Andy Gudanowski
Andy Gudanowski
Candidate for Ward 4 (Dene)
Contact Information:
Biography:
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Survey Results:
Question 1: What work experience do you have that’s relevant to the role of a Councillor and how do you feel the skills and perspective you have gained will help you in your role as a Councillor?
And where it says that to be a candidate for the City Council, the candidate must have working experience. City council elections are part of the democratic process, people are first and foremost looking for community leaders who are willing to sacrifice their time, lives, and knowledge for their community. It is good for a candidate to have university degree, but experience has shown that many such candidates lack leadership, care and social organizational skills. These people most often qualify as advisers, never as community leaders. What about me: * I have post-secondary education in law enforcement, marine science and medicine. * Former City Council candidate, 2006 election, Poland * Former Edmonton City Council candidate, 2013 election * Former Edmonton City Council candidate, 2017 election * Former candidate for the Albert MLA, 2019 election * Former federal MP candidate, 2019 election * Former owner and chef at Brother Andy Catering Company 1986 - 1991 * General Law Enforcement & Criminal Investigation at Police Science Institute, Scranton, PA, USA 1995 - 1996 * Pacific High School, Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA 1992-1996 * Medical / Dental Assistant Program, Atlanta, Georgia, USA - 1996 * Studied techniques of survival in the open sea, Marine Advance First Aid, Survival Craft Rescue boats, Advanced Fire Fighting, at Georgian College - M.E.D Training Center, Port Colborne, Ontario - 2007 * I attended a class at the Civic Police Academy, Edmonton, from March - June 2011 * Studied Marine Science at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Marine science - Ship Security Officer - 2014 * Last job: Security Guard, BPS Security K - 9 Security Service 2018 - 2020 * I am becoming a senior - 2020 * I study Natural Medicine and Psychology, home studies from 2007 - present * Great knowledge of food, hospitality and entertainment
Question 2: What do you think are the biggest issues affecting your ward are, and how would you approach being their local representative?
COVID – 19, Unemployment, Lots of low – income families, Economy, High prices (rent, food, utility, taxes, fuel, family expenses), Citizens passivity, Crime. COVID – 19: I will present to the City Council my 4 point program against COVID-19 and any other incoming epidemic. Unemployment: Program - You don't work, you go back to school. To start with, I will create jobs in the sectors, Security, Services, Domestic and Care. Then there will be work for instructors of sports and martial arts, music, dance, cooking, medical aid, care for the disabled and the elderly. Low income family: Serious talks and negotiations with provincial and federal government officials to stop the growing tide of low-income individuals and families, giving them all the basic help immediately. Economy: Establish Edmonton a special economic zone. A negotiating a new minimum wage, for people working in Edmonton: $ 18 / hour minimum wage, to start. High prices: Prohibition of increasing prices in any service sector, without the prior consent of the city. This issue must be legally regulated. Citizens’ passivity: Frequently make meetings with the local community, talk, persuade and encourage mutual help and cooperation with the neighborhood and the city council. Crime: Present the project to the city council - How to eliminate the crime to 0 (zero). Convince the City Council of the effectiveness of the program.
Question 3: What do you think is the role of a municipal government? Do you think the City does too many things, not enough, or just the right amount?
The city council is a completely independent body. It is sad that he does not use this privilege at all. As we can see, the City Council is constantly dependent on the provincial government, the federal government, and the private sector. It is the city council that should decide on all matters of the city and its inhabitants, (a kind of a small independent state, like the Vatican, Luxembourg, and San Marino). If this is not the case, there is something wrong with the city council. It also means that the City Council is made up of badly selected candidates and incompetent people. The city has developed a number of projects, particularly in the Edmonton Valley, and has never been completed. Probably the resignation from running again in the elections for the office of Mayor is dictated by the inability to rule the city and the escape from COVID – 19
Question 4: Do you think property taxes are too high, too low, or just about right?
Yes, property taxes are way too high, especially now during the COVID-19 epidemic. I will always vote to lower property taxes. Reduced taxes should always be a reward for the good conduct of citizens. I believe that the city council should take COVID-19 and citizens passivity seriously when lowering property taxes and other taxes.
Question 5: Over the next four years, should the City spend less in absolute terms, increase spending but by less than the rate of inflation and population growth, increase by the rate of inflation and population growth, or increase faster than the rate of inflation and population growth?
Everything will depend on the budget of the cities and the number of projects planned by the city council. The current population growth does not yet threaten the city's budget. We must believe that the city government will be led by the right people. During the debate about taxes, city expenses, the rate of inflation, I will always use the help of the right advisers.
