There’s only one way to lower taxes, and that’s knowing how to say “no.” I’ve never shied away from saying no to the big spenders. In the last term, I said no to tens of millions of dollars worth of unnecessary expenses. First and foremost, I did my best to convince the mayor and council to scale down the ambitious wave pool and curling rink project, which cost us a fortune. Year after year, I pushed for tax cuts in our budgets. Every year, I stood opposed to frivolous things like expensive new chairs for the RancheHouse.
When the recession hit, I tried to freeze government salaries (three years in a row) and even went so far as to freeze my own pay. In the next term, I will start by saying no to the multi-million dollar cultural centre. I’ve always been Cochrane’s most fiscally conservative town councillor, and I don’t plan on changing. You can count on me to stand up for your bank account.
