Prince George municipal politics is in Doug Jeffrey’s blood.
His father, Chester Jeffrey, was the city comptroller and city manager for 34 years, until his retirement in 1990.
“He taught me a lot about city government,” Jeffrey said. “(Deciding to run) was a tough decision. I did run 25 years ago. I think I’ve got some ideas that are valuable.”
After a varied career ranging from being the owner-operator of a gravel truck to working in a grocery store, Jeffrey is now retired and teaches yoga. He’s been a dedicated community volunteer for 30 years, including coaching downhill skiing for Special Olympics athletes.
Jeffrey said he was inspired to run for office because he’s been saddened by some of the things happening in the city.
“A big one for me is how we spend our money. How we spend the Fortis(BC) money is particularly important,” he said. “I personally don’t have an appetite for any large capital projects in the short term.”
For seniors living on fixed incomes, property tax increases can be very challenging, Jeffrey said.
He’d like to see more of the city’s capital projects sent to referendum to allow voters to decide which projects are worth building, Jeffrey added.
“We need to listen to the voters as best as possible,” he said. “It’s a tough job. You’ve got to be able to say ‘yes’ to and you’ve got to be able to say ‘no.’ And you need to have ideas for the ‘yes’ and a good justification for the ‘no.’”
Constructing a tiny home subdivision, outside of the downtown, is one way the city could look to promote affordable housing options in the city, he said.
“(But) we can’t build housing for everyone in Canada,” Jeffrey said. “The province has to build a large mental health facility… otherwise all the municipalities around B.C. are going to continue to struggle.”
Improving active transportation and accessibility is a key priority, he added.
Jeffrey said he’d like to see the city set aside $500,000 into a reserve fund, to use as matching funding when applying for provincial and federal grants to build sidewalks, multi-use trails, protected bike lanes and public bike storage facilities.
“If you have someone in your family with a disability, getting around the sidewalks here is just a nightmare,” he said.
The appearance of the city has also deteriorated he said, and more attention needs to be paid to improving landscaping through the city.
“There are areas of the city that look really bad. We don’t pull weeds anymore,” he said. “I think we can do better.”
For more information, email Jeffery at [email protected].
