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Compare Taproot Survey responses from up to four candidates side-by-side
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Mixed
Which would you prioritize in your role during the budget process?
Heikkinen
Scrutinize the budget in detail.
Candidate comments:
“I call for a robust audit of city spending and city departments, in order to ensure that we are getting value for our tax dollars, and that we are funding the publics priorities approriately. Just using a zero based budgeting process isn't enough, we need to see what results that money that was spent achieved.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your view of the most important function of a councillor?
Heikkinen
Prudent fiscal manager.
Candidate comments:
“As elected officials who oversee administration, it is our chief duty to ensure that taxes are spent on the priorities of the public, and that they get value for them first and foremost.”
Mixed
Which would you prioritize regarding property taxes?
Heikkinen
Increase taxes only to keep up with inflation and population growth.
Candidate comments:
“My platform calls for freezing taxes, performing a deep audit of city spending. Increasing taxes does not necessarily lead to improvements, and lowering taxes is not on the table. We need to discover where the issues are that a 20+% increase over two years has led to no visible improvement in service delivery.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your view on 15-minute districts?
Heikkinen
Let the market provide more mixed-use development and local services.
Candidate comments:
“Ideally the city plans accordingly to make sure that existing and new communities are zoned to allow for a mix of residential and commercial, but the market and the public should decide what they want and where to create stronger, viable communities.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your approach to development outside Anthony Henday Drive?
Heikkinen
Finish what's started first.
Candidate comments:
“There are areas within the city core that are in need of increased development, and outside the henday we have communities that call themselves forgotten Edmonton. We need to fulfill the promises made to those communities before we decide to expand further. This also adheres to the less construciton in year platform point, we need to finish what we start.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to how you would guide infill development?
Heikkinen
Halt further development and revisit policies.
Candidate comments:
“We need to revoke the blanket zoning bylaw and return to the previous one. We need to respect mature neighborhoods and the character that made them so in demand in the first place. Mid block infill capped at a duplex, corner lot at a 4plex. We should also ensure these developments have parking for the residents, so that the existing residents are not negatively affected.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to how you would incorporate climate change into decision-making?
Heikkinen
A climate lens on all decisions would create unacceptable costs and delays.
Candidate comments:
“Climate change will not be resolved by Edmonton, if people are serious about climate change, then get cheap, cleaner energy to south america and south asia. These people care about quality of life and improving it by any means, and we as a city of roughly a million people will not affect any noticable change.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to how you would approach parking in commercial areas?
Heikkinen
Increase supply and/or reduce prices.
Candidate comments:
“Let businesses determine the extent of parking they think is reasonable and set their own prices. If this city is serious about getting more people downtown, let the businesses that operate there determine the cost to entice more customers, and ensure that future construction projects are reduced in their impact to business operations.”
Mixed
Which would you prioritize for downtown revitalization funds?
Heikkinen
Grow the residential population.
Candidate comments:
“We need to increase redevelopment of core neighborhoods, not only to expand the tax base, but to increase investment in stagnant neighborhoods after decades of surburban expansion, and to ensure that downtown businesses are not reliant on events for a customer base.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your position on public funding for the arts?
Heikkinen
Not a core responsibility, so prioritize funding essential services instead.
Candidate comments:
“I love the winspear and the fringe, but the financial reality is that the arts are not a priority when housing availability, increasing taxes, and homelessness are getting worse.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your approach to economic development?
Heikkinen
Remove barriers to business growth.
Candidate comments:
“As a small business owner myself, this city needs to do what it can to prioritize business growth, not only for the long term health of the tax base, but to do it's part in reducing unemployment by increasing opportunities.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your approach to development in the river valley?
Heikkinen
Protect it as a continuous natural area.
Candidate comments:
“The river valley is a rarity in any city, and we should not be doing any commercial developments in it. At most we should increase trails and access to walk the valley, but reject ideas that would risk the biodiversity, like the gondola project years back that would have potentially caused great harm.”
Mixed
Which would you prioritize regarding aging recreation amenities?
Heikkinen
Extend the life of existing facilities and avoid closures.
Candidate comments:
“The city has a poor record of building new facilities on time, we should upgrade and reinvest in existing facilities that serve their communities before we begin to see a massive reduction in access to amenities due to poor budgeting and past planning.”
Mixed
Which action would you be most likely to advocate for on homelessness?
Heikkinen
Build and operate more permanent supportive housing.
Candidate comments:
“My platform calls for shipping container housing in partnership with the province and federal government, to reduce the stress on the shelter system so that they can be upgraded to be more robust in dealing with the situation.”
Mixed
Which action would you be most likely to advance to alleviate the housing crisis?
Heikkinen
Build housing, but only when other orders of government contribute.
Candidate comments:
“A robust housing strategy can only occur with support from the other levels of government, and we need to ensure that existing developments are being properly maintained. Currently HomeEd is selling off an afforable housing complex because it cannot maintain it, which is a breakdown in communication between themselves and council.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your view on political parties at the municipal level?
Heikkinen
Members of council should be free from party affiliation.
