Mira Lewis is running in Ward 4. (Submitted photo/Mira Lewis)

By Alison Sandstrom

Civic Election

Council contender promises fresh approach to crime, poverty, and spending

Oct 2, 2020 | 11:27 AM

A new candidate for Prince Albert city council says business as usual at city hall isn’t working.

Mira Lewis, who’s running in Ward 4, wants better communication with residents, more community-based solutions to poverty and crime, and an evaluation of city spending.

“I think things need to be done differently,” Lewis, a national representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) told paNOW. “I think there’s an awful lot of ‘we’re doing things this way because we’ve always done them that way.'”

If elected Lewis would seek to open the city’s books and look for areas to restrict spending.

“You need to have really tight budgets so you have money to set priorities which then look after the people that need to be looked after and do the things that need to be done,” Lewis told paNOW.

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Combatting poverty and crime would also be among her top priorities.

Lewis pointed to a group in Saskatoon that has had great success renovating older buildings and turning them into affordable housing.

“You hear all the time about houses in P.A. that need to be demolished or unsightly properties,” she said. “I think they could be repurposed for something that would raise people out of poverty.”

As a national representative for CUPE, Lewis said she works with a large group of people and is constantly looking for ways to communicate with them, assess what they need and what kinds of resources are available to assist them.

Similarly, if elected, communication with residents would be a priority for her.

“I have, for some time, found city council in P.A. a bit frustrating in that there seems to be very little communication,” she said. “I feel like that needs to change.”

Lewis is running against incumbent Don Cody in Ward 4.

The municipal election is Nov. 9. The nomination deadline closes on Oct. 7.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom