One of the candidates running for council in the upcoming municipal election is focused on the cost of living and what can be done at a municipal level to make life easier for the community.
Kaitte Aurora is one of the candidates vying for a seat on council in the 2025 municipal election and says Lethbridge is feeling the crunch of Canada’s housing crisis. Aurora says there are ways at a municipal level this can be address and lead to a sustainable future, including eliminate restrictive zoning and land use regulations to allow for middle density and mixed-use neighbourhoods to be built, support housing cooperatives and tenant unions who are pushing back against landlords and regulate short term rentals to making it so long term housing is available to those who need it.
She explains she is a progressive populist, and I am running for council because she wants to see everyone thrive.
“I reject the idea that we have to allow wealthy elites to hoard all the benefits of society for themselves while things get steadily worse for the rest of us,” Aurora says.
Aurora explains she would like to get rid of the current tax system in Lethbridge and replace it with a Land Value Tax, which would shift the burden to the “wealthy land hoarders and away from everyone else.” She adds that by following this strategy to lower taxes, it will focus on fixing major structural problems in Lethbridge, but it would also, in the short term could require upfront investment to achieve a sustainable long-term tax reduction.
“I plan to place that tax burden on the wealthy while giving the rest of us a tax break through smart changes in our tax system. I am firmly against short-sighted under-investment and tax-axing as those strategies always lead to structural deficits which cost us more in the long run.”
“I believe that we are best off when we pay what it takes to make Lethbridge a great place to live.”
Having a background as a project lead for engineering projects is something Aurora thinks will be of benefit if elected, because she will be able to highlight what she says are often overlooked but critical components of successful project planning.
“We need to include workers every step of the way. I have seen too many projects fail or backfire because decision makers ignored the knowledge and expertise of their workers,” Aurora says.
The council candidate says if elected, she will prioritize her work as a councillor and avoid taking on other commitments that would potentially interfere with those duties.
“I frequently attend community events across the city and am always open to conversation,” she says. “I can also be reached by email and social media.”
She adds she is always open to conversation because she wants to know about the ideas others have to make Lethbridge a better place to live.
