Dorothee Birker - Council Candidate

[Jo]

A thread for Dorothee Birker, council candidate.

[Vincent Vega]

I'm a pretty rght wing kinda guy. While I'm not one that is all that concerned about the arts, which this lady is involved with I did hear her speak about the CD zone and development in the city. I was struck by how she sees balance between the importance of development (she supports the CD zone) while wanting to remember the importance of affordability.

She has my vote

[Timi]

Dorothee has my vote too! I admire her honesty, energy, enthusiasm, concern for the city, and actions. She sees a bright future for Kelowna with the right leadership in place. She truly listens, and is able to speak so that everyone knows what she is thinking - shares her ideas and insite (I like her blog - very informative). She is committed...this is shown in her actions, with her many years of community involvement. I am glad she decided to run - I have a good feeling with her on council.

[omisimaw]

is there a link to her blog?

Not in to the artsy fartsy crowd nor into those who are all about CD zoning... CD zones blow holes in OCP's.

What is her work experience, age, family life etc. etc.

[Timi]

Here's the link to her website http://www.dorotheebirker.com/

[omisimaw]

A definite possibility now that I have read more.
Thanks for the link.

[Kel6508]

This candidate is very well spoken, she know's what she is talking about. Sounds like a good one to add some new blood on our City Council.

She has my VOTE !!!!

[Dorothee]

Hello - this is Dorothee and I just wanted to say thank you for your support - I really appreciate it. I am very much committed to our community and would be very honoured to be your representative on Council. Just in case you didn't know, I have a blog where I update on events and activities on the campaign trail ... you can link to the blog through my website http://www.DorotheeBirker.com. I would be happy to answer questions you have about me and my platform also. Thanks and have a great day. Dorothee

[TheUberGeek]

Thanks for the link to your Blog and Campaign Site and for participating in the forum Dorothee! I apppreciate a candidate that is open and willing to talk about themselves and when and how we can get to know you before making a decision.

I haven't made up my mind yet, but I like to see your willingness to open up and talk to people directly.

[Dorothee]

Thanks UberGeek - I know there are a lot of candidates and it is hard to get to know what people are really all about ... so I just want to be accessible and open to questions and issues being raised. Let me know if you have any questions. I will be at the Forum Wednesday night at the Mary Irwin Theatre being hosted by AM 1150 (they will also be broadcasting the forum live for anyone that can't make it to the RCA) and then it is a Meet & Greet style Forum at Okanagan College on Thursday 11:30 - 1:30 pm. Thanks again. Dorothee

[mechanic_virus]

Please list 5 of your top priorities, and how you would deal with each issue if it were completely up to you.

[nellietheelephant]

Hey Dorothee

you WILL be one of the eight!

And you deserve it - just keep working - people are lazy - so you have to go to them!
because they'll just sit on their collective butts eating popcorn and Pizza - just as they did when they all sat at home and watched the USA bombing Iraq - pass me another beer - any more 3 meat pizzas? This beats reruns of Friends . . . etc . . . etc . . . etc. . . What the hell have we become?

Just plug away Dorothee - I know that you really can make a significant difference here.

Nellie

[Dorothee]

Hey Dorothee

you WILL be one of the eight!

And you deserve it - just keep working - people are lazy - so you have to go to them!
because they'll just sit on their collective butts eating popcorn and Pizza - just as they did when they all sat at home and watched the USA bombing Iraq - pass me another beer - any more 3 meat pizzas? This beats reruns of Friends . . . etc . . . etc . . . etc. . . What the hell have we become?

Just plug away Dorothee - I know that you really can make a significant difference here.

Nellie

Thanks Nellie - Really appreciate your support. Have a great week. Dorothee

[Dorothee]

Top Five Issues:

I believe Kelowna is an amazing and wonderful place but we are at a critical crossroads and we need strong leadership on Council to steward our community through the next few years. There are many demands on our City and City budget and lots of conflicting opinions on what should be done. Our rapid growth over the past few years has brought new challenges for us and we need to make sure we are guiding this growth in a balanced and conscientious way. I believe we must move forward, as standing still is the same as moving backwards, but we need to make sure that as we move forward and grow, we also protect what we came here for (or stayed here for) in the first place.

I believe I can bring a thoughtful and balanced approach to issues facing our community - I am a creative problem-solver and a strong decision-maker and I think we need to approach our issues on whole, recognising that decisions and action in dealing with one area, impacts another area also. Below are five issues and some guiding principles on how I believe we need to address these issues, or why I believe they are priorities for us.

1. Kelowna as a Creative City: A long-time arts enthusiast and advocate, I believe strongly that Kelowna needs to offer diverse opportunities for its citizens to experience and that a strong arts and cultural sector is an economic driver and a tremendous benefit to the community.

2. Kelowna as a Strong Business Community: Economic strength and viability are fundamental for a vibrant city, and a well diversified economic outlook and plan ensures long-term growth and prosperity. The last few weeks have really demonstrated how quickly things can change and we need to be proactive as a City to attract business and workers to our community and that there are quality jobs for people to make a fair and liveable wage. We have a history of strong entrepreneurship in the Valley (I am one of these) and we need to support our small and medium-sized businesses as well as larger corporations.

3. Protecting Public Access to Green Space and the Waterfront and Sustainable Growth: The community has been very clear that this issue is key and we have to stand up for our right to green space and the waterfront, but we must look at developing up and stop our urban sprawl. We have to include opportunities to develop in our future planning and I would rather see a few, taller buidlings than a mass of low and mid-rise buildings. I support the concept of comprehensive planninge zones to address our growth and give us a better guideline to manage requests for development. Standing still would be equivalent to going backwards and we must foster smart and sustainable growth. Green development is for our future and must be adhered to and will ultimately be what protects the way of life we are fighting for.

4. Quality of Life Opportunities: Our community is becoming more diverse and we must offer Quality of Life opportunities for everyone: individuals, families, youth and seniors. This means access to culture and sport programmes, but it also means employment and business opportunity, and it is critical that we address social issues such as affordable housing, drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness and mental health issues. Merely displacing the homeless or addicted isn't the answer - we need to provide services to support their recovery and housing (both transitional and affordable housing for the working poor). We need to start changing how we approach these issues as the traditional methods aren't making enough of a change and we need to find new, creative solutions ... especially when it comes to funding and investing in initiatives that could really make a difference and over the long term are actually less expensive than the seemingly cheaper solution at the start.

5. Trust in the City: Recent surveys and public outcry have shown that there is a lack of trust by the community in what the City is doing. We need to change this and prove that the City is connected to and in sync with its citizens, that it is open, transparent and trustworthy in its actions, and that it is visionary in planning and action.

Thanks for asking ... please let me know if you have any other questions. Dorothee

[mechanic_virus]

Thank you, Dorothee.