Gail Chaddock-Costello
Running for council in Langley Township
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Educator/social worker, 66
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• Have you held office in past? If so, please specify: Yes, for the teacher’s union in Langley and on the BC Teachers Federation executive. Never on Township council.
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Candidate provided bio: Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia I was raised in public housing by a single parent.
I was fortunate to be ‘good at school,’ eventually completing three university degrees and starting a doctorate in educational leadership.
A resident of Fort Langley, I am married with a blended family of four children. I have a long history of collaborating with community groups on initiatives concerning the environment, re-development and revitalization, heritage buildings, multiple public education issues and social concerns. My careers in social work and education have always focused on working with at-risk groups, where I learned the value of ethical steward leadership.
In 2016, I was a joint recipient of the ‘CLA Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada Award, in recognition and honour of courageous public commitment shown for intellectual freedom in Canada’.
Recognized as effective, prepared, articulate, hard-working - these traits define my work and how I would serve you.
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Website: www.vote4gail.com
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Facebook: @GailChaddock-CostelloCandidate2018
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Other internet/social media platforms where voters can learn about you: asdfasdf
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Phone: 604-315-2515
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Twitter: @chaddockcostelo
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• Who is your favourite superhero, and why? My younger sister, Mary-Lee. She overcame multiple obstacles to become a special education teacher, wife, parent, community activist, local teachers’ union president, and board level representative on multiple medical and social service agencies. She was inspirational to many, including myself.
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There are 23 candidates running for eight Langley Township council seats. The following are questions asked of each candidate hopeful. They were directed to provide a minimum of a Yes, No, or Don’t Know answer, and given an option to expand on one answer in print (to a maximum of 100 words per question). They could expand on all questions online, if they wished to do so. The following are their replies.
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Questions and Answers:
1. What neighbourhood of Langley do you live in?
Answer: Fort Langley
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2. How many years have you lived in Langley?
Answer: 23
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3. How many Langley Township council meetings have you attended in the past year?
Answer: 6-10
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4: Should the municipality be directly funding social housing to reduce homelessness?
Answer: Yes
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5. Do you support elevated rail over light rapid transit from Surrey to Langley?
Answer: No. I understand the arguments for elevated rail however, at the TransLink information session I was informed after I asked the question, that the ridership does not support elevated rail costs and will not (their projections) for the next twenty years. If we hold off for elevated rail we may end up with no improvements for a very long time. Even the light rail improvements are in Phase Three and are currently unfunded. We need improved transit as soon as possible, and light rail now does not mean no elevated rail in the future..
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6. Should the municipality fund an arts centre?
Answer: Yes
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7. Would you vote to raise taxes to hire more police?
Answer: Yes
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8. Does Langley need a new or second hospital to serve the growing population?
Answer: Yes
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9. Does Willoughby need its own dedicated library?
Answer: Yes
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10. Is there enough effort being made to preserve farmland?
Answer: No
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11. Should Langley allow construction of residential towers?
Answer: Yes
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12. Should Langley have its own municipal police force, replacing the RCMP?
Answer: Yes. I am not disparaging our RCMP force by saying yes to this question. My ‘yes’ response is due to information found in the Globe and Mail and other sources. Contracts for RCMP provide fewer staff, based on population, then Independent/Contract police as found in Vancouver. However, tax payers bear higher costs, about twice as much to implement an Independent Force. The Federal government subsidizes our RCMP detachment, saving municipalities tax dollars. There are no simple answers. Perhaps an analysis of what is done differently to achieve a higher crime resolution rate is a viable option.
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13. Do you think residential property taxes are too high?
Answer: No
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14. Do you support the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline?
Answer: No. This is a hotly debated topic which I have followed closely. I do not support the expansion due to the potential environmental damage to our waters, our coast line, our ocean life particularly our orca population, our fishing industry and our tourism industry. (Reuters) “The rules, drawn up by the U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO), will ban ships using fuel with a sulfur content higher than 0.5 percent (2020), compared to 3.5 percent now…”. Alberta’s bitumen will require such significant upgrading to comply it will be priced out of the market. This additional fuel in not required.
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15. Should the municipality offer tax breaks, incentives, or rebates to companies looking to set up shop here?
Answer: Yes
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16. Is Langley being pushed to grow too fast?
Answer: Yes
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17. Do you support redevelopment of Fort Langley’s downtown?
Answer: No. I support redevelopment and growth in Fort Langley and other areas of Langley. I have voiced my opinion to Township Council on the Coulter Berry Building and my opposition to its’ height and general lack of adherence to the Building Façade Design Guidelines. “The Fort Langley Community Plan, adopted in 1987, designated the downtown area as a heritage alteration permit area. A facade improvement study and signage guidelines were completed in 1988, and used to provide guidelines for the heritage alteration permit area. …The heritage alteration permit area was changed to a heritage conservation area in 1997.”
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18. Should development of Brookswood be phased in?
Answer: Yes
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19. Should the Township set a deadline to finish widening 208th Street in Willoughby?
Answer: Yes
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20. Should there be a limit to the number of consecutive terms a member of council can serve?
Answer: Yes