Council candidate Jodi Faith has worked on numerous boards before and believes she can help form a sense of unity that allows the city to progress forward.--Submitted Photo
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
City council hopeful Jodi Faith believes in the power of community, which fuels her campaign.
While Faith is relatively new to the city, she has extensive experience working on various boards such as ministry boards, worked with schools and councils, and has participated in various committees and initiatives, as well as working as a recording artist, entertainer, performance coach and speaker.
She says she was approached by a group of residents who asked her to consider running, and decided that, as her family has settled in the city for retirement, the time is right for her to focus her energy on building up Medicine Hat.
As far as priorities go, Faith believes the first step in rebuilding Medicine Hat as an attractive place to live needs to be supporting better jobs and small businesses.
“I feel that when our small businesses succeed, we are going to see our city thrive,” said Faith. “Right now, too many people are struggling with low hours and low wages. A 20-hour per week job at $20 an hour is not enough to build a sustainable life. We need to attract more jobs and strengthen small business success so families can truly thrive.”
With some creative grant work, she believes Medicine Hat could see more vibrancy and be more attractive to larger industry, as well. However, those seeking good jobs will also need sustainable and reliable housing, for which Faith also takes an outside-the-box approach.
“I applaud the city for offering tax rebate incentives such as the Residential Tax Exemption. But we must do more. No senior should have to choose between rent, food, or medication. No family should be forced into an RV or car due to rising housing costs,” said Faith.
She explained that in her own housing situation, she was able to better balance the cost of living by welcoming a tenant into a spare room in her home, and suggested the city may be able to encourage more arrangements like this through programming as part of their housing solution.
“There’s a lot of different models that are being used throughout the world,” said Faith, suggesting host-a-room models or intergenerational co-living as potential supplements alongside helping construction on new residences.
Faith has also worked with those impacted by addiction, homelessness and mental health struggles, including operating a sober living home which provided a drug-free space for those in recovery. She would like to see the city working closely with the police service and groups like SafeLink, the Mustard Seed, Our Collective Journey, McMan and YMCA to provide supports for detox, rehabilitation and potentially transitional housing to form safe environments for vulnerable populations.
“Tiny home villages are just one way this vision could take shape, and I’ve already begun conversations with local land and business owners about possibilities,” said Faith. “I think that as a city which has done so much for so many that we will come up with even better solutions to help with those things.”
If elected, Faith commits to a hunger to learn, as she expects being a councillor to have a steep curve, and to work closely with fellow council members, administration and staff.
“My No. 1 desire would be to act in unity and harmony with the council so that I would be able to represent, most importantly, the needs of the residents of the city,” said Faith. “I think if we can have a cohesive vision for our future as a council and as a city, we are going to do better.”
Faith will be present at various public events leading up to the election, and looks forward to hearing more from residents both throughout her campaign and, she hopes, during her time on council.
