Lisa Helps Answers Our Questions

Lisa Helps is running for Victoria City Council. This is her first shot at political office, but she has been active in the Fernwood community as well as the city as a whole through her work with the Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group which included establishing the Cornerstone Cafe and several units of affordable housing in Fernwood. She currently runs Community Micro Lending, a non-profit devoted to helping local small businesses with mentoring and micro loans.

Here are Lisa's answers to our questions three, her website is here and her YouTube channel is here:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

I’ve built affordable housing, helped small businesses get started, delivered leadership programs, and more. I bring this experience of getting things done - this spirit of action - to the council table.

These are my Leadership Principles and Values:

1. Have clarity of vision.
2. Meet people where they are at.
3. Pay more attention to what is than "what if?"
4. Ensure that the scale of energy invested is reflected in the scale of the effect.
5. Bring a diversity of interests, agendas and ideologies into a singularity of focus; turn that focus into action.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

City: Crumbling infrastructure and the need for an Infrastructure Priority Plan which will responsibly steward the City’s assets within the City’s means.
City Hall: Increased citizen engagement, citizen participation and oversight, and increased openness in key areas such as the city's budgeting process.
Affordability and Community Connectedness: increase affordable housing; strengthen small business sector; revitalize seniors’ centres and create opportunities for seniors to contribute their experience and knowledge to building vibrant intergenerational neighbourhoods; encourage and enable neighbourhood-based innovation; enhance and enable community building and community economic development activities.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

I’ve built two backyard chicken coops and tend a flock of six laying hens – Chipmunk, Chicken Licken, Feather, Rosa Bok, Yolko and Egglet – with two friends on my street. This building of coops and tending of chickens with neighbours, has given me a sense of the learning and connection that is possible through doing things together. Though backyard farming is a small piece of the region’s food security picture, it’s an important piece and something that connects people with their food and to each other.

Posted in: Candidates,Community Micro Lending,Election2011,Interviews,Videos