BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
Olivia Duke ran for Ward 4 councillor in 2022 because she felt residents were being underserved. She lost then to Shawna Stolte, who has decided not to seek reelection in October.
This year, Duke, who is now also the president of the Burlington Lions Club, is making a second run for the Ward 4 seat, against Chris Carter, who Stolte has endorsed.
“Looking at other wards and what other ward councillors were doing with their residents and the activities and meetings that they were hosting, I saw a gap, and I felt that it was absolutely important to have that addressed,” Duke said. “Residents deserve to have access to information and have access to a councillor who is then able to communicate to them effectively, and I felt that we just weren’t getting that.”
Duke said that many of the issues that residents have spoken to her about include affordability and tax increases.
“In the last two terms of council, the increases have gone up to close to 42% across all 8 years,” Duke said. “And that’s a problem because a lot of people’s salaries have not increased at that same rate. The cost of living has increased, and real estate has gone up significantly following the COVID pandemic. Job loss and financial instability within homes and among seniors are factors as well.”
Duke said that if council agrees to an increase, it needs to be “controlled” and match inflation.
She said that residents are also concerned about a lack of communication surrounding ongoing development projects in the ward.
“We have a number of projects across the city that seem to have started and have been worked on for several months, but there have been no workers in sight at those sites,” Duke said.
“Residents are feeling a little bit of a disconnect because that information and accessibility to information via a councillor is just not there,” she continued.
Duke cited the New Street Bridge Replacement at Tuck Creek as an example of this issue.
“We’re talking about at least a year now, and there haven’t been any workers present for some time,” Duke said. “The same goes for Prospect [St.], incorporating those bike lanes on either side.”
Duke has outlined seven pledges she plans to act on during her first 100 days in office.
Among these are hosting recurring Ward 4 meetings. Duke plans to have at least two in the first 100 days.
She also plans to introduce a system to track resident concerns and ensure follow-through.
“I want to create a tracker that shows the issue and identifies an action,” Duke said. “And then that gets reported back to the residents as well. Same thing for traffic and pedestrian safety concerns.”
Duke said that often these complaints fall on deaf ears and lack an action plan attached to them.
“When residents are contacting their ward councillor, it’s sometimes weeks before they get a response, if they get a response at all,” Duke said. “Sometimes they have to go through other channels to even get an acknowledgement. I don’t think that’s acceptable, and nobody should have to accept it.”
Duke also plans to push for clearer service standards and “responsive representation.”
“Residents aren’t informed well enough,” Duke said. “There’s no access to information. There’s a gap there that needs to be addressed.”
She also plans to complete a progress report on all of the pledges after the first 100 days.
“If you were to put them [a councillor] in the private sector, if any of these things were missed out on, that person probably would be unemployed,” Duke said.
Duke said she will also support increased sports infrastructure for youth, such as the proposed community hub and arena as part of the 1200 King Road development, alongside housing and other amenities.
READ MORE: Council Advances 1200 King Rd. Community Hub Into Due Diligence Phase
“I have children who play sports,” Duke said. “We’re often going out of town to play other Burlington teams, simply because the City of Burlington does not have enough facilities to host tournaments, games, or teams.”
Duke said that if we want kids to be more active and spend less time on their phones, the city needs to support that messaging with infrastructure.
“This will also generate revenue for the city from a tourist perspective,” Duke said. “Because not only are these families coming to the tournament, they’re also staying in Burlington via hotel. They’re spending their money at the restaurants. They’re hosting team dinners or team-building events. I would love to see that here in Burlington.”
Duke said that being part of the Lions Club has made her aware of many of the organizations that exist in the city and has helped her learn how to make compromises with people who have differing viewpoints.
“The members that belong there, they’re from different walks of life,” Duke said. “They’re different age groups, and they have different concerns. And I think being a part of that, you learn to listen to different perspectives and sometimes have difficult conversations when there’s a disagreement. You also acknowledge that disagreement and find some sort of mutual resolution that has the capacity to work for everyone.”
To find out more about Burlington’s upcoming election on October 26, click here.
The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited. Access can also be gained by registering and logging in at: https://lji-ijl.ca
You can support trusted and verified news content like this.
FIPA’s news monitor subscribers, donors and funders help make these available to everyone rather than behind a paywall. We appreciate every contribution because it makes a difference.
If you found this article interesting and useful, please consider contributing here.
