Committed to Fredericton
As Mayor of Fredericton, I have had the honour and pleasure of serving this City – the City where I was born. My record is my platform; the leadership that I have shown over the past eight years as Mayor .
Fredericton is a leader in environmental stewardship and consistently one of the Top Ten places to live in Canada as determined by MoneySense magazine. During the past two terms, the Mayor and Council have invested in important infrastructure projects to make our City the best it can be. These decisions were made when the cost of borrowing was at its lowest level and federal and provincial governments committed to participate in the funding of these infrastructure projects. As a result Fredericton now has two sports and leisure complexes, the Willie O'Ree and Grant Harvey, on the north and south sides of the river. These complexes have created a critical mass and spurred development in a very planned and sustainable manner in our City.
We also now have two new artificial turf fields and the largest indoor tennis facility east of Montreal - a project that was put together in cooperation with our City, Tennis Canada and the local Tennis Association. We have the lowest debt rate in the Province, the lowest tax rate in the Province, the largest census growth of the three major cities in the Province at 10.3% and we are soon to unveil our Sustainability Plan that has been in the works for the past two years.
Fredericton is blessed with its beauty and its cleanliness – for this I congratulate and thank a very dedicated and committed staff. Our walking trails have been rated in the top three in Canada and the usage of these trails, as a result of paving portions, have resulted in increased usage.
Our development figures during the past eight years are the envy of any community in the country. We have averaged for the past number of years above $100 million in permits showing the confidence others have in our community to do business, to build homes, to raise families and indeed, to retire.
Those that know me know that as your Mayor I am very committed to this City; promote it with passion and sell it provincially, nationally and internationally. I believe that this is one reason I am the incoming Second Vice President of FCM which represents 90% of the population of Canada.
The international awards that we have earned in the past eight years are a validation by third parties that Fredericton is indeed a smart, sustainable City. For example the international fDi Magazine identified Fredericton as a City of the Future, and the UN sponsored Livable Communities organization awarded us two Gold Awards for our sustainability programs.
On May 14th, 2012, I am asking for your support to continue to provide the leadership that is necessary to make the City of Fredericton the best that it can be! Thank you.
