In the run up to the 2017 election, we asked our readers and listeners what issues matter most to them. Every day, we ask candidates for their thoughts on healthcare, growth, traffic, city facilities, downtown, and the other issues important to their campaign. Today, Mo Benini addresses your issues.

Council candidate Mo Benini says he's not your average politician.

Aspects of Benini's platform have drawn online scrutiny, but he firmly stands by it.

 "I put out my platform. My platform is different then what the normal people would probably think is possible. I think every single point in my platform is possible."

That includes a commitment to pass a Gas Station Bylaw that would cap the price of gasoline at $0.75 per litre. That particular campaign promise has received criticism, but Benini believes it's something that can be accomplished.

When asked about growth, Benini said attracting people to live in Airdrie is a positive. However, there are burdens that accompany growth, and Benini thinks local infrastructure has been stressed. A key issue related to growth is traffic, and Benini thinks long-term planning is necessary to build infrastructure that can absorb Airdrie's growing population.

"Traffic is a big issue in Airdrie, and we should work on, when we build infrastructure, we build roads, we should plan ten or fifteen years ahead and do it right the first time instead of doing it every three or four years."

As a cab driver, Benini says he's intimately familiar with Airdrie's traffic problems. Like most of his fellow candidates, Benini thinks traffic lights in Airdrie need to be synchronized. He also believes medians are being built too big, and that by reducing the size of medians, additional lanes could be built to accommodate traffic.

Benini also thinks Airdrie's recreational needs could be met by building an entertainment district in Airdrie. As a father, Benini sees a real need for more entertainment options in Airdrie.

"Entertainment facilities like an indoor water park just like Edmonton Mall would be beautiful to have here in Airdrie and it would attract a lot of people and it would keep Airdrie families in Airdrie, spending their money here in Airdrie."

Benini was unsure what land Airdrie owns, but thinks building an entertainment district in the south between Airdrie and Cochrane could serve as an attraction to people in the surrounding area.

On downtown, Benini said he wasn't a fan of how the Airdrie Main Street Square was rolled out. He didn't think there was enough transparency or community feedback. He thinks the core needs work, and that business needs to be attracted to downtown Airdrie. However, he thinks the City needs to spend wisely, and said tearing down existing buildings to build new ones is wasteful and the wrong approach. He was also unsure why so many lots have sat empty without being developed.

As for healthcare, Benini wants to see more resources poured into Airdrie so people don't have to go to Calgary for their medical needs. He has some questions about the Airdrie and Area Health Benefits Cooperative, and is unsure how that money is being used. He proposes turning the old fire hall on Main Street into an additional health campus, and connecting it to the existing Urgent Care Centre somehow. Benini wasn't sure how exactly that could be done.

 

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