A longtime New Westminster resident believes she can bring a different perspective to city council.
Angela Sealy, who has lived in New Westminster since 1979, is running for council in the Oct. 20 election. Through her work as facilitator, she said she’s been exposed to a number of people, mostly seniors, who have been renovicted and has heard from parents who fear their children will never be able to purchase a home.
A renter, Sealy said her platform is to work toward safe, secure housing for all, to grow business in the city and to have New Westminster become an accredited age-friendly community.
“All statistics and the World Health Organization tell us the population is aging, and with my experience in working on age-friendly community projects I believe I have the skills and experience to make New Westminster a recognized age-friendly community,” she wrote in an email to the Record. “Currently, Saanich has that badge of honour and so can we because an age-friendly community is a community for all. It is truly a diverse and inclusive initiative.”
Sealy pledges to work collaboratively with council to: address the housing crisis (renovictions/demovictions); propose changes to the Residential Tenancy Act to create an incentive for owners to keep their buildings (tenants’ homes) in good physical condition; take a new look at long-term rentals in private homes that will add to the rental stock; and put a new lens on equity co-ops which is an innovative way to become a homeowner.
