Why I'm Running
I love this city. I chose it, built my home here, raised my family here, and spent the better part of three decades working to make it better. As your elected City Councillor from 2018 to 2022, I was privileged to do that from inside City Hall. That experience hasn't changed my love for this community. If anything, it deepened it.
What has changed is the urgency. Port Moody is at a crossroads. The newly adopted OCP sets us on a path to nearly double our population by 2050, and the current Council is approving high-rise, high-density development that will fundamentally alter the character of this community. Our roads are strained, our Recreation Complex is already at capacity, and Rocky Point Park is busier than ever. We are adding thousands of new residents to a city that hasn't caught up to the people already here.
I live in Moody Centre and walk the streets daily where the approved framework plan allows for 14 towers up to 40 storeys, and six have already been approved. The Province required 20 storeys near SkyTrain. Our Council chose 40. They didn't have to do that. It now costs $19 million more per year to run Port Moody than when they took office, a 39% increase over 2022, the last budget approved while I chaired the Finance Committee.
Port Moody's own 2024 Community Satisfaction Survey found that 42% of residents say quality of life has worsened, with growth and traffic cited as the top reasons. The community has been speaking clearly. It's time Council listened.
I'm running for council because Port Moody needs people at that table who will fight for it, with the experience to be effective from day one, the track record to back it up, and the conviction to put residents first, every time.
This city deserves better. I believe we can do better. And with your support, I intend to.
Fiscal Responsibility & Community Facilities
Port Moody residents work hard for their money and deserve a Council that treats every tax dollar with the same care. Port Moody's operating budget has grown from $48.5 million in 2022 to $67.5 million in 2026, an increase of nearly $19 million, or 39%, in just four years. The last budget approved while I chaired the Finance Committee was $48.5 million. The current Finance Committee Chair ran on a platform of tightening spending. The numbers speak for themselves. Consider this: the current Council spent $5.9 million on two standard city lots totalling approximately 0.4 acres, at nearly double their combined assessed value of just over $3.2 million, designated for "future park expansion." That's not fiscal responsibility. That's misplaced priorities. Port Moody residents deserve better.
Fiscal responsibility also means actively seeking ways to diversify the city's revenue base, reducing the burden on residential taxpayers through smart asset management, grant opportunities, and sustainable economic development. Port Moody has real opportunities to generate non-residential-taxation revenue, and I will pursue them.
That 39% spending increase hasn't come with a 39% improvement in services. Growth without investment in community facilities isn't growth. It's just more people sharing the same overstretched resources. A recreational facilities study presented to Council in February 2026 makes this painfully clear: the Recreation Complex gym is already running at 98% utilization, and the Port Moody Public Library is operating well beyond its intended capacity for a community of our size.
According to the City's own Growth Consideration table, over $54 million in facility improvements were needed just to catch up to where we should be at our 2020 population levels. Port Moody has grown by several thousand residents since then, meaning the real catch-up figure today is even higher. At 70,000 residents, close to the 74,300 projected in the new OCP, the required investment climbs to between $177 million and $232 million. Those are 2020 dollars. Given construction cost increases since then, the real figures today are considerably higher. That doesn't even include the indoor pool residents have been asking for, estimated separately at $67 to $102 million. This is the fiscal reality the current Council is ignoring while approving tower after tower. And growth must pay for growth. When new development doesn't fully fund the infrastructure and amenities it requires through Development Cost Charges and Community Amenity Contributions, the gap gets passed on to existing taxpayers. The current Council voted against increasing those development fees, against staff recommendation, even as approved growth in this city continues to climb. That is not fair to residents who already call Port Moody home.
During my term, I wrote a Report to Council seeking authorization for the necessary repairs to Kyle Centre's building envelope. The engineers were clear: if the recommended repairs were carried out, Kyle Centre could continue to serve the community indefinitely. I also included an expansion portal in the design so that Kyle Centre could be easily and cost-effectively expanded as the community's needs grew. On July 26, 2022, Council voted to proceed.
The newly elected Council brought my approved motion back to the table and repealed it. Kyle Centre sits under that tarp to this day. The City's own project page now acknowledges that the building "could only continue to be used in the long term if significant repairs were undertaken," which is exactly what my motion proposed. Instead of completing those repairs at an estimated cost of $2.9 million, the current Council cancelled the project and has since committed $515,000 to conceptual design and a further $2.2 million for detailed design. That is a combined $2.715 million committed before a single shovel goes in the ground, and Kyle Centre still sits under that tarp. Total replacement is now estimated at $42 million, with two future property tax increases expected on top of that. All of this for a building that engineers said could have been repaired to serve the community indefinitely.
