Petrina Arnason
Running for council in Langley Township
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Full-time councillor, over 50
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• Have you held office in past? If so, please specify: Four years on council and elected in 2014
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Candidate provided bio: I am a full-time councillor elected in 2014, and it has been an honour to serve the residents of the Township in this capacity. I currently live in Murrayville but have also resided in a number of areas in the Township. I received a master’s degree in environmental studies and a juris doctor (law degree) in 1994 and have applied this education to my entire decision making at the council table.
I have been a strong advocate for a number of progressive policies in the Township over the last four years with demonstrated success in a number of key areas.
I remain a strong advocate for the preservation of green space and enhanced tree canopy, the protection of the ALR, seniors’ affordable housing, advancing critical infrastructure in a timely manner relative to our growth, protecting heritage, and managing our aquifers and waterways in a responsible and sustainable way.
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Website: petrinaarnason.com
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Facebook: @petrinaarnason2018
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Phone: 604-427-2993
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• Who is your favourite superhero, and why? My mother was an incredible mentor and example of service to the community in public office and I am proud to follow in her political footsteps.
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There are 23 candidates running for eight Langley Township council seats. The following are questions asked of each candidate hopeful. They were directed to provide a minimum of a Yes, No, or Don’t Know answer, and given an option to expand on one answer in print (to a maximum of 100 words per question). They could expand on all questions online, if they wished to do so. The following are their replies.
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Questions and Answers:
1. What neighbourhood of Langley do you live in?
Answer: Murrayville
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2. How many years have you lived in Langley?
Answer: Approximately 13
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3. How many Langley Township council meetings have you attended in the past year?
Answer: All
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4: Should the municipality be directly funding social housing to reduce homelessness?
Answer: The Township should work with senior levels of government and other stakeholders to fund social housing infrastructure in the Township to address the growing homelessness crisis.
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5. Do you support elevated rail over light rapid transit from Surrey to Langley?
Answer: Yes.
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6. Should the municipality fund an arts centre?
Answer: Funding partners should be sought with community agencies and government funding, where available, with consideration for siting the centre on Township-owned lands.
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7. Would you vote to raise taxes to hire more police?
Answer: Yes.
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8. Does Langley need a new or second hospital to serve the growing population?
Answer: Yes.
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9. Does Willoughby need its own dedicated library?
Answer: I am the Fraser Valley Regional Library representative for the Township and I believe that a site should be determined for a new central library in Willoughby to meet the growing needs of that growing community.
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10. Is there enough effort being made to preserve farmland?
Answer: No.
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11. Should Langley allow construction of residential towers?
Answer: Yes, there are zones specifically designated to accommodate more density that are in our “gateway” area and near public transit.
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12. Should Langley have its own municipal police force, replacing the RCMP?
Answer: No.
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13. Do you think residential property taxes are too high?
Answer: No, as a growing community incremental increases to our taxes are necessary to develop the social infrastructure that is necessary to protect and enhance our quality of life in the Township. We have attempted to balance this cost to the taxpayer with the imposition of new community amenity charges that will be paid by the development community to pay for costs of new infrastructure that would otherwise fall to existing residents.
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14. Do you support the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline?
Answer: No.
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15. Should the municipality offer tax breaks, incentives, or rebates to companies looking to set up shop here?
Answer: Yes.
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16. Is Langley being pushed to grow too fast?
Answer: Yes.
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17. Do you support redevelopment of Fort Langley’s downtown?
Answer: Yes. But, this redevelopment should take place in a manner that is sensitive to the heritage context of the village and its designation as the “Birthplace of BC.”
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18. Should development of Brookswood be phased in?
Answer: Yes.
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19. Should the Township set a deadline to finish widening 208th Street in Willoughby?
Answer: Yes.
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20. Should there be a limit to the number of consecutive terms a member of council can serve? No.
Answer: .