Mitchell Proust campaign letter.

Hello neighbours,

In case I haven’t had the chance to meet you yet, my name is Mitchell Prost. I am a resident of Hawthorn Place and am running to represent you on the University Neighbourhoods Association Board of Directors. The UNA is an organization that has surely affected your living experience here on campus in some way or another. I am hoping to work with board members and residents alike to improve our community for all.

Before I dive into my campaign and what I hope to do with the UNA, I thought it would be nice for you to get to know a little about me first. Some personal fast facts about me are:

• I was born in Langley, BC and grew up in Surrey, BC
• I have lived on the UBC Campus (Musqueam Territory) for the past six years
• I have one dog and two cats (very cute pictures linked here)!
• I graduated from UBC with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and Behavioural Neuroscience
• I have played the piano for 16 years and love to compose music
• I like to think I am a friendly person, and hope to meet many of you in the coming weeks and beyond!

Professionally, I currently work as the Student Services Manager with the Alma Mater Society (AMS) of UBC Vancouver where I oversee the operations of our community services. The AMS Food Bank, our Safewalk campus shuttle program, and our AMS Housing Services are some examples of the services I manage daily. In this role, I additionally sit on the AMS Board as a councillor, on the Finance Committee, and the Student Life Committee.

Outside of my current work, I sit on the City of Vancouver’s Renters Advisory Committee where I regularly engage in conversations and consultation with city staff and Councillors on a variety of issues affecting Vancouver’s 600,000+ residents.

If you’d like a full picture of the work I have done, I invite you to review my LinkedIn profile. Additionally, you can visit my campaign website at mitchellprost.com. 

My Vision for the UNA

As I mentioned above, the UNA is an organization that affects us all here living in our neighbourhoods. The board in particular has the ability to engage in consultation with a variety of stakeholders such as residents like us, the UBC administration, the UBC Board of Governors, and more. The topics vary from more local issues such as parking and access, to more broader topics such as the planning of how UBC’s physical campus will grow in the future. As a UNA Director, I will commit to bringing my full attention to all conversations we have, no matter how easy or difficult, or how small or large they might be.

In addition to continuing the work currently being done by the board to ensure a smooth transition that does not disrupt the community in a major way, I hope to work on the following priorities:

Land Use Planning and Development

An affordable, accessible, and sustainable living

• Coordinate with the UNA-UBC Liaison Committee and the UNA Land Use Advisory Committee as a way to ensure that the UNA is making housing more affordable in our neighbourhoods.
  
  

• Consulting directly with all residents on matters of land use, climate action, sustainability, transit solutions, and more as UBC renews its 10-year Land Use Plan, otherwise known as “Campus Vision 2050”.
  
  

• Pushing for the development of more green spaces in all neighbourhoods along with the promotion of sustainable transportation methods such as the Skytrain-to-UBC and zero-emission vehicle charging stations.
  
  

• Advocating for the inclusion of the Skytrain-to-UBC into CampusVision 2050 in understanding the short-term and long-term benefits that the project brings to the region, such as employment growth, Indigenous partnerships, and sustainable transit solutions.

Safety and Communal Living

Creating a safe community

• Work with the rest of the board to push the provincial government to allocate more resources towards local law enforcement and UBC to ensure that our neighbourhoods and the entire campus are being kept safe.
  
  

• Collaborate with UBC and the Director of Electoral Area A on the creation of a UNA Safety Advisory Committee which would be mandated to work with local law enforcement to create a comprehensive crime prevention plan as a way to mitigate the long-term impacts of population growth.
  
  

• Lobby the provincial government, in coordination with UBC and all relevant stakeholders, to conduct a safety audit of direct roads and ensure that all access routes to UBC’s Vancouver campus are safe for residents, visitors, and students. 

Community Engagement and Transparency

Being transparent and accountable

• Revolutionize the UNA’s community engagement strategy by growing social media accounts and regularly updating residents on the operations of the UNA Board of Directors along with work being conducted by UNA staff in brief, concise, and engaging language.
  
  

• Push for the creation of more youth engagement in the UNA’s operations and governance by pushing for the creation of a UNA Youth Leaders’ Council which would act as a consultant on directional decisions regarding affordable housing, connectivity, sustainability, and more within the UNA neighbourhoods.
  
  

• Improve accessibility and transparency of the UNA Board Meetings through the uploading and storing meeting recordings to UNA website, in addition to the written minute documents already available.
  
  

• Increase community engagement in creating the annual budget through a UNA budgetary priorities survey.

Expanding Revenues and Services 
Cutting costs and investing in a community for all

• Push for the reduction of parking costs for UNA residents while making up for lost revenue by potentially increasing parking costs for visitors and guests in understanding that UNA residents are existing financial contributors (small financial study required).
  
  

• Conducting a review on the current services provided by the UNA to identify any gaps in an effort to reinvest within the community.

Many of my goals are informed by the thoughts and feelings of other UNA residents. Before moving forward on major changes, I believe it is imperative to adequately consult the community, and will incorporate this belief into my work as a Director, should the community select me as one.

If you have made it this far, I truly appreciate your time and attention. If you have any questions or comments at all, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at mitchell.prost@gmail.com or by replying to this email.

Thank you and have a great day!

Best,
Mitchell

Mitchell Prost | He/Him

Candidate | UNA Board of Directors

Website: mitchelprostcom

Email: mitchell.prost@gmail.com