City council candidate Takahashi hopes to level the playing field
Jennifer Takahashi is the first female to throw her name in the ring for a seat on city council in the October Municipal Election. She’s hoping the next elected city council will have greater representation of women and minority groups.
“Our city council sits at 22 per cent female representation and has for a very long time, but women make up 50 per cent of the population. And when you start looking at working-class families and labour and marginalized communities, people of colour, there is a sharp lack of representation,” she said.
“I don’t see how we as a city can develop into what we want to be — where we dream to be — without that representation.”
Takahashi made the decision to run last October. Part of her inspiration sprung from Minister Stephanie McLean’s Ready For Her panel, which aimed to encourage more women to run for political office. But her greatest inspiration came from her 10-year-old son, who she says is one of her greatest supporters.
“After seeing the first slate of announced candidates come out, and realizing that we need diversity on city council, I was like ‘you know what, I’m going to do this,’” she said. “It’s not just modelling that we can stand up and run for office, but especially for the little girls, that women can stand up and run.
“Whether I’m elected or not, I know my actions are affecting not just my kid, but this entire segment of kids who understand that this is things we can do, we can be elected officials.”
If elected, Takahashi’s goal is to represent the needs and desires of all citizens of Lethbridge.
A resident of Lethbridge for the past 12 years, Takahashi has kept abreast of many of the issues and progress made within the city. Originally from Portland, Ore., Takahashi immigrated to Canada in 2005 and received her citizenship the following year.
“It’s been really exciting over the past 12 years watching (Lethbridge) develop into this vibrant, thriving community of arts and music, and seeing the activism community grow and the amount of community volunteerism,” she said.
While in Oregon she obtained her Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree. While she has mostly worked “blue collar jobs” while volunteering on the side, Takahashi says she is keen on politics and has made many connections with local organizations, non-profits and businesses. Recently she transitioned into working for a non-profit group.
She says she’s prepared to commit the time needed and believes she has a good understanding of this city, the direction it’s going and what the community wants.
If elected, Takahashi said she will continue to work towards greater mobility across the city through transit and cycling paths. She credited the city’s development of cycling pathways, and understands there are still challenges students and seniors face when trying to navigate the city.
She is also a big supporter of local small businesses and is learning more about neighbourhood associations and their positive effects on a community.
Takahashi supports the building of a supervised consumption site and believes the city should be proud of its infrastructure improvements such as Casa and the ATB Centre. She also believes the city could be better represented through a ward system.
Follow @MelissaVHerald on Twitter