Throughout the next few weeks, we'll be featuring interviews from the fifteen Moose Javians running for city council in this year's municipal election. Dawn Luhning is one of those candidates.

Each candidate was asked the same list of questions. Here are Luhning's answers.

 

Q: Can you introduce yourself to our readers?

A: I've been in Moose Jaw actually since I was six years old, so moved here and lived here pretty much all my life. I went to school at the University of Saskatchewan and majored in accounting. Got a Bachelor of Commerce degree and I am currently an independent financial advisor, I own my own business, and I've actually been in that industry ever since I came back from University. Started on the administrative side of the business with Richardson Greenshields and then just worked my way around.

 

Q: What do you think is the most significant accomplishment of the current city council?

A: I think there's a couple of things; I think the SaskPower development that is going to be starting here in the next year is really significant for the city, and then I do believe that the cast iron work that we've been doing around the city and getting that program moving is also a great accomplishment. You know that's something that needed to be done for a long time and we’re into further phases of the program and I think that you know people are seeing those results around the city. Sure, it's annoying while the construction is going on but you know that that's very important infrastructure work is getting done. I do see that some of the roads are being worked on. I mean, sure, we could always be doing more, but nothing happens quickly overnight, right? It takes a little bit of time and so I would think that those are probably the two things that this council can be proud of doing for the community, for sure.

 

Q: What could be improved?

A: I think that we achieved some great communication processes over the last four years. Our administration did a really good job of keeping us in the loop with certain things that were going on behind the scenes because we're not in the day-to-day operation of the city as councillors. I think that our communication got better, but it can always be better right? I would like to see councillors be included more in economic development discussions around the city. Our economic development department and the mayor's office have done a great job of those things, but sometimes I think that it falls short with just giving us a few details, but i certainly understand that when you're dealing with developers that things are confidential. We're bound by those acts though. If we're told something in confidence, we are not allowed to talk about it again, so I would like to just be included in some of the projects that are going on around the city that are going to mean something to the residents and businesses. Overall I think this council did a pretty good job, off the top of my head I cant think of anything that's really really terrible that needs to be fixed at this point.

 

Q: What experience or knowledge do you bring to the table?

A: I take the service of the position of city councillor very seriously. It's a privilege to be there. I feel very fortunate that the citizens have believed that I deserve to be there and I'm hoping that I've worked hard over the years and can earn their trust again. I do believe that a little bit of history and experience in each term on council is important for the new group that's elected, and I think that I can bring that. I think my financial experience and my understanding of the current market environment that we're in, the economy we're in, and maybe some of the challenges we face, I think is something that I can bring to the table that I think some of the other candidates just don't have. We all bring a certain skill or specialty to the table, and I think a good mix of that - with my experience on the financial side of things - is really important. And just the history, learning from our past mistakes, but also from our past successes. What I've learned over the years is that there's somebody else doing something differently than what Moose Jaw is, and they might be doing it right. We don't have to re-invent the wheel. We can learn from other communities, learn from our experiences that we've done in the past - successes, failures, that kind of thing. It's important to have that knowledge on council.

 

Q: What are some of the biggest issues facing Moose Jaw right now?

A: Honestly I think the pandemic that we're still in. I'm sure that all of us are a little tired of hearing about it, but it's a big issue for citizens. There are people who have been laid off and thank goodness the federal government has stepped in with some programs, but businesses are not at full capacity yet. We don't know how long this is going to be. Honestly, I think that one of the biggest challenges for the city right now is supporting our businesses and our citizens through this day-to-day moving target of what's going to hit us next. Are we going to go through a second wave? Is there going to be a third wave? How are businesses going to fare, how is the market going to fare, how is discretionary income going to affect the community as a whole. We've never gone through something like this before and I think the new council needs to seriously consider that we're in very uncertain times and we may have to look differently at things than we have in the past. I do think that that's probably still the biggest challenge we face right now, the fear of the unknown of what the pandemic is going to bring for us over the short term, and even into the long term.

 

Q: How do you envision the city coming out of the pandemic? What is your overall vision for the city of Moose Jaw?

A: I think our role is to be supportive of businesses. We have existing businesses in town that are suffering and maybe doing not as large numbers as they were before. I think our role on the economic development side is attracting new businesses and supporting the existing businesses that are here. I think that's our role as municipal government, and from that, the citizens that live here are people that work in those businesses and we need to be supportive and understand what they're going through, and if it means looking at our budgets a little closer, those are the things we have to do.

 

Q: What is your overall vision for the city of Moose Jaw?

A: The pandemic has kind of forced us into things that our little community has never thought of before, and I want to bring up the issue around technology and the fact that we all have a phone in our hands, we all have a tablet, a laptop, we can all get our information immediately and we're able to pay for things immediately, we can purchase things immediately, and I think that our city needs to advance technology wise on a really simple and small note. The fact that we're going to hopefully have an app for parking downtown where people can plug the metres from their phones I think is going to benefit businesses downtown in a way that other communities are benefitting from. Having the privilege of working with the Downtown Business Association, there are things there I would like to try and help them with. Some businesses don't have their Google pages grabbed and they don't have websites. I think the pandemic has kind of forced us to think about how to do business differently, and I think the city has to do the same thing. The city has to move ahead and advance technology-wise, and create a great place to live, work, support your family, and give you a place to have a thriving career here. I want to continue to work on economic development with the mayor's office. We have a great city and I think we take a lot of things for granted a lot of the time; that we have a great quality of life here, and that's something we shouldn't take for granted while being thrown into COVID-19. Looking at the fact that family, friends, and community is more important than ever, I think those are some of the things we need to focus on over the next four years and I really hope I have the privilege of being there. We live in a great city and we do have potential. I think people should find the good in these crazy times, and enjoy where they live.

 

Election day is on Nov. 9.

*(Some answers have been edited for clarity and length.)*