Question 6: During the introduction of City Charters a few years ago there was a lot of debate about new taxation powers for the big cities. Would you support the City being given any additional taxation powers by the Province? If so, what taxation powers should the City have?
As previously mentioned, I would very much like the city to be a fully independent and decision-making institution without the provincial and federal pressure. Additional tax rights for the city are additional taxes. Until I have read the opinion of experts in this field, I will vote no.
Question 7: The City often claims that they’ve found savings in various budgets, but instead of actually cutting spending, they just put the savings into a reserve account and then spend that money on other things. If there’s money left over at the end of a financial year, do you think that money should be saved up by the City to spend in future years? Or should it be returned automatically to taxpayers the following year through some kind of rebate?
There is nothing wrong with saving money. Having a budget reserve proves the quality of the City Council and its good ability to manage public money. The money saved from the city budget should be spent right at the beginning of the next year. There are many people for whom such money would help a lot, people with disabilities, seniors, unemployed, sick people. Since the system has created so many low-income people, the city may give them access to basic dental and optical care. A discount for lowering the rent, household bills, lowering the prices of food products, is a very good idea to spend the saved money. I am not in favor of any socialist system, but I would like to remind you that the City may be the owner of residential houses, medical and dental clinics, etc., etc. The weaker the economic situation of the society, the more active the City should be in the lives of its citizens.
Question 8: Everyone says they support affordable housing, but what does that term mean for you? Do you think the City should be subsidizing housing for lower-income residents? Or focused on keeping the cost of all housing from getting out of control? Or perhaps some combination of the two? If so, how?
The city council is one of the socio-political organs of the country and is jointly responsible with the provincial and federal governments for producing very large amounts of low-income people, so the city should not subsidize, but build low-income housing. Because there is a COVID-19 crisis, City Council should control, negotiate or order all private individuals and home businesses in Edmonton to lower their purchase prices. Also the city can sell social flats or houses for symbolic prices to those who have lived there for 15 years, following the example of some countries in Europe. If the city had taken the appropriate steps on the day COVID-19 arrived in our city, it would have been easier for the City Council to make decisions about the construction and distribution of housing in the city. Apparently, during this difficult period for the Edmontonians, the City Council was just asleep.
Question 9: The new Edmonton City Plan focuses on urban development, promoting more density, more transit, and 15-minute communities, but it also restricts new housing development in the outskirts of the City. Are you concerned that this could affect housing affordability in the long-run?
Housing prices in Edmonton should always be based on the economic, social and political situation of the city and its inhabitants. The prices of flats and houses should be regulated by the city council and management boards of housing companies. During the COVID-19 period, the prices of apartments and buildings increased significantly and no one, neither the city nor housing companies, reacted to this fact. Nobody was interested in the sudden difficult economic situation of the city. It is necessary to end this reprehensible behavior of the city and housing companies once and for all. Either we build a city and go to the future or we expect the worst.
Question 10: What do you think should be the split between greenfield and established community growth for new housing? Should the City have a specific target? Should this be determined by market demand?
There must be a balance between the green field and the established housing development community, never too little, never too much. The specific goal every city is the development of the city, plan for the future, modernization, and modern communication. Equal access to city values for everyone. As long as we have a lot of low-income people in the city, is very difficult to talk about the right market demand.
Question 11: Oil and gas has been a core part of Edmonton’s economy for a long time, indeed Leduc No. 1 is just a few minutes away, but Council is now actively promoting alternative energy sources. Do you think Council should be working to diversify the economy away from oil and gas and what would that look like?
Oil and gas will be the mainstay of the Edmonton economy for a long time to come. However, one must also remember about future generations. As a city councillor I am very interested in the Polish aviation industry, the automotive industry, the pharmaceutical and herbal industry and the food industry. The city council must never forget about our native products, especially those from local producers. Before we bring in foreign investors, we must first check and evaluate the number of businesses that operate in Edmonton.
Question 12: The Valley Line SE LRT has suffered multiple significant delays during its construction. What is your understanding of the reason for these delays, and what would you have done differently to avoid them?
I do not know the reasons for the delay the construction of the Valley Line. I can only guess that this is another city project that was not fully thought out, there is no proper supervision of the construction of this line and no consistent action on the part of the city council.
