About Paul
I'm proud to have lived in Port Moody for 26 years. I grew up in Port Moody and my wife and I moved back 4 years ago to raise our family here. In total I've lived 26 years of my life in Port Moody and I believe this is the best place in the Lower Mainland to live and raise a family. For the previous three years we lived in the Seaview neighbourhood, between College Park and Glenayre, then last year we moved to Heritage Woods. My wife Jackie and I are fortunate to have three wonderful kids and we just welcomed our third this past August.
My education is in Economics and I work as a Business Consultant working with businesses in Port Moody and throughout the Lower Mainland. I have managed large organizations for clients and managed multi-million dollar budgets. It's my job to come into businesses and organizations and help lead positive change. I have the education, management experience and leadership skills to help lead our city in the right direction. I also have a long track record of giving back to our community through volunteer work and have coached youth sports, volunteered on local environmental issues and served as a Board Member for the Golden Spike Days Society.
Why am I running for Council instead of Mayor?
I started this campaign running to be the next Mayor of Port Moody. In May, June and July the response from the community was very positive and I want to thank everyone who was supporting me to be our next Mayor. Then in August, my father had a heart attack and tragically, he passed away. It was unexpected and at too young an age.
After a lot of thought, I decided to run for Port Moody City Council instead of Mayor. Campaigning for Mayor is very intense and I would not have had much time with family in September and October. This is a time when I need to put my family first and be there for my mother who lost her husband and my three young kids who have lost their grandfather. However, I also could not go back on my commitment to help bring positive change to Port Moody. Running for City Council allows me to do both, and l am very excited about the opportunity to serve our community on Council.
My education is in Economics and I work as a Business Consultant working with businesses in Port Moody and throughout the Lower Mainland. I have managed large organizations for clients and managed multi-million dollar budgets. It's my job to come into businesses and organizations and help lead positive change. I have the education, management experience and leadership skills to help lead our city in the right direction. I also have a long track record of giving back to our community through volunteer work and have coached youth sports, volunteered on local environmental issues and served as a Board Member for the Golden Spike Days Society.
Why am I running for Council instead of Mayor?
I started this campaign running to be the next Mayor of Port Moody. In May, June and July the response from the community was very positive and I want to thank everyone who was supporting me to be our next Mayor. Then in August, my father had a heart attack and tragically, he passed away. It was unexpected and at too young an age.
After a lot of thought, I decided to run for Port Moody City Council instead of Mayor. Campaigning for Mayor is very intense and I would not have had much time with family in September and October. This is a time when I need to put my family first and be there for my mother who lost her husband and my three young kids who have lost their grandfather. However, I also could not go back on my commitment to help bring positive change to Port Moody. Running for City Council allows me to do both, and l am very excited about the opportunity to serve our community on Council.
What motivates me to run?
I genuinely believe Port Moody is the best place to live in the Lower Mainland, but often our city politics are negative and our voter turnout is low. I'm running because I believe we can do so much better when it comes to city politics in Port Moody.
Specifically, I'm running to offer a platform that will bring our community together. For the past 10 years Port Moody politics have been very negative and very divided, and I believe that is because the 2 established political groups in Port Moody keep offering platforms that are not supported by a majority of residents. If residents don't see their views reflected in the platforms being offered, then political discourse becomes negative and voter turnout goes down.
I'm excited to offer residents a platform that was built solely from residents' input when I knocked on their door. A platform that is honest, unbiased, offers real solutions and ensures Port Moody remains a special place for generations to come. I believe this platform will bring our community together and increase voter turnout. If you haven't seen my platform yet please take a look below.
Specifically, I'm running to offer a platform that will bring our community together. For the past 10 years Port Moody politics have been very negative and very divided, and I believe that is because the 2 established political groups in Port Moody keep offering platforms that are not supported by a majority of residents. If residents don't see their views reflected in the platforms being offered, then political discourse becomes negative and voter turnout goes down.
