Larry Heather
Larry Heather
Candidate for Mayor
Contact Information:
Biography:
Larry Heather (67 yrs.) was born in Vulcan, Alberta and has been a resident of Calgary Southwest since 1956. Larry works in audio/visual transfers to new media and production of radio shows, and oral family / historical living histories. In the past he has had extensive experience in the logistics industry.
Utilizing his creative and management skills, Larry is a past Board member of the Canadian Badlands Passion Play in Drumheller, where he continues in acting and behind the scenes maintenance for all 24 years of its history.
Using his research, production, and presentation skills, Larry is was a host of Gospel Road over the airwaves of southern Alberta for 11 years.
It is here he enjoyed profiling many interesting Christian ministries and topics of relevant concern to those who believe the application of Judeo-Christian ethics to our society is integral to its survival.
In the last eight years Larry has been doing volunteer research and website development for the William Aberhart Historical Foundation. The Foundation was initiated by the late Art Dixon, former Social Credit MLA and Speaker of the Alberta Legislature. In combination with his Gospel Road radio shows, he has produced some 32 hours of radio shows on the William Aberhart legacy and the luminaries he mentored, including Ernest Charles Manning.
Larry has many interests and a love for reading, theatre, and movies. A lifelong learner, he holds a Bachelor of Religious Education from Briercrest Bible College (Sask.), a Bachelor of Arts in Religion (Theatre Arts) from Rocky Mountain College (Calgary) and a graduate level Diploma of Christian Studies from Regent College (Vancouver.) He has also graduated from the one-year programming course from CDI College Calgary and a Web Builder's course at The Media Classroom.
Larry was for many years was President of Christians Concerned For Life in Calgary, and organized and chaired the steering committee that birthed the Calgary Crisis Pregnancy Centre (now the Calgary Pregnancy Care Centre) , following hundreds of film showings on the pro-life cause in Alberta churches. He has taken active runs in elections on the Pubic School Board, Provincial MLA and Federal MP levels, running for the Christian Heritage Party in Calgary West (1993), and Calgary Southwest (1997, 2004, 2006, & 2008) & the Calgary Midnapore By-election in 2017. He ran as an Independent in the 2011 & 2015 Federal Election against Prime Minister Stephen Harper, providing a ballot home for pro-life and traditional family supporters who hold these values as determinant of our country's continued future.
His 2013 first time run for Mayor of Calgary was election race number 15 and in 2017, his 20th run.
Survey Results:
Question 1: What work experience do you have that’s relevant to the role of Mayor and how do you feel the skills and perspective you have gained will help you in your role as Mayor?
I have attended City Hall for 11 years and know well the process of speaking to Committee and Council. I understand the games being played. The administration is the permanent government and runs the Councillors and Mayor like puppets. I know how to disestablish them and put the decisions back onto the people's representatives.
Question 2: What do you think are the biggest issues affecting Calgary are, and how would you approach these issues as Mayor?
1. Gigantism of City Hall Programs and Staffing. Uncontrollable growth of spending and staffing. One-third of City Staff (mostly middle management) must be let go to get control of the Beast and bring it to subjection. 2. Throw out the Calgary Municipal Plan and all such anti-car and resource hating ideologies. Restore the priority of R1 residential living as the ultimate tier of healthy urbanism 3. Restore Car Mobility, and eliminate planned congestion. Slash Business and Residential taxes drastically, return the City to basic core functions and stop anything not related to those functions such as pleasing special interest groups over the common good. 4. Restore Election Integrity with a proper citizen voting list, reduce advance voting to only those proving a need so citizens are not voting before half the campaign is run. Rigorous audit of ballot registry to disqualify multiple-time voters and non-citizens.
Question 3: What do you think is the role of a municipal government? Do you think the City does too many things, not enough, or just the right amount?
The current Regime is replicating Provincial and Federal Departments under the City structure and making work opportunities out of no need. (Think Environment and Interference in Education)
Question 4: Do you think property taxes are too high, too low, or just about right?
The property taxes are far too high for both business and residential. As above, drastic culling is needed of both staffing and program spending.
Question 5: Over the next four years, should the City spend less in absolute terms, increase spending but by less than the rate of inflation and population growth, increase by the rate of inflation and population growth, or increase faster than the rate of inflation and population growth?
Decrease spending markedly to comparable levels of the mid 1980's regardless of inflation.
Question 6: During the introduction of City Charters a few years ago there was a lot of debate about new taxation powers for the big cities. Would you support the City being given any additional taxation powers by the Province? If so, what taxation powers should the City have?