Question 13: The City has big plans to build multiple future LRT extensions, including the Valley Line West, the Metro Line Northwest, and the Capital Line South. Do you support further LRT expansion in the City or are there better ways to support transportation in the city? If, as a Councillor, you find out that - despite all the previous assurances from the City - there has in fact been another delay or cost overrun for a future LRT line, or for some other major capital project, what would you do?
As a city councillor, it will be my duty to push the city towards the future, modernity and prosperity. It is important that if I am elected a councillor, nothing in the city will be wasted. I will support the further development of the RLT, more and lighter and modern transport, I will not allow the City Council to any delays and cost overruns. I will do everything so that the city council can purchase RLT rolling stock transport from various manufacturers. I will personally take care of good, qualified employees and specialists. I will apply to the City Council for legal consequences against persons, who exceed the construction cost and project completion time.
Question 14: What do you think is the best approach to attract businesses to Edmonton? Direct incentives to specific businesses, paid for by slightly higher taxes, or lower tax rates for all businesses?
The city must provide investors with financial benefits. Provide a tax haven. For new companies, the first 2 years are tax free, very low taxes for the next 3 years. Help investors run their business, maintaining an appropriate level of development of the economic and social infrastructure in the city, size of the market, security level.
Question 15: Should the City be in the business of operating golf courses, or should they privatize or sell them off? How about garbage collection - half of which is already private - or other services?
As mentioned before, the city has the right to run any type of business in the city, to cooperate with private companies. Legal occupation of a business, when there is a suspicion that the business is working poorly, conducts illegal activities. City has the right to sell the business to private individuals, if the city has an interest in it, not sooner than after thorough consultations and approval by residents.
Question 16: Should we defund the police? If yes, what exactly does defunding the police mean to you? If not, what should the City do to address both historical and ongoing injustices?
My program "How to eliminate crime to 0" (zero) can completely solves this problem. For 6 years I have been trying to present this program to the most important politicians in the country, policemen, doctors, psychologists, unfortunately no one has yet responded to my appeal. People keep proving to me that here, no one cares about saving other human life. The lack of acceptance of my program,, How to eliminate crime to 0 (zero) ‘’over the last 6 years has resulted in a lot of lives being lost and no one has ever been held criminally responsible. If I am elected to the City Council, I will immediately submit my project, "How to Eliminate Crime to 0 (Zero), to the City Council." If my design were approved by the city council, Edmonton could become the safest city in Alberta and Canada, and the city would save the lives of many Edmontonians. I believe that the Edmontonians from Ward 4/ Dene, and the City do not miss this chance.
Question 17: Do you support the City’s mandatory vaccination policy for City employees?
I have been learning natural medicine for years. I myself created a 3 point COVID-19 Body Protection Plan that does not require the COVID-19 vaccine immediately. The entire program focuses on civic self-discipline, building a strong immune system, and testing for COVID 19 every 6 months for the next 2 years. Depending on whether I win the elections or not, the program will be presented to the city council. Not only city employees, but every person who does not like my program, should be vaccinated against (COVID - 19), 3 times.
Question 18: Council recently dropped residential speed limits to 40km/h, do you agree with that decision, and what do you think about the proposal by some to go further and drop it to 30km/h in the future?
The city's decision 40 kilometers per hour, in residential areas, is the right and proven decision. Time will tell us if the speed should be reduced.
Question 19: Serving as a Councillor you are responsible to btoh your local constituents and every Edmontonian. How would you deal with a situation where you feel that the best interests of your local constituents in your ward conflict with what you feel is the best interests of the City as a whole?
Local interest should never take place. Every candidate for a City Council must realize that when he is elected to the City Council, he will be one of the city's twelve Fathers. That's a good thing, because in my nearly 800 page program, all of it covers all Edmontonians.
Question 20: While the concept of a secret ballot is essential, many of our supporters have told us that they’d like to know the political alignment of their candidates. So, if - and only if - you feel comfortable saying so, who are you voting for in your local ward race and why, and if you are affiliated with any provincial or federal political parties, which ones and why?
I will be voting for Cheryll Watson for Mayor. I was taken over by her calmness during the debates. She was able to answer every question, answered briefly and comprehensively. She was the only one who behaved beautifully towards other candidates, offering them cooperation for the city if she won the city council elections. Once I belonged to the Conservative Party, I don't belong anymore, because the party does not meet my expectations. I will return to the party when the Conservative Party has established its permanent structures throughout Canada. My views are moderately conservative, meaning I need to have time for politics and times to help people. It is no different with other political parties in Canada, and they do not have their own structures. Members of all parties gather just before the elections and select the candidates. In this way, society often chooses random people who have never seen politics face-to-face.