In an effort to provide fair coverage of the municipal byelection in Cumberland Ward, the Orléans Star sent a series of questions to each of the eight candidates in the race. The answers to those questions are being published in the lead-up to the Oct. 5 vote.

Candidate: Lyse-Pascale Inamuco
Age: 32
Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Conflict Studies and Human  Rights
Occupation: Public servant
# of Children : I raised my little brother and sister
Bilingual: Yes

Question # 1 – How will your past experience make you an effective city councillor?

My story is the Canadian story: a story of hard work and perseverance, of working to build better neighbourhoods, and of giving back to the community.

Actions speak louder than words. My track record proves that I create partnerships, am a team player, and consensus builder. My community engagement and advocacy experience allows me to work with all three levels of government and know the different steps and channels to navigate in order to get things done. I am rooted in the community and my past experience as a community organizer and leader prepared me to engage with community members, actively listen to different concerns, prioritize, and create an action plan that will address issues that are brought up.

Question # 2 – Please list some of your volunteer activities.

• Director of community service for the Rotary Club of Orléans
• Co-chair of Women’s March Ottawa
• Co-leading the First Women’s shelter in Orléans Project
• Canadians for Properly Built Homes (CPBH): collected donations from Cardinal Creek Village residents
• Internationally, I have worked on building decent housing for low-income seniors in Rwanda and sent 25 Burundian refugees, boys and girls, to continue their education to prevent them from enrolling in rebel groups.

Question # 3 – What is your position on whether or not the rural part of the ward should be merged with Osgoode Ward?

Any decision about merging the rural part of the ward with Osgoode Ward must be done on the basis of what rural residents want. Rural residents aren’t getting the services their taxes should cover. If elected, I will do more to engage with rural communities in Cumberland over the next year to debate and decide about what sort of municipal governance they want.

Question # 4 – Please list your top three priorities should you get elected; and B) Why is the first issue on your list your number one priority and what do you plan to do about it?

1. Reinvigorate the infrastructure to make our roads safer by addressing excessive traffic and speeding and by investing in transit to m efficient and reliable Light Rail Transit (LRT) that we were promised, and continue to hold the Rideau Transit Group (RTG) to account.

2. Economic Recovery and Development: Support our businesses.

3. Amalgamation of Hydro One into Hydro Ottawa: I will present a motion for a second round of negotiations with the province. That would be fair and equitable for all Cumberland residents, especially rural residents, on Hydro One that are paying up to 30% more than Hydro Ottawa customers.

Our streets are not safe for families, children, and our seniors. I will install traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps, to address car speeding. I will also advocate for high quality cycling infrastructure design.

For more information about the candidate visit www.lysepascale.ca.

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)