The rendering above shows what Kyle Centre could look like: the building envelope repaired as engineers recommended, with a thoughtful addition on existing City-owned land that could easily accommodate the indoor pool Port Moody residents have been asking for. I commissioned it to show what responsible stewardship of this community asset can look like. If elected, I will bring this vision back to the table and ensure every fiscally responsible option is fully considered before the City commits to expenditures residents cannot afford. Residents deserve a Council that respects their money. Residents deserve better.
Thoughtful Growth
Moving forward, we should approve only projects that thoughtfully enhance our quality of life and the local economy. Port Moody currently has 8,547 units approved to be built. Using the City's own multiplier of approximately two residents per unit, that alone would increase our population to roughly 56,000 residents. In the shorter term, units already under construction or nearing completion are set to push our population to 44,000 to 45,000 residents within five to six years. And the newly adopted Port Moody 2050 OCP, passed 6-1 by the current Council on April 28, 2026, projects our population reaching 74,300 by 2050, nearly doubling from today. There is no provincial or regional mandate requiring Port Moody to reach this population level. Metro Vancouver's own regional growth strategy explicitly states its projections are not targets for individual municipalities. The 74,300 figure comes entirely from a plan this council chose to approve. Any way you look at it, we are on a trajectory that far exceeds what our roads, recreation facilities, and green spaces can absorb.
These numbers come directly from City planning documents. Our goal should not be to become a bedroom community of high-rise condos. That would not make a complete community, nor would it be financially sustainable. Do we really need dozens of additional concrete towers in the heart of the city, causing gridlock and straining every service residents depend on? Most people I ask respond with a resounding, "No!"
Throughout my term on Council I consistently advocated for missing-middle housing: townhouses, low-rise, and other human-scale forms that fit Port Moody's character. I supported projects that delivered exactly that. Missing-middle housing isn't just better for our community character and our environment. It's genuinely more affordable than the luxury towers being approved today, and it's the kind of housing that actually creates the complete, livable community residents want to be part of. That includes seniors housing that allows longtime Port Moody residents to age in place in the community they love, rather than being pushed out by a lack of appropriate and affordable options.
We should be encouraging housing that does not come at the expense of the environment or a livable community. Let's champion less dense, more human-scale building forms: more environmentally friendly, more economical to build, and ultimately, more affordable for everyone who wants to call Port Moody home. If elected, I will advocate to reverse the 14-tower, up-to-40-storey, plan in Moody Centre and refocus that land on jobs and local business, growth that builds our tax base and reduces commuter pressure rather than adding to it.
Traffic & Livability
Economic growth and traffic are directly connected. When jobs aren't available close to home, people drive to find them, and our roads pay the price. Building more condos on land where employment once existed makes this worse, not better. If we're serious about reducing traffic, we need to be serious about protecting and growing local employment.
In 2019 I brought a Report to Council identifying three choke points on St. Johns Street and recommending solutions. Five years later, the current Council implemented changes addressing two of those three choke points at the Dewdney, Barnet, and Ioco intersections. In April 2026, those changes were made permanent after improving both safety and traffic flow. The solutions were there all along. What was missing was the will to act on them.
The City's own Growth Consideration table tells a stark story: Port Moody currently has 8,490 jobs but needs nearly 12,000 to maintain a healthy ratio for today's population. At 70,000 residents, the city would need approximately 24,500 jobs. Yet the current Council has been rezoning what little industrial and employment land we have left to high-density residential, replacing jobs with condos and further eroding the economic foundation of this community. Once that land is gone, it's gone.
A thriving local economy isn't just good for residents. It diversifies our tax base and reduces the financial burden on homeowners and renters alike. Port Moody has real assets to build on: rapid transit access at Moody Centre, a thriving local restaurant and arts scene, and proximity to some of the most beautiful green spaces in the region. Let's leverage those strengths to attract anchor tenants in tech, research, health, and other sustainable industries, the kind of employers that bring good, lasting jobs to the community and strengthen the tax base for everyone.
More local employment means fewer commuters, less congestion, a stronger and more diversified tax base, and more time for residents to actually enjoy the city they live in. That's the kind of growth worth pursuing.
If elected, I will push to protect Port Moody's remaining employment and industrial lands from residential rezoning, advocate for a jobs district in Moody Centre anchored by our SkyTrain access, work towards addressing the third choke point identified in my 2019 report that still hasn't been resolved, and ensure the rail overpass widening is carried out in a way that provides maximum benefit to residents and represents the best possible value for taxpayer dollars. Residents have waited long enough for results. I know what needs to be done and I'm ready to work to see it through.
