Ivy Hanley, left, and Danny Breen are running for mayor of St. John's. (Ivy Hanley 2025/Facebook, Darryl Murphy/CBC)
Residents of St. John's will soon vote to elect their next mayor, with a business owner turned first-time candidate going up against the current mayor seeking a third term.
Ivy Hanley and Danny Breen are facing off on the ballot. Voters will head to the polls for municipal elections on Oct. 2.
Hanley owns multiple businesses in the city, and is also a mother and previous tradeswoman. At 37, she feels now is the time to put her hat into the political ring.
"I've broken barriers when it comes to women in trade as well as being able to open businesses when others have said you can not. And I continue that style of my life, and that's one of the many reasons I want to run for mayor of St. John's," Hanley told CBC News this week.
"We're at a crossroads of losing the ability to grow if we're not willing to make changes and be innovative. And that is what I want for our city."
Breen has served as mayor of St. John's for the past eight years, guiding the city through infrastructure upgrades, business development and hosting the Canada Summer Games this past August.
He told CBC News he initially spent time looking at where he could make an impact outside of the council chambers before deciding to run again, and believes any new council needs veteran leadership.
"I saw that we had some significant challenges that we face here in the city, and I would like to lead a new council into addressing those," he said. "There will be change… I believe that new council will need experience as well, and that's what I bring to the table."
Public safety, drug crisis top of mind
Both candidates stress that public safety is a key pillar of their campaigns to become mayor — and working to address a growing drug crisis in Newfoundland and Labrador's capital city.
Breen said, if elected, he would push for more police resources and improving access to supports earlier. While he said some issues at the core of the crisis are provincial in scope, he knows municipal government has a role to play.
"We have a penitentiary that's being replaced, long overdue … I think we're seeing the impact of that lack of services to help, not only for [the] penitentiary, but for resources to help people get back into the community," he said.
"We're discharging people from the penitentiary into homelessness, and that's an issue that needs to be addressed."
WATCH | Who are the candidates running for mayor of St. John's?: Meet the candidates running for mayor of St. John’s Duration 3:59 Two candidates are seeking election as mayor of the City of St. John’s. Ivy Hanley is a local business owner, previous tradeswoman and mother entering politics this municipal election, while current mayor Danny Breen is seeking re-election for a third term.
Hanley said she's pushing to work with the province to increase supports for those facing addiction, create a drug-free shelter in the city and clean up the presence of safe-use items like needles.
"I will be demanding from our provincial government to put the supports in place and to clean up the needles. Because they provided them, not us," Hanley said.
"We've got to get a shelter system that is drug free in this city. I know it's provincial, but our city is crumbling without it. And I will be fighting for a drug free shelter in our city and I will be fighting with the province."
Business development and taxes
Both candidates are also focused on business. Hanley says there needs to be more flexibility for business owners, and address what she calls a disconnect between business owners and the city.
"Businesses can't open here, they're really struggling. I mean, I deal with vendors almost everyday and hearing from them the reasons they don't want to open in St. John's breaks my heart," she said.
Voters will St. John's will elect either Breen or Hanley on Oct. 2. (Mark Quinn/ CBC)
"The permitting system is hard to follow … it's not clear, and the requirements in a lot of the older buildings are something that the average person cannot afford."
Breen said he's committed to helping business grow in the city, and is also proposing benefits for business and shoppers through provincial tax.
He's proposing the city should get a cut of the provincial harmonized sales tax, which would relieve pressure on property taxes.
"Costs of everything is going up, and we're an end user as a municipality. So as those costs go up, the cost pressures on the cities and municipalities increase. So we need a way to lessen that impact on the taxpayer," Breen said.
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[SRC] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/hanley-breen-mayor-platforms-1.7643636
