Meet the Calgary mayoral candidate: Sonya Sharp

Calgary’s municipal election is now less than a month away and nine people are vying for your vote for the mayor’s seat.

CTV News Calgary invited each of the mayoral candidates this year to answer the same three questions in three minutes or less.

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The video segment is posted in full above and the answers are transcribed below.

Sonya Sharp is the mayoral candidate for the Communities First party.

Why are you running for mayor?

Sharp: “I’m running for mayor so that we can build a safe and affordable city for everyone and where you can trust City Hall again.”

What’s the most important issue that needs to be addressed in the city in the next year?

Sharp: “The most important issue that needs to be addressed in the city is public safety. It means public safety in our streets, on our sidewalks, on our roads and in our transit system.

“And I have pledged to bring up our national average of police officer-to-population with 500 new police officers and a 24 hour, seven day-a-week police station downtown.

“These are critical things that need to be done in order just to catch up to where we’re at right now and make sure not just we’re, you know, focused on the boots on the ground, but look at the safety of our transit system, especially when our employees are feeling that they can’t go to work.”

Why should Calgarians vote for you?

Sharp: “Calgarians should vote for me because, not only do I have 16 years of business experience and seeing that from City Hall, I have the 20 years of institutional knowledge. And now the four years serving on council.

“No opponent of mine has that and I am a reliable and trustworthy person ready to serve.”