Affordability. Safety. Service.
Three priorities organize Rajee's campaign. The goal is not to promise everything. It is to focus on the responsibilities that most affect residents' daily lives and publish clearer expectations for what City Hall should deliver.
Respect every tax dollar — and make it easier to build a life here.
Affordability is bigger than a tax bill. It includes housing, transportation, local jobs, fees and the value residents receive for what they already pay.
Rajee's direction
- Start with value: conduct a structured review of City-controlled spending, service performance, procurement and duplication before asking residents to pay more.
- Make the budget understandable: publish plain-language explanations of major increases, what the City controls and what comes from separately governed boards or shared services.
- Speed up housing approvals responsibly: publish service targets, track application status and reduce avoidable delay while maintaining safety and planning standards.
- Support more housing choices: use municipal planning, zoning and infrastructure tools to help enable homes for young families, renters, seniors and people downsizing.
- Back local business: reduce unnecessary friction in municipal processes and make Guelph an easier place to invest, hire and expand.
- Fight for a fairer deal from other governments: advocate for funding arrangements that reflect Guelph's growth and the services the City supports on behalf of broader systems.
Safe neighbourhoods. A downtown people want to use.
Public safety is not one department and not one simple solution. It involves policing, by-law enforcement, emergency response, street design, housing, mental-health and addiction services, and coordination between multiple levels of government.
Rajee's direction
- Use evidence, not slogans: focus resources on verified problems, repeat hot spots and measurable outcomes.
- Improve coordination downtown: bring police, by-law, businesses, outreach providers and other partners together around clear operational priorities.
- Take property crime seriously: support prevention, reporting, data sharing and targeted enforcement where patterns show recurring problems.
- Protect public spaces: keep parks, transit areas and downtown streets usable while treating people experiencing homelessness, addiction or mental-health crises with dignity.
- Strengthen prevention: support youth, community and environmental-design approaches that reduce opportunities for crime before an incident occurs.
- Be transparent about responsibility: clearly distinguish what the mayor and council control from decisions made by police governance, health agencies, Wellington County and the Province.
City Hall should be easier to deal with.
Residents should not need to understand the organization chart to get a straight answer. Businesses should not have to chase multiple departments to find out what happens next. Good local government is measured partly by how reliably it responds.
Rajee's direction
- Publish service standards: set realistic response-time targets for common resident and business requests.
- Track requests: make it easier for residents to know who owns an issue and when they should expect an update.
- Create clearer accountability: publish a simple performance dashboard showing whether major service targets are being met.
- Reduce hand-offs: improve one-point-of-contact models for complex applications and recurring service issues.
- Report back: regular public town halls and plain-language updates should explain what changed, what did not and why.
- Measure quality, not just speed: service should be evaluated for reliability, cost, accessibility and resident satisfaction as well as turnaround time.
Other priorities through the same lens
Housing, infrastructure, transit, seniors, economic development and intergovernmental advocacy all connect back to affordability, safety and service.
Housing & growth
More housing choice, predictable approvals and infrastructure planning that keeps pace with growth.
Jobs & local business
A City that is easier to navigate for entrepreneurs, employers and investors while protecting community standards.
Seniors & health advocacy
Use the Mayor's office to advocate with provincial partners on hospital capacity, aging services and a city that works for residents at every stage of life.
Transportation & infrastructure
Focus on reliability, maintenance, safety and lifecycle value across roads, transit and core infrastructure.
Parks & neighbourhoods
Protect the quality of everyday public spaces as the city grows and make investments based on use, need and measurable benefit.
Open government
Explain major decisions clearly, publish performance and create regular opportunities for residents to question the Mayor directly.