Absolutely not. Remain with Property Tax and services.
Question 7: The City often claims that they’ve found savings in various budgets, but instead of actually cutting spending, they just put the savings into a reserve account and then spend that money on other things. If there’s money left over at the end of a financial year, do you think that money should be saved up by the City to spend in future years? Or should it be returned automatically to taxpayers the following year through some kind of rebate?
Returned to the Taxpayer by rebate.
Question 8: Everyone says they support affordable housing, but what does that term mean for you? Do you think the City should be subsidizing housing for lower-income residents? Or focused on keeping the cost of all housing from getting out of control? Or perhaps some combination of the two? If so, how?
No. We need to decrease subsidized housing by enabling citizens to buy back their property with a mortgage. We need to fix All existing stock of units and not build new projects until we have utilized the old.
Question 9: The Calgary Metropolitan Region Board is currently debating their Growth Plan for the Calgary region. What do you think about the plan? Do you think we should be limiting development in certain parts of the region? If so, are you worried about how that will affect housing affordability?
We have no business Lording our warped views of Urban growth under the current MDP on other towns or cities nearby.
Question 10: There’s been a lot of debate about the City’s new “Guidebook for Great Communities”. What do you think about the Guidebook? What do you think should be the split between greenfield and established community growth for new housing? Should the City have a specific target? Should this be determined by market demand?
Let the market decide on the more affordable greenfield, and let the market dictate the rate of inner city renewal at its own pace.
Question 11: When the City voted to approve four projects - the Event Centre, the BMO Centre expansion, the Arts Commons transformation, and the Foothills Fieldhouse - they did so against the advice of the City’s own CFO, who said the City could only afford one of them. Do you think that was the right move? Why? If, as the City continues through the process with each of these projects, it becomes obvious that the City’s CFO was correct, and Calgarians can only afford one of these projects, which would you choose?
Only the Event Centre Arena was necessary at this time. The Council of the last four years is bankrupting us.
Question 12: Do you support the construction of the Green Line LRT as currently envisioned by the City, would you prefer changes be made to the plan (and if so, what changes), or would you prefer to cancel the project entirely? If, as Mayor, you find out that - despite all the previous assurances - there has in fact been another cost overrun on the Green Line, what would you do?
The Green Line LRT is the most expensive and high costing maintenance option possible. It should be cancelled in favor of scalable demand by Raid Bus Routes along the existing purchased routes.
Question 13: What do you think is the best approach to attract businesses to Calgary? Direct incentives to specific businesses, paid for by slightly higher taxes, or lower tax rates for all businesses?
Lower Taxes, No incentives (inevitable twisted by favoritism) Let the market decides, no civic interference.
Question 14: Should the City be in the business of operating golf courses, or should they privatize or sell them off? How about garbage collection or other services?
There will be no golf courses left due to the MDP plan which is skyrocketing the price of land. Maintain ownership for now until MDP is dismantled.
Question 15: Should we defund the police? If yes, what exactly does defunding the police mean to you? If not, what should the City do to address both historical and ongoing injustices?
Absolutely not. This is Marxist class warfare.
Question 16: Do you support the City’s mandatory vaccination policy for City employees?
Absolutely Not. A violation of the Nuremberg Code. Those responsible will be brought to justice and incarcerated at the least.
Question 17: Council recently dropped residential speed limits to 40km/h, do you agree with that decision, and what do you think about the proposal by some to go further and drop it to 30km/h in the future?
This was totally unnecessary and is a continuation of the war against the car and truck. It must be reversed.
Question 18: For years there has been an ongoing debate about the City’s public art spending. Some say that the problem is the selection process for what art is commissioned, while others are opposed to any use of public funds for art. What do you think?
Let business prosper and fund that which is pleasing to the public. Perhaps a tax credit for doing so.
Question 19: Serving as Mayor you are elected by and responsible to all Calgarians, but some policies and government actions inherently benefit one part of the City at the expense of another. How would you deal with a situation where you feel that the best interests of some Calgarians conflict with the best interests of Calgarians in other parts of the City?
Put the Councillor's offices out into the Wards. Take away the insulation that make them arrogantly protected from the results of their decisions.
Question 20: While the concept of a secret ballot is essential, many of our supporters have told us that they’d like to know the political alignment of their candidates. So, if - and only if - you feel comfortable saying so, who are you voting for in your local ward race and why, and if you are affiliated with any provincial or federal political parties, which ones and why?
Dawid Pawlowski for Freedom's Restoration in Ward 11