is a “hard-working community volunteer and advocate.”
READ ALSO: Maple Ridge councillor wants to promote rent-to-own programs
One of his most recent volunteer efforts includes work with the Ridge Meadows Ukraine Welcoming Committee, which was formed to help refugees from the war-torn country settle in the community.
His other volunteer work has been with Scouts Canada, Hope for Freedom Mat Program, Canadian Blood Services, and Operation Red Nose. He serves on the boards KidSport, the Friends in Need Food bank, and is a lifetime member of the Alouette River Management Society.
Yousef is not a member of either of the two slates running candidates.
“As an independent, analytical thinker, I will be running as an independent without affiliation to any slate. I hope to earn your continued support to meet the many challenges our beautiful city faces.”
READ ALSO: Sea bus service proposed along Fraser River
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