Photo supplied by Dawn Arnold campaign
After five years at the helm of New Brunswick’s most populated city, Dawn Arnold is looking to retain her position as Mayor of Moncton.
This time around, her platform will focus on issues she has already begun to tackle, as well as several new priorities.
Big City Problems
Moncton continues to be an economic driver in New Brunswick and, whoever possesses the title of Mayor of the Hub City after the election will be tasked with putting the community on track to continue growing. However, as the population continues on an upward trend so does the need to combat homelessness.
“It keeps me up at night thinking how do we balance those two things,” said Moncton Mayor, Dawn Arnold.
After five years as Mayor, Arnold has a significant number of economic achievements to boast. Among them are the creation of the Avenir Centre, record highs for building permits, tax-based growth and multiple large infrastructure projects.
In terms of providing aid to the most vulnerable members of the community, Arnold says that housing is the first step in the right direction.
Moncton City Council recently committed $6 million towards the Rising Tide Community Initiative to create at least 125 affordable housing units.
“As a community, we’ve put a band-aid here and a band-aid there, but we need long-term sustainable solutions,” said Arnold, who aims to achieve functional zero homelessness.
City Council still has their work cut out for them if they do truly intend on reaching the lofty goal, given the safety concerns that surround areas of Moncton’s Downtown.
Creating A Secure Environment
When asked about concerns that she frequently hears, Dawn Arnold said that citizens worried about safety has become too common. The issue relates to some of the previously mentioned social issues facing Greater Moncton, but, likely, safety concerns will still occur even with affordable housing and less homelessness.
While Arnold is glad that the Codiac Regional RCMP has grown and that the downtown streets now feature community safety officers, she notes that the policing landscape has changed, and now we must as well.
Instead, Arnold hopes to implement a situation table featuring community members from all walks of life (police, health care, social development, school district, public safety, shelters) to regularly discuss concerning trends such as violent incidents or overdoses.
The incumbent Mayor also teased the creation of a mental health court and increases to the mobile mental health crisis unit.
Sustainability
Perhaps one of the most frequently listed priorities for candidates in the upcoming Municipal Elections also could have the largest impact.
It is difficult to find a community in Canada that is not taking at least a minor approach to become more sustainable.
For Dawn Arnold, the goal is to do more than just a little. She intends to put Moncton on track to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 and eliminate glyphosate (a herbicide) from the Petitcodiac Watershed.
Arnold believes that sustainability also applies to the quality of life, as a result, she is advocating for a shoreline trail that spans from Alma to Shediac.
The toll of being Mayor
It has recently become well documented that possessing the title of mayor means a lot more than what is put in the job description. Multiple Mayors of New Brunswick cities have detailed the great horrors of bullying and abuse that come with the job and the current Mayor of Moncton is no exception.
“I get pretty hateful and misogynistic comments every single day,” said Dawn Arnold.
While it certainly hasn’t made the job easier, Arnold credits these occurrences for the thick skin she has developed.
Moving forward, she hopes to encourage young women to stand up against these experiences. Arnold says it’s best to keep the mentality that you must “Change the game don’t let the game change you.”
Running against Dawn Arnold for the position of Mayor is Erik Gingles.
