Burnaby NOW will be publishing candidate Q&As for each candidate leading up to the City of Burnaby byelection scheduled for June 26, 2021. The answers provided have not been altered or changed.
Teresa Rossiello wants to use her voice for others on Burnaby city council.
QUESTION: When did you decide to run for the City of Burnaby byelection?
ANSWER: Last July while enjoying a warm sunny day outside.
QUESTION: Why did you decide to be a candidate?
ANSWER: When I was a child, conversation around my family’s dinner table was about politics and current events. I learned that the purpose of government is to provide services and facilities to people and make their lives better. Governments are supposed to knit our communities together and represent us all, not capitalise on division and self-interest. Around the age of 12 I began to think about myself as a candidate in an election. But I moved towards early childhood education and family instead.
For a few years I have been Chairperson of the Task Force to End Homelessness. Burnaby’s evolving response to homelessness has come from organizations in the Task Force, and we strive to keep a focus on the government’s imperative to provide services, to make people’s lives better. I’m a pragmatist working to make my community better, but the pandemic reminded me that I’m still an idealistic 12-year-old. I’m motivated to run to make this world better for my children and my community.
QUESTION: What do you think is needed on city council the most? What do you think it’s missing/lacking?
ANSWER: What's needed in City Council is creativity and innovation. I shake my head when I hear members of city council tweet “we have been doing it this way for 16 years”. Exactly! I see a culture plagued by a failure of imagination. The world is always progressing and our ideas and policies must keep pace. I want to look to the pilot projects done by other municipalities, examine new policies enacted by our neighbours, and begin developing true municipal leadership to make sure all of the metro area is addressing the same goals. No more same old same old, no more paralysis, no more malarkey.
QUESTION: Do you think there needs to be more diversity when it comes to Burnaby’s municipal government? If so, why?
ANSWER: Absolutely. One of the reasons that I am running is that I see a real generational imbalance. Not only is no one speaking for a middle-aged woman with kids, but nobody is speaking for my kids. I am a young Gen-X, I identify with many Millennial values and my kids are Zoomers. I share their sense of being unheard and unseen. I feel that uncertainty and that worry that younger generations struggle with daily. At the same time, I am inspired by the energy and passion that young people bring. I know a lot of parents who feel the need to speak for their children’s future through voting. Burnaby needs somebody who hears its diverse voices, and there isn’t anybody on council that is listening. Not yet, anyway.
QUESTION: What issues do you think need to be tackled the most in Burnaby?
ANSWER: Affordable housing for all. Families need places to buy a home, and City Council city needs to streamline the process to build row housing and townhomes. Gentle densification is not going to magically end the housing crisis. The city must be donating land to co-ops and non-profit housing societies. We need to strategically zone for purpose-built rental property. I see a lot of empty promises on this issue, especially since Metro Vancouver needs to move together on this or it won’t work. This is an issue looking for leadership, and empty promises is not leadership.
Supporting businesses in Burnaby. Small businesses need support to thrive after covid and we need to bring more to Burnaby. We need to find ways of offering support where it is needed and ensuring that our rush to affordable housing doesn’t miss the need for affordable commercial space. Commercial and light industrial land needs to be protected to ensure Burnaby businesses don’t get driven out to the valley. More businesses mean less of a tax burden for Burnaby’s homeowners and renters.
Liveable and safe neighbourhoods. Good neighbourhoods start with walkable streets that have sidewalks and streetlights and bike lanes. These streets connect us to the businesses where we shop and where we work. These streets connect us to parks and recreation. Walkable streets are safe because we know our neighbours and they look out for us. I would like to preserve Burnaby as a community where families can grow together. We need to stay connected to each other.
Sustainability. We need to view everything we are doing through a lens of sustainability. Can we rely on our current practices to support our environment, our local economy, our transportation needs, our housing market, and so on? We need to be looking to the future in order to preserve what our community values.
QUESTION: Why should voters vote for you?
ANSWER: My slogan says it all: ‘be heard, see action’. I have my own opinions on issues but I want residents to know that I will listen to them and I will champion their issues as well.
By the end of this election I will have delivered cards to 10,000 households. I will have made over 1,000 phone calls. I have answered questions on social media. And unlike other candidates I have a note book full of things that Burnaby residents have told me. I know what people want. I have been speaking to a resident who is upset that property taxes have gone from his yearly budget to Burnaby’s surplus. Council doesn’t give us the services and facilities we have been promised, they just seem to be hoarding money. This is not good fiscal policy and City Council should stop collecting taxes that only serve to increase the burden on renters and homeowners.
QUESTION: What would you say to those who may not want to vote or don’t really see a point?
ANSWER: I understand why some people are disengaged from the political process. It’s easy to say voting is someone’s democratic obligation but that just further alienates people. It divides us for political gain. It increases cynicism because it sends the message that if a person doesn’t vote, the politician will not represent that person. It comes across that a politician only represents voters who voted for them. Our political process doesn’t always present the options people are looking for. Maybe I’m not the candidate you are looking for. But if elected I will serve you no matter what. I think this question is more about how politicians erode faith in democratic institutions and then blame the people for lacking faith. I don’t feel represented by politicians who rely on our faith and obligation. Dear reader, I would be honoured to earn your vote.