Parks & Green Space
Port Moody attracts people who value an active, outdoor lifestyle. The trails, the waterfront, Rocky Point Park, the inlet views. These aren't merely amenities. They are the reason people chose this city over every other option. As our population grows, protecting and expanding access to the outdoors isn't optional. It's the whole point.
Port Moody residents love their parks, and as the city grows, we need to enhance and expand them, not let them be squeezed out by development. Rocky Point Park is the heart of this community. It draws residents and visitors seven days a week, hosts major events like the Golden Spike Festival and Ribfest, sits steps from the renowned Brewers Row, is within easy walking distance of rapid transit, and is surrounded by some of the most beautiful waterfront in the region. As Moody Centre continues to absorb the majority of the city's growth, the pressure on Rocky Point Park will only increase.
The numbers make this urgent. The City's own Growth Consideration table shows that to maintain the current ratio of park space per resident at 70,000 people, Port Moody would need to more than double its non-natural park space, from 84.5 hectares today to 175 hectares. That's not a small ask. It means every development decision we make now either protects future park space or permanently eliminates it.
The solution is straightforward: plan for an expansion of Rocky Point Park to the west. Any future development in that area should be set back from the water, allowing shoreline restoration and expanded park space for residents and future generations. Growth is coming. Let's make sure it makes our parks better, not smaller.
Port Moody is a city that loves its dogs. From Rocky Point and Bert Flinn to Westhill and Chines Park, our four off-leash areas deserve the same investment and protection as the rest of our park system. That work is already underway: Port Moody's People, Dogs, and Public Spaces Strategy is headed to Council, and residents on both sides, dog owners and non-owners, are asking for the same things: better enforcement, more waste infrastructure, and off-leash areas that actually work. As councillor, I'll push for a Strategy that balances access for dog owners with real protection for parks, trails, and the residents who use them without a dog.
If elected, I will advocate for a formal park expansion plan that protects shoreline access west of Rocky Point, ensures any new development in Moody Centre pays its fair share toward green space, rather than leaving existing parks like Rocky Point to absorb all the pressure from a growing population, and delivers real improvements across all our parks and green spaces, including our off-leash areas, so every resident, two-legged and four-legged alike, can enjoy what makes Port Moody special.
MAKING CITY ASSETS WORK FOR YOU
Port Moody owns valuable assets that are not working nearly hard enough for taxpayers. As someone who negotiates commercial leases professionally, I see opportunities here that I believe deserve serious attention. Here are three worth exploring.
On Your Side
Council's job is to serve the public, and that means making sure growth and development work for the people who actually live here. I respect what responsible development can bring to a community. But at the negotiating table, my job was to represent residents, and that's exactly what I did.
Putting Residents First
A Fair Approach to Parking
Port Moody residents already contribute to this community through their taxes. Rocky Point Park, Brewers Row, and our waterfront aren't amenities we should have to pay twice to access. We fund them as taxpayers, and we deserve to enjoy them.
I believe pay parking has a role to play in managing demand and generating non-tax revenue. But the current system treats residents the same as visitors, and that isn't fair. If elected, I will advocate for a Residents First Parking Pass: one free 4-hour pass per residential address, available to both homeowners and renters, providing complimentary parking at City pay parking areas. One pass per household, picked up at City Hall with proof of address.
I will also explore designating a small number of parking spaces adjacent to the Rocky Point Dog Park exclusively for residents who hold a valid City dog licence: a practical, low-cost way to reward responsible pet owners and make our most popular park a little more accessible for families with dogs.
Community First Task Force
Within a week of being elected in 2018, I set out on foot one cold evening to identify every dead street light in Moody Centre. I tied a yellow ribbon around each one. They had no serial numbers to track their location, so I tagged approximately 30 that night. Once repaired, the pedestrian experience improved immensely, with the heritage-style lampposts finally doing their job of making the neighbourhood safer and more enjoyable. That mission also revealed a broader gap: the City had no maintenance plan for light standards. One has since been implemented. No committee. No study. Just action.
Safety issues don't fix themselves, and they shouldn't take years of bureaucratic process to address. In January 2020, a child was struck by a car crossing Clarke Street at Elgin, an intersection that had already been identified as needing a proper crossing two years earlier. Two years. That gap between identifying a problem and actually fixing it is exactly what I want to close.
If elected, I will bring forward a Community First Task Force: a practical, resident-driven initiative to cut through the red tape and quickly address safety issues throughout the city. Trimming hedges to improve sightlines near crossings, repainting crosswalks, installing pedestrian-activated flashing lights, upgrading lighting, and adding physical bicycle lane barriers where paint alone isn't enough. The eastbound bike lane on Murray Street, for example, is long overdue for delineators. Paint is not protection. And waiting years for bureaucratic process while cyclists are at risk is not good enough.