Candidate comments:
“I am proudly independent, and do not want to see political parties take root at the city level, otherwise we will become as dysfunctional as our provincial and federal levels. City issues are not left or right, they are the common ground and needs of all of us.”
Mixed
If the provincial government intervenes in a municipal matter, which would you prioritize?
Heikkinen
Negotiate with the province to ensure the best practical outcome.
Candidate comments:
“The reality is that the municipalities act gives the province authority over cities and towns. What we need to do as a council is to have the hard conversations with the provincial government to make sure that the best decisions are being made behind the scenes, giving them the opportunity to back down with grace, not score cheap political points.”
Mixed
If the City of Edmonton faces public pressure to fund services under provincial jurisdiction, which would you prioritize?
Heikkinen
Redirect public pressure to secure sufficient provincial funding.
Candidate comments:
“We need to be the leaders of change in these areas, and while the city can provide the direction and information for best practices and the changes that are needed to try and resolve social issues, we can work with the province to fund the solutions by showing value for the money being spent.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your view of the City of Edmonton's responsibilities regarding Indigenous relations?
Heikkinen
Engage with Indigenous communities on specific issues.
Candidate comments:
“While the focus of council should be on all residents of Edmonton, the city should connect with indigenous led organizations, such as Niginan, a indigenous led shelter organization that helps the indigenous homeless community, to ensure stable funding and supports are in place.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your guiding principle for council's relationship with the Edmonton Police Commission?
Heikkinen
Scrutinize commission decisions and demand greater transparency.
Candidate comments:
“Council is responsible for policy and governance of the city, and should be allowed to oversee the decision making process to make sure that the operations side is adhering to agreed upon rules and standards. All governance requires sound checks and balances.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your approach to Edmonton's role in the metropolitan region?
Heikkinen
Pursue collaboration on specific projects.
Candidate comments:
“We can try to collaborate with surrounding muncipalities, but the reality is that every municipality has different priorities and needs and we should focus on Edmonton's needs first, and when and where possible look for collaboration with our surrounding neighbors when it makes sense to do so.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your view on how major projects have been delivered?
Heikkinen
Performance is unsatisfactory because we are doing too much at once.
Candidate comments:
“We at one point had 200 capital projects on the go, my platform calls for a major reduction in the number of projects we start to ensure that they get done properly, and that we do not burden our residents with never ending construction. While important, we need to improve how we deliver.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your approach to building new capital projects?
Heikkinen
Build only if private partners or other orders of government contribute.
Candidate comments:
“We must get our existing infrastructure under control in regards to deferred repairs. We have far too much in the way of assets which are falling behind, and we cannot take on more debt. We should pause major projects unless we can get funding from partnerships to help ease the burden on the taxpayer.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your position on roadway expansion?
Heikkinen
Expansion is important to reduce traffic congestion and accommodate growth.
Candidate comments:
“We have several communities in the riding which have only a single lane of traffic in or out, when we know that in short order we will need more. The city needs to be proactive in reducing congestion by focusing on building out roadways now in communties that will grow faster than predicted based on the last several years of data.”
Mixed
Which of the following comes closest to your approach to strengthening council accountability?
Heikkinen
Implement a lobbyist registry.
Candidate comments:
“We cannot as a council demand greater accountability without first leading by example and showcasing where our fundraising comes from. The public needs to know that when we vote on an issue we are not compromised.”
Mixed
Which action would you be most likely to advocate for to improve community safety?
Heikkinen
Increase enforcement in public spaces and on transit.
Candidate comments:
“We need to install turnstiles at LRT stations and have transit officers on the trains to enforce safety. Far too many people have said they do not want to take the train because of safety concerns, and these would be stable long term solutions.”
Mixed
Which action would you be most likely to advocate for to improve street safety?
Heikkinen
Increase enforcement of bylaws.
Candidate comments:
“We need to do a comprehensive review of all of our bylaws, and remove those that either lack the ability to be enforced, or the wording make's it difficult to enforce.”
Mixed
Which action would you be most likely to advocate for on bike lanes?
Heikkinen
Build less than is planned.
Candidate comments:
“Bike lanes are used by less than 2% of the population, and are a want not a need at this current time. We have issues of housing affordability, Homelessness, and a transit system that is not meeting the needs of the public, there are far greater issues that need our focus as council to attend to.”
Mixed
Which would you prioritize for snow clearing?
Heikkinen
Spend the same amount.
Candidate comments:
“The issue might not necessarily be funding, but how the city created its ice and snow policy. We need to rearrange the Priorities for clearing to move our neighborhoods from priority 4 to priority 2. This would likely resolve the issues of our neighborhoods only getting cleared once if at all, is to rearrange the priority list.”
Mixed
Which would you prioritize for high-capacity transit?
Heikkinen
Prioritize bus rapid transit (BRT).
Candidate comments:
“The LRT system takes far too long to build and adapt, we need to focus on our buses to provide transit, return to the regular schedule and stop with on demand bussing. The on demand system is disliked by the majority of people who have spoken to me about it. If we are to do high capacity transit, people need consistency.”
Taproot Survey
Where do you stand on issues raised by voters in the 2025 municipal election?