VISION &
PRIORITIES

We need to honor THE WISDOM OF NEIGHBORS AND THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.

Communities First
Shared Policy Priorities

Being Responsible & Accountable to Citizens
Running an Efficient & Effective City
Getting Back to Basics
Municipal Infrastructure
Public Safety as a Fundamental Responsibility
Smart & Respectful Growth
Intergovernmental Relations
Blanket rezoning needs to be repealed. We need planning that respects context and community fabric

Alison is a member of the Communities First. We prioritize community interests above all, distinguishing ourselves from traditional political parties.

SAFETY &

SOCIAL

DISORDER

Public Safety is a fundamental responsibility. Invest in protective services - Police, Fire, By-law, and Peace Officers. Further investments are needed for transit safety and social disorder.

District 4 alone has an officer deficit compared to Downtown.

Convenience stores should not be allowed sell bladed weapons or bear spray. This increases the level of violence within the community.

Homeless initiative needs to pivot. We need to focus on outcomes not outputs.

LAND USE &
HOUSING

Blanket rezoning needs to be repealed. We need planning that respects context and community fabric.

New apartment builds should incorporate 20% affordable housing units. In order to make it appealing to developers bonusing may be a solution.

Transitional housing is necessary, but the current system has few checks and balances. The Municipal Development Plan must be followed to ensure that this type of housing is small in nature and equally spread throughout the city and not over saturated in one community. Risks assessments should be commonplace and good neighbour agreements in place.

An attainable homes initiative should be expanded to open up the housing market to lower income earning residents and bring them up economically.

Developers should be encouraged to relocate houses to recycle and ensure maximum housing stock is available. The tree canopy should be protected.

ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT

Small business are the economic engines of Calgary. Innovation hubs and makers collectives are an integral part to a thriving local economy.

Property owners who improve their buildings should receive a small discount on property tax for a year. This work hires tradespeople and uses local products to improve the community and the local economy. On the other hand, slum landlords should be taxed higher due to the impact of lower community standards and the need for additional city services these often require.

Calgary is losing major businesses to the outlying MD's of Rockyview and Foothills, we need to be competitive.

MEET ALISON

Alison, an award-winning Executive Director with over 25 years of leadership, who specializes in non-profit management, placemaking, community economic development, crime prevention, social innovation, and cultural/media relations. She graduated from the Institute of Place Management (UK) and the University of Calgary.

She has extensive experience in urban renewal, stakeholder engagement, and city initiatives. As overseer of Calgary’s International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone/BIA, she manages land use, oversees the care of infrastructure on the Avenue, manages all staff, marketing, special events, co-manages the Ambassador program and created the security initiative, and supports 435 businesses and community members.

A Mover and Shaker:
Alison has led projects like the Around the World Food Tour, secured $176M for Calgary’s 17th Avenue SE redevelopment, and safeguarded $1.6M in public art funding. Notable initiatives include planting over 300 trees and 25 years later when the City was getting ready to reconstruct 17 Ave orchestrated the Great Tree Move to save them from construction. In the late 1990’s she advocated for all the watermains on 17th Ave SE to be upgraded.

She knows her stuff about crime and safety:
She has been awarded the Safer Calgary Award and the Alberta Justice Award among several others. She created a security and crime prevention strategy and is trained in CPTED 1, 2 and Safegrowth. She leads the Social Disorder Task Force and collaborates with Calgary Police, Bylaw, Transit, Security, community groups, 12CSI, Recovery communities and Alpha House. To date with her team she has helped 228 unhoused leave the street and ensured that over 50+ offenders have been apprehended through the programs she has created. Our security and ambassador teams are amazing she muses and credits them with going the extra mile to really understand the systemic issues of people suffering homelessness. It is a collaborative effort that is working!

She is Innovative and a problem solver:
Alison founded and/or co-founded organizations such as International Avenue Arts and Culture Community, 12 Communities Safety Initiative, ArtBOX on 17E, Emerge Hub, GlobalFest, and others, significantly contributing to community vibrancy and sustainability. She helped attract FUSE33 makerspace and the Alex Food Centre, and worked with the Calgary Vietnamese Community on the Journey to Freedom Park.

She gets it done…
She advocates for local artists and has overseen the installation of over 55 public art pieces on 17th Avenue SE. Her efforts include reducing poverty via legislative work to deal with predatory lending (Bill 51), fighting harmful land uses, and creating a social disorder task force that has helped numerous people leave street life. She utilized data analysis to identify patterns in social issues, guiding her community safety initiatives.

One job wasn’t enough…..Two Jobs in one!

Earlier in her career, she managed pedestrian malls-Stephen Ave and Barclay Mall, initiated public art programs, and contributed to downtown vibrancy through flower baskets, patios, and lighting. She helped revive the Santa Claus parade and ensured the preservation of Calgary’s historic architecture, raising funds for homelessness initiatives. In addition to being the Downtown Pedestrian Mall Manager she also was responsible for all Downtown marketing and events at the same time.

Lover of Calgary and life

Alison is committed to transforming Calgary into a culturally rich, inclusive, and thriving city. She has lived in Calgary most of her life. Her father is from Iraq and her mother from England where Alison was also born. Her family immigrated to Canada so her academic father could join the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Calgary as a full professor. Alison is married to former CBC journalist Don McSwiney. Don is also well known as the bass player for Dino Martinis and Director of Communications for the Faculty of Social Work at the U of C. Alison and Don are the proud parents of two grown children. She is a lover of animals and is pet mom to a dog, four cats and a parrot. Her hobbies include alternative music, kayaking, gardening, reading, mycology, British crime shows, dinner parties and interior design.