London’s sole pro-BRT mayoral front-runner emphasizes need to plan for future on ‘London Live’

Londoners will be ranking their top three choices for the first time ever in a municipal election.

As voters narrow down their picks, London Live is highlighting the top four mayoral candidates.

Paul Cheng and Ed Holder appeared Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Mayoral candidate and current councillor for the downtown ward, Tanya Park, sat down in the 980 CFPL studios on Wednesday.

“When we talk about London’s future, it’s important that you elect a candidate that’s not just worried about the day-to-day grind but is focused on the next 30 years of how our community is going to grow and prosper,” Park replied when asked to explain what sets her apart from other contenders.

“We’ve got significant challenges when it comes to mental health, addictions, our housing crisis, and we need someone who has been there at city hall with the experience to bring these issues forward.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've got significant challenges when it comes to mental health, addictions, our housing crisis, and we need someone who has been there at city hall with the experience to bring these issues forward."

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Of the four leading candidates for mayor, Park is the only one who supports the current bus rapid transit plan. While she said she’s not surprised by that, she did question why it’s become such a central issue in this campaign.

“When we took office in 2014, this council slammed the back door shut to city hall. We had no back door meetings,” she began.

“I don’t know if this is the wedge issue that some are trying to drive to create those backdoor channels, but I think it’s important that we as a city recognize that there are processes, there are rules, there is legislation that we as a community have to follow and when you usurp that authority it’s not good for us, it’s not good for our reputation, and it does not create an even playing field.”

Park also believes a lot of the opposition comes down to misunderstanding.

“I’m hearing from more and more people things that aren’t true,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm hearing from more and more people things that aren't true," she said.

“The second that you talk about the fact that of this half-a-billion-dollar plan, $270 million goes to wages and creates 430 jobs for over 10 years, they’re like ‘why are people against this?’ and I’m like, ”cause it’s change and change is hard.’ So you can either stand and try to shape that change or you can let it blow past you.”

The series wraps up on Thursday with Paul Paolatto.