Garnet Heidt
Biography
I've spent the last year doing the job before asking for it. Since December, I've attended every council meeting, read every agenda in advance, and sat down individually with the city's general managers to understand how Burnaby actually works — planning, engineering, finance, all of it.
I was approached by several slates asking me to join, and I turned them down. I found it was important to have a voice for Burnaby, not for a slate or a party.
What I hear consistently at doors is that people feel shut out — taxes keep climbing, emails to city hall go unanswered, and decisions get made about their neighbourhoods without them. I don't have a big team or a big budget. What I have is a year of showing up, listening, and doing the work before asking anyone for their vote.
Reason for running
It came down to one thing I heard over and over at doors: people don't feel like anyone at city hall is actually listening to them. That's the whole reason I'm running. Not to build a political career, and not because a party recruited me — nobody did. I decided this mattered enough to do it myself, independently, so that whoever wins my vote at that table answers to residents first.
garnetforburnaby.ca www.garnetforburnaby.ca