Vladimir Krasnogor aims to be New West's next mayor

Mayoral candidate Vladimir Krasnogor hopes to topple three other candidates in his quest to become New Westminster’s next mayor.

Krasnogor garnerered 1,098 votes in the 2011 civic election, when he sought a seat on council. This time around, he’s set his sights on the mayor’s chair.

“I am a realist. When I started, I had two points. I wanted to be elected. My second goal was to make a difference in the debate and to make a statement,” he said. “I know I will definitely make a difference in the debate.”

Krasnogor, who has always been interested in civic affairs, immigrated to Canada from the former Soviet Union.

“I was looking for a free country, a country with democracy,” he said. “I value democracy. Immigrants, usually they have an appreciation of democracy more than Canadians who were born here. Canadians who were born here, they don’t have that comparison. I know when there’s no democracy.”

Krasnogor moved to Canada from the Ukraine when he was in his mid 20s, settling first in Winnipeg, then moving to Vancouver when the recession hit and he was laid off. Twenty years after moving to New Westminster, he’s decided to run for mayor.

“If you are on council, your voice only counts if you have another three councillors agreeing with you. You are not sure you have the power to deliver because you need that agreement from other councillors. The mayor has more power,” he said. “He has one vote, but he has the gavel. He decides what goes on the agenda. I didn’t think staff really put something on the agenda that the mayor doesn’t approve. That’s my opinion.”

If elected mayor, Krasnogor wants to find ways to reduce taxes, deal with a lack of transparency and accountability at city hall and improve what he believes are strained relations with neighbouring cities because of traffic disputes.

Krasnogor believes the city’s first step to addressing traffic congestion should be to stop approving projects that put more cars and trucks on the city’s road network.

Krasnogor also wants to put an end to “ridiculous pet projects” such as public art installations as part of Vancouver Biennale, including blue trees and artwork on the waterfront made of shipping containers.

Instead of building a pedestrian crossing from Queensborough to the Quay, Krasnogor would prefer that the city put those funds toward a new library or aquatic centre.

When the city accepted a destination casino in New Westminster several years ago, it negotiated casino revenues known as development assistance compensation that would go into specific projects in the downtown and Queensborough, which are the two neighbourhoods where the casino has been located. City officials have stated that changes to the agreement are unlikely, as all parties would have to renegotiate the funds and agree to changes.

“I don’t really buy that. This is a trick they use to convince people,” Krasnogor said. “It is still people’s money.”

Krasnogor would also like to see the planned demolition of a portion of the Front Street parkade cancelled.

“That will be expensive, not reallynecessary at this time,” he said. “We cannot beautify that stretch of Front Street with the trains going by. “

Protecting Queen’s Park is a priority for Krasnogor, who objected to the proposal that would have seen a Whitecaps farm team use Queen’s Park Stadium for its home games.

He was concerned that the plan would have seen trees cut down and deviated from the Queen’s Park master plan that had included public input.

“One of my goals is I will develop stronger protection for Queen’s Park,” he said.

In recent years, Krasnogor has spoken as a delegation at council meetings about the proposal for Queen’s Park and election reform. He’d like to take action to improve communications between the city and the residents.

“The problem with open delegations is the council looks at you. Maybe they will listen to you. They say thank you and nothing is done. You don’t get a reply. You are basically allowed to come and talk, they say thank you,” he said. “There is no exchange of ideas at all.”

Krasnogor, an electrical engineer, hopes people will choose to vote for independent candidates on Nov. 15 and put him in the mayor’s chair.

“I believe that I will make a good mayor,” he said. “Now let’s see what people think.”