Kyle Woodbury is an independent candidate for the ninth district for the city council of Halifax, Nova Scotia. His campaign website can be found here.
Wallace: What made you want to run for office?
Woodbury: I've been considering running for politics since I was 13 years old and capable of understanding what politics truly were and how they affected my life. Politics have turned from simple boyhood fascination into a driving desire to make positive change in the world; and the beginning of that lays at the Municipal Level where you can see that change the most.
Wallace: Your website states that there is a plan to keep people in District 9, but not enough plans to keep them in there. What concrete proposals do you have?
Woodbury: To be frank I can't say I'm offering anything concrete. One message I feel should be reinforced, especially at the municipal level, is my voice is just one amongst 15 other Councilors and while I'd like to be able to make campaign promises, I can't say I'd be able to follow through. The basis of my campaign is to listen, to hear what the community as a whole would propose to many of the concerns and interests affecting our communities. District 9 as a whole covers a wide swath of the city that covers almost every demographic imaginable. There are plans for development in various areas of the district, the Long Lake Development as a start, but without suitable community infrastructure around it, it's just another housing development, rather than a community.
Wallace: What sort of rent control do you advocate?
Woodbury: I don't personally advocate for any particular one. Something I suggest might not be one popular with landlords, or the tenants or the community agencies. What I advocate bringing these groups together and figuring it out as a collective. As I've said, the main focus of my Campaign is being an Advocate of the People and their Representative; rather than present my ideas I'd rather hear from the collective and see what variety of ideas can be brought forward and with luck reach a compromise or consensus.
Wallace: What specific plans do you have to counter food insecurity in the district?
Woodbury: Seeing the viability of making the Mobile Food Market a weekly rather than bi-monthly event and expanding the amount of stops it makes; that or expand the amount of Mobile Food Markets that are actually in existence. Rather than have a singular bus, see the viability of having more of them to support local growers to get their produce more often.
Wallace: How do you plan to increase access to what your website describes as "community infrastructure?"
Woodbury: It comes back to engaging the community directly, finding the things they need and pushing for the development and expansion of those resources.
Wallace: What plans do you have to increase the capacity to transport people to Peninsular Halifax and back?
Woodbury: That's something that will require public consultation before anything can be done. Knowing we have a transportation issue is one thing, but it's not a simple one-off fix, do we expand roads? Improve Public Transit? Create bus and bike lanes?
Wallace: You mention "Encouraging the Little Guy" on your website. What does this mean, and what means to you intend to use to do so?
Woodbury: Encouraging the little guy is both encouraging small business development, but also remembering the individual's idea and developing and nurturing our youth and making our community thrive for them. I know I've harped back to this but again, I'm not running on any specific platform or idea outside of being an Advocate and Representative. I'd like to hear the community's ideas for this and see what can be done to push the District towards those ends.
Wallace: Do you have any opinions of Linda Mosher, incumbent councilor for District 9, in her service as councilor?
Woodbury: Linda Mosher has been the Incumbent for 16 years, and she's done an admirable job as Councilor. However, 16 years is a long time, and I'm not running against her for any particular fault but rather to inject new blood, leadership and ideas into the Council to keep the city moving forward.
Wallace: You're going up against an incumbent, who will likely have an advantage due to her incumbency. How do you plan to counteract this?
Woodbury: None beyond presenting myself as a viable candidate and hoping they will vote for me. Her Incumbency gives her the advantage of name recognition and the ability to campaign less; people already know the name. I simply have to campaign longer and harder to get my name out there and convince the people I'm the better choice rather than keeping the status quo.
Wallace: Of all the issues, which would you say are the most pressing to the residents of District 9?
Woodbury: Truly an impossible question to answer; what the people of Chebucto need might not be what the people of Armdale or Fairmount need. I can't say there is a single overriding need that any in the district require.
