Priorities & Actions

Vanessa Denman for Mayor — Edmonton 2025

 

When I speak about leadership, I don’t say “I will advocate.”
I take action.

 

As Mayor, I will introduce drafted motions, lead reviews, and make sure Edmontonians see results.
Below are my first priorities:

 

1. Infill — Fix the Zoning Bylaw

Edmonton’s Zoning Bylaw 12800 has created unnecessary friction for neighbourhoods and residents.

 

✅ Motion drafted: Amend the bylaw to allow a reprieve where needed and create clear, neighbourhood-sensitive rules.
✅ Focus: Protect parking, traffic flow, and neighbourhood character while still supporting smart, sustainable growth.
✅ Action: Fast review process with residents, builders, and planners — ensuring infill works with communities, not against them.

 

📸 Community Invitation: If you see an infill in your neighbourhood that concerns you, I invite you to take a photo (panoramic if possible) and share it on Instagram — don’t forget to tag me so I can see your perspective. Together, we’ll bring neighbourhood voices into City Hall.

2. Smoking & Small Business Choice

The Public Places Bylaw 14614 currently prevents restaurants and bars from making their own choices about patios and designated spaces.

 

✅ Motion drafted: Amend the bylaw to let restaurants and bars opt in to allowing smoking/vaping in certain areas.
✅ Safeguards: Distance requirements, signage, and accountability for business owners.
✅ Result: Choice for businesses, fairness for customers, balance for the community.

 

3. Derelict Buildings — Act, Don’t Delay

The Community Standards Bylaw 14600 gives us tools to deal with unsafe or neglected properties.

 

✅ Action: Request and publish the City’s list of derelict/problem buildings.
✅ Commitment: Visit sites as Mayor with community members to see conditions first-hand.
✅ Goal: Accelerate clean-ups, repairs, or safe demolitions so neighbourhoods can thrive again.

 

4. Raising Edmonton’s Vibration

In 2020, ward names were changed to Indigenous names. This is important and deserves respect — but community energy matters too.

✅ Action: Work with the City’s Naming Committee, Indigenous knowledge holders, councillors, and community members to ensure names are meaningful and uplifting.
✅ Vision: Invite the highest vibrating members of our communities — the children — into the naming process. Children see the future with joy and clarity.
✅ Outcome: Ward names that lift Edmonton’s vibration and honour both tradition and tomorrow.

 

📸 Community Invitation: Share what raises your vibration in your ward or neighbourhood — whether it’s a landmark, gathering place, or special spot. Post a photo (panoramic if possible) on Instagram and tag me so we can build a living gallery of Edmonton’s joy and energy.

5. Public Safety & Well-Being

Edmontonians deserve to feel safe, supported, and respected.

 

✅ Commitment: Hold a Public Safety Summit within 60 days as Mayor.
✅ Bring Together: Police, health partners, outreach teams, housing and addiction services, neighbourhood leaders.
✅ Deliver: A practical 12-month plan that balances safety, compassion, and accountability.

6. Bike Lanes & Transportation

Council has admitted mistakes in past bike lane rollouts.

 

✅ Action: Review what worked and what didn’t.
✅ Engage: Neighbourhoods before new lanes are built.
✅ Result: Streets that are safe, functional, and respectful of drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Higher-Level Advocacy Goals

While the Mayor’s power is municipal, I will use the platform to push boldly at the provincial and federal levels:

  • Provincial: Call for deep reform of the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission (AGLC).

  • Federal: Advocate for a bold student debt relief program that cancels most of the burden while leaving a token repayment ($100) to preserve responsibility.

Why Your Vote Matters

As Mayor, I am one vote out of 13 on Council.
Your ward vote matters just as much as your mayoral vote.

 

✅ Vote for councillors who share your values.
✅ Vote early to avoid line-ups — Oct 7–11.
✅ Election Day: October 20, 2025.

 

Together, we raise Edmonton’s vibration and take real action.

✨ Action. Clarity. Community. Energy.
That’s how we move Edmonton forward.