Gerda Peachey, who has previously run for mayor in Abbotsford, will put her name forward in the race for council in the upcoming November election.
Peachey, a former banker and business owner, said Abbotsford needs to vote for individuals who will treat the public’s money with the care they would have with their own bank accounts.
Peachey said she thinks the current council has made some poor decisions and said local government should confine itself to issues that pertain to community needs.
“Our local taxes should be spent on roads, sewer, water, parks, police, skating rinks and pools for our families.”
She added that “municipal mayors and councils have no business dabbling in big business and big entertainment, for which they have no expertise.
“Our city council has lost enormous amounts of hard-earned tax dollars on vanity projects, while depleting the public purse of money that should be there for infrastructure needs, and buffer money for ‘rainy’ days.’”
She also said it is important for council to make bylaws that are sensible, achievable and enforceable.
Peachey says she has tried “largely in vain” to address what she calls the “uneven enforcement of our laws.”
Peachey and husband Richard have a daughter whose family still lives in Abbotsford. She says the greatest event of her life was “when I gave my life to Jesus Christ in 1969,” and enriches her time by volunteering at women’s prisons as well as playing music at Menno Home and Hospital.