June Jeffries is running for Burnaby city council with TEAM Burnaby:
I am 48 years old. I've lived in Burnaby since 1986. My husband and I graduated from Simon Fraser University. We have three children: our eldest son and daughter are at SFU while our youngest son is in secondary school.
I have a long history of community engagement on: Parent Advisory Committee, District Parent Advisory Committee, School Planning Council, Burnaby Minor Hockey Association volunteer, Canadian Diabetes Alumni, board of director for the B.C. Brain Injury Association.
Professionally, I've been a restaurant manager, manufacturing sales representative, health and safety co-chair, owner of a start-up company, and most recently a national events manager.
Burnaby is a beautiful place to live. We have great parks and recreational facilities. It is debt-free with $633 million in financial reserves and hundreds of millions stockpiled in land reserves. Yet taxes continue to rise beyond the rate of inflation. Why? Because there is no opposition! We have a city council that says no to a homeless shelter, no to the Olympic Oval, no to innovation but yes to tax increases.
I am running for city council because we need open, accessible, transparent government that engages citizens through information. We need a pragmatic approach to the political process. It is the citizen's right to know how tax dollars are being spent line-by-line. It is imperative to be accountable to the taxpayers; it is not enough to talk about being responsible, politicians must be held to task. This is our city. This is your city.