good evening and Welcome to our candidate Forum thank you all for joining us tonight my name is Lor Higgins and I am the moderator for this evening's Forum as well as the president of the Metro North Chamber of Commerce our goal in tonight's candidate form is to provide residents with an opportunity to learn more about the candidates and their positions on various issues I'd like to note as a resident of Blaine I cannot vote for any of these candidates we will ask four prepared questions there will be a short period of time at the conclusion for audience questions please use this time to write your question and submit to City personnel I am pleased to introduce the candidate for city council Ward 4 shanana Stewart thank you for being here thank you very much hello everyone my name is shanana Stewart and I'm running for Ramsay city council Ward 4 as you heard I've lived in Ramsay since 2013 and during that time I've been actively involved in our community fun fact I started co-hosting night toite Gatherings with my family since 200 16 and we continue to do those fun events that bring Community together I've uh served as president of the uh Raven Wick Town Home Association where I've helped improve neighborhood transparency and operations until 2020 and I currently serve as Vice chairperson of Ramsay's Economic Development Authority my passion is for balanced growth fiscal responsibility and ensuring we preserve the charm of Ramsey's green spaces has driven me to run for city council I believe in listening to Residents promoting smart development and making decisions that serve our community well into the future thank you for having me here thank you we will now go to our prepared questions and there is a two-minute time limit for each answer so miss stort why are you running for city council and what skills and talents would you bring to the office I am running for city council because I care about Ramsay and I want to be a part of shaping it when I served as president of the Raven Wick Town Home Association where through transparency we found ways to save and keep Association costs down to now currently serving as Vice chair of the Economic Development Authority I've gained experience in leadership problem solving and working collaboratively on key issues like supporting local businesses and maintaining our City's character the skills I bring include strong communication the ability to build Synergy and the commitment to transparency I believe in thoughtful balanced growth fiscal responsibility and listening to the needs of the residents to make decisions that reflect the best interests of our entire community and with these skills I'm ready to help thank you question two what do you believe is the greatest need of the residents of Ramsay and how would you go about advocating for this need I believe the greatest need of Ramsay's residents is balancing growth while preserving the community's unique character as more people move into the area it's essential to manage the development in a way that maintains our green spaces improving our infrastructure and supporting our local businesses I would Advocate this by actively engaging with residents to gather input and ensure their voices are heard in the decision-making process I'll prior prioritize smart development that aligns with the city's long-term goals while maintaining FIS fiscal responsibility my goal is to ensure Ramsey remains a great place to work live and raise a family thank you m Dort question three transportation is a concern for many ramsy residents if elected what would be your priorities when it comes to Transportation infrastructure improvements for this area Okay transportation is indeed a concern in ramsy my priority would be to ensure that we maintain the allocated funds for infrastructure improvement keep our road repair and replacement schedule on track with the light rail already here in place I would continue to promote public transportation as a vital option for our residents additionally I would advocate for supporting our Parks and Recreation Commission to expand our bike and pedestrian bath Pathways promoting healthier and more environmentally friendly Transit options thank you question four what is your vision for the city's development over the next five years my vision for Ramsey over the next five years is to preserve the city's unique charm while fostering smart development I aim to enhance the downtown area creating a Vibrant Community Hub that offers a great experience for residents and visitors at the same time it's crucial to maintain our Green Space parks and natural beauty preserving our rural character especially for our residents with larger properties will ensure that ransy continues to be a place where nature and growth coexist harmoniously thank you we'll now move to audience questions and you will have one minute to respond to each question the first question is as follows on September 5th 2024 you uh engaged in a forum run by the League of Women Voters how do you you feel about spending the taxpayers money to do this form again just because a few people in the city want to be able to edit the answers they don't like perfect while the League of Women Voters did not invite me to any of their forums I was not there however like a few of the other constitu said or whatever you call yourselves ourselves um we need places to talk we need places to see both of the sides talking and sharing their thoughts and opinions on how they would like to shape their cities and everything how it was edited was probably not something that possibly the League of Women Voters wanted or at least they promised that it wouldn't be edited and unfortunately it was so there are some holes in some of the uh things that are Beyond My Control all right thank you the second audience question is a as follows in financial terms only please describe why you believe the tax levy or franchise fee is a better Road funding source unfortunately the franchise fee was never going to be able to support us long term with a loveed area we will be able to support the roads and be able to continue our material prices go up we were not going to be able to continue uh using a franchise fee on Gas and Electric to continue to fund these roads without having our roads completely go backwards and only main roads would have been taken care of therefore a levy on taxes helps us go from the lower income taxes to the higher income taxes higher people typically have more home more home more cars more ways they're using the roads so it's only fair that we would tax appropriately on that and the third and final audience question is as follows what are your thoughts thoughts on the bigger the government the smaller the individual I unfortunately do not believe more government is going to help us I think we need to have transparency in our government I think especially at our local level having more of our people have a say in making sure that there is that Synergy between the people and those that were voted into office to take care of each other we're here to do just that and I am an advocate for Less government because I think people should have more options and more choices and it just helps people like each other better in my opinion thank you Miss Stewart you know have one minute for a closing statement absolutely so Ramsay is a special place with its balanced growth green spaces and strong Community Spirit Happy Days was an awesome success we really do have a lot lot of wonderful people here in ramsy I'm running for city council to ensure we maintain this balance while planning for a sustainable future with your support I will work to Foster transparency smart development and fiscal responsibility together we can shape Ramsey's future while preserving the charm that makes it such a wonderful place to call home thank you very much thank you this concludes our form I would like to thank our candidate and CJ luck the equipment operator for making tonight's event possible please remember to vote honor before Tuesday November 5th thank you again [Applause] [Music]