I'm excited to offer residents a platform that was built solely from residents' input when I knocked on their door. A platform that is honest, unbiased, offers real solutions and ensures Port Moody remains a special place for generations to come. I believe this platform will bring our community together and increase voter turnout. If you haven't seen my platform yet please take a look below.
My Platform
1) Middle Ground on Development and Population Growth
• Are you aware our Official Community Plan was updated to double our population from 39,000 to over 74,000 residents?
• I am not anti-development, but I do not support doubling our population.
• I support a more balanced approach to housing that meets the needs of our community with larger, livable units and more townhouses for families.
2) Finally Address Traffic in Port Moody
• I support adding a 3rd lane to all of St. Johns Street going eastbound.
• A 4th eastbound lane is now being added to the bridge at St. Johns and loco.
• I support utilizing this new 4th lane to create 2 lengthy dedicated left turn lanes leading up to loco and also fix the intersection at Dewdney Trunk.
• I also support adding a 2nd lane going eastbound on Murray Street and creating 2 lengthy dedicated left turn lanes going from Murray onto loco.
• The new lanes on St. Johns and Murray would only be open during rush hour.
3) No More Large Increases in Property Taxes
• In 4 years, the current Council supported increasing our property taxes by 28%.
• If elected to Council, I will oppose large increases in property taxes moving forward. I support more responsible management of our city budget.
4) Support Local Jobs, Businesses and Our Local Economy
• We need to ensure all interactions businesses have with City Hall, and all bylaws businesses are subject to, are both reasonable and efficient.
• To create more local high paying jobs and economic growth, we should focus on growing our health care sector and our boat and marine sector.
5) Meet the Needs of Port Moody Families
• If elected to Council, I will advocate to address our daycare shortage by requiring all new developments to create new daycare spaces.
• have also heard from parents that it is essential we increase our capacity for recreation programs like swimming lessons and skating lessons.
• I support moving forward on Port Moody's first indoor swimming pool.
6) Value and Respect Our Seniors
• Seniors have been honest that many recently built condos are too small to downsize to. They have also asked for more dedicated seniors programs.
• I support a more balanced housing plan so seniors have better options to downsize to. I also support creating more social, musical, artistic and physically active programs for seniors throughout our city.
7) Support Our Amazing Sports Community
• Whether it's Port Moody Soccer, Hockey, Lacrosse, Basketball (TCYBA),
Pickleball (PoCoMo), our Skating and Curling Clubs, the Port Moody Aquarians, our Sailing and Rowing Clubs, the Port Moody Old Timers or the Panthers Junior Hockey Team, we truly have an amazing sports community.
• I am committed to supporting our sports community by providing the facilities, upgrades and venue times they need. I also commit to prioritizing Port Moody teams and groups when scheduling our Port Moody facilities.
• I also support building more new and dedicated pickleball courts. This will also make sure we don't take courts away from other groups.
8) Renew Our Focus on Music and the Arts in Port Moody
• Music, playing in bands and making films were big parts of my life growing up and I want kids today to have the same opportunities I had.
• I support more drop-in music and arts classes. For example, drop-ins with all types of instruments for residents to try, learn or play music with friends.
9) Protect Our Parks, Green Spaces and Local Environment
• We need to expand park space where possible and preserve and maintain the amazing parks and green spaces that make Port Moody so special.
• We also need to protect our local environment and support groups like the Port Moody Ecological Society and Mossom Creek Hatchery.
10) My Integrity Commitment
I want our community to know I do not take donations from real estate developers.
I believe Councillors should not have any conflicts of interest. However, I am not an anti-development candidate either. I believe developers can be important partners in building new housing, growing our local economy and providing community benefits. I believe this is the type of integrity, balanced mindset and middle ground our community is looking for on our next Council.
Thank You
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my platform. If you have any questions, concerns or would like to discuss things further, please reach out to me at 604-499-4234 or [email protected]. I would love to hear from you and you can call, text or email me anytime.
It would be a true honour if I can earn your vote and serve our community on City Council.
Sincerely,
Paul
Contact Paul LambertI would love to hear from you! Please send me a message below with any questions, concerns or feedback and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
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