The following is my statement that I made on September 25th, 2022, at the Aurora Public Library Meet the Candidates event.
“Good afternoon everyone!
My name is Anna Lozyk Romeo and I am running to be the next Mayor of Aurora.
I have lived in Aurora for 25 years.
I am a parent, small business owner, community volunteer, and politically engaged resident.
For the last two Council terms, over the last 8 years, I have been consistently engaged in our town’s municipal politics.
My VISION for Aurora is to strive for a Resilient Community.
As your mayor I plan to realize that vision by combining my community and municipal politics knowledge, and focusing on three established key drivers: LEADERSHIP, POLICY and SUCCESSION.
It is essential to lead by example with the fundamental value of respecting diverse perspectives.
As a policy-driven leader I plan to focus on establishing and maintaining policies to ensure that Council decisions are consistent with long-term strategy and not solely based on short-term popular opinion. It is not enough to set the policies, we also need to follow them. Some compromises may be required but I believe with the collaboration of our community we can make decisions that benefit us all.
Succession planning will bring long-lasting benefits to our community, making us stronger and more resilient.
Having said all that – now we have work to do – TOGETHER.
It is time for a fiscally responsible government. But, that’s not enough. We also need a fiscally transparent government. The public needs to see how our tax dollars are spent. Our budgets need thorough review and we need public engagement at the beginning of the process and not after the fact.
More than ever in this phase of growth for Aurora, we need to define and maintain a sustainable balance between development and natural preservation. We need to re-evaluate and strengthen our PLANNING PROCESS to ensure our policies are being upheld. We need public engagement when policies and official plans are reviewed and applied.
It is also essential to work and have a good relationship with all levels of government to ensure that our priorities are represented.
I want to thank you all for your input. I am very fortunate to relate to and understand many of your concerns. With the support of our community I do believe that I have the skills and experience necessary to serve as Mayor, and you have my commitment that I will do my best guiding Aurora along the path ahead.
Please don’t forget to come out and vote on October 24th
And to all the candidates – I wish you all the best of luck.“
