Chris Soda

Grand Marais Road West
Email: soda.chris@gmail.com 
Parler: LifeBeginsAtConception
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2022 Windsor Election Rose City Politics Candidate Questionnaire answers:

1. What is your prior political experience?

Former council candidate (early 1980’s) & former MP candidate (Windsor West, 2000) & election officer (various elections & various positions- from enumerator to community relations officer to poll clerk, etc etc).

2. Why are you running?

I have the time & I have a lot to offer as a councillor. Most important of what i bring to the table is proper perspective- namely, the understanding that we on council are entrusted with the employer’s money, and as the employee we should seek solutions that comprehensively benefit the public at large & not any particular special-interest group or personal/private concerns.

3. What do you do currently for a living?

gainfully retired 🙂

4. What is the biggest issue affecting the ward you are running for?

All necessary fixes should garner equal attention, but if I was forced to choose one for Ward 2 (and which applies to all Wards) that should have been fixed a long time ago, it would be this: government attacks from all levels (and the pertinent one in the case of this election = municipal) on business & personal freedoms.

5. What is the biggest issue affecting the city of Windsor?

Again, many issues of equal importance, but if I had to choose one, see my answer above.

6. Are you seeking any endorsements?

I am not actively seeking any group endorsements, but I have received various questionnaires from groups and answered them. Hopefully I will get endorsements in the next few weeks from them, but the most important endorsement = from Ward 2 voters @ the polls.

7. Have you received any endorsements?

The first day to vote is not upon us yet 🙂

8. Will you continue the “hold the line on taxes” policy?

Yes, but only if tax rebates are issued ASAP to anyone in the City who paid municipal taxes in 2021. Otherwise, I will be advocating for a tax reduction when elected.

9. Do you support the mega-hospital location?

Yes, but only if we have at least one ambulance station parked in every Ward, ready to go 24/7/365.

10. Do you support strong mayor legislation?

Hard no

11. Should the city use taxpayers dollars to bring jobs to the area?

Yes, but not in the way most people address this. Example: (a) instead of allocating taxpayer money to some special government department dedicated to this, we should fix our roads once & for all (we all have seen the City’s “bandaid” solutions that fall apart within a year), install bike lanes that allow easy access to/from major arteries, & make sure those major arteries (excluding expressways) also have complete bike access. Example: Ever try using Sandwich Street (Ward 2) on a bicycle? Piss-all or piss-poor bicycle access despite hundreds of student/worker bicycle trips to/from schools/workplaces every day. And its worse in winter…if that get fixed, word spreads, and that is a good way to attract businesses to the area. (b) There is no reason to waste the employer’s money on attracting business when we can lower tax rates and also achieve a net-positive rating from prospective investors in combination with (a).

12. If you are running in a ward with an incumbent who is also running, why is change necessary, and why are you the person to deliver it?

Number one reason change is necessary: Long-term plans that don’t fix immediate problems. Example: (a) some roads in Ward 2 that might be used for moon atlas photographs (on 2nd thought, maybe there are less cracks, holes, and dents on the moon!), (b) piss-poor snow removal (talk to seniors in the Ward and many of them complain the “snow angels” are more like “snow devils”- and many other complaints I have heard door-to-door regarding snow removal), (c) despite repeated attempts, there is no pedestrian-engaged crosswalk (like the one at Mic Mac Park now) near Queen/King & Prince Road despite a school academy, a children’s clothing store, and a community centre within metres of each other at that intersection (d) There is no good reason why seniors and those of First Nation status should not be able to ride any City bus for free. It’s the height of BS to virtue signal about “I want to acknowledge we are standing on land owned by (insert clan or tribe)” while the City expects them to pay to traverse it. (e) Seniors have supported this community for their whole lives and made it what it is today- but get their local pools “re-imagined” a kilometre away or closed altogether (f) did I mention boarded-up homes in 2018 that are still boarded-up in 2022? Yeah, about that “affordable housing shortage” in Windsor… (rolls eyes)

13. How many hours per week do you plan to allocate towards council business if elected?

If i am needed anytime Monday to Sunday, I am a phone call away. Public service is not measured on a punch clock.

14. Do you live in the ward you are running for?

No. But my wife & I volunteer in this Ward 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I have owned a house in the Ward, rented in the Ward, and worked in the Ward in the past.

15. What agencies, boards, or committees do/have you served on, and in what capacity?

None

16. What person, animal or fictional character should be Windsor’s unofficial mascot?