Moraa Mochama

City/Township Council · Waterloo Ward 2

All topics Housing Getting Around Climate Food Growth & Planning Budget & Taxes

This candidate finalized their responses after this guide and scoring methodology was published.

Housing & Homelessness 3 questions

Housing & Homelessness

How should municipalities and the Region balance providing permanent housing with the management of encampments in public spaces?select up to 3 per part

A. Pathways to permanent housing

Use publicly owned land for permanent or interim housing
Increase funding for deeply affordable and supportive housing
Provide basic income to people

B. Interim management of encampments

Expand the hours and capacity of extreme-weather shelter protections beyond current levels
Require that enforcement actions be linked to the availability of adequate indoor alternatives
Allow temporary encampments to persist while permanent housing options are actively being developed

C. Accountability and collaboration between levels of government

Establish clear regional leadership with coordinated municipal roles
Assign clear municipal responsibility for public-space management

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to address both encampments and permanent housing.candidate's own words

Establish legally binding compliance and enforcement mechanisms for developers who access public funding, ensuring they fulfill their affordable unit commitments. (i.e. If developers take public funds to build affordable homes, we need to ensure strict rules and penalties are in place so they actually deliver them).

Getting Around 4 questions

Getting Around

How should municipalities use existing street infrastructure to better prioritize walking, cycling, and public transit?select up to 3

Prioritize active transportation improvements during routine resurfacing
Focus improvements around schools, transit corridors, and commercial areas

What role should public transit play in regional growth, and how should future transit investments be prioritized?ranked from highest to lowest importance

Prioritize expanding coverage area
Prioritize lower-cost or incremental transit improvements
Prioritize maximizing operational efficiency
Invest in rapid transit to anchor growth
Use transit to shape land use

Do you support the municipality taking responsibility for snow removal from sidewalks adjacent to private properties?single choice

Yes, sidewalks should be cleared alongside roads as part of regular winter maintenance

Do you support expanding fare-free transit for the Region?single choice

Yes, for specific groups

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on transportation?candidate's own words

High school students currently pay the same fare price as adults. This should not be case and a student price or free fare should be considered for those 18 and under.

Please describe one criterion or principle that should not be compromised when making transit investment decisions.candidate's own words

Accessibility to transit: improvements to MobilityPlus,

Other priority not listed abovecandidate's own words

Expansion of Affordable Transit Program to include all high school students

Please name one specific street, corridor, or project where you would prioritize these changes.candidate's own words

Provide safe cycling opportunities to go West to East / East to West in the city. e.g. Erb Street

Climate & Sustainability 3 questions

Climate & Sustainability

How should municipalities and the Region incorporate climate and sustainability into policy, including development and infrastructure decisions?select up to 3 per part

A. Perspective on climate change

Climate change is an urgent and defining crisis of our time; reducing greenhouse gas emissions should be a primary consideration across municipal decision-making
Our local and regional governments need to renew coordinated action towards implementing the Transform Waterloo Region strategy

B. Building and development standards

Create financial incentives for low-carbon construction (e.g. development charge reductions, expedited approvals, density bonuses)
Use development agreements to require climate sustainability measures as a condition of approval

C. Infrastructure and capital planning

Require climate risk and lifecycle cost analysis in major capital decisions
Prioritize active transportation and transit investment

Describe one concrete policy, incentive, or decision you would prioritize to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Where possible, explain how it balances environmental goals with fiscal responsibility.candidate's own words

Ensure Indigenous People and organizations are included in conversations on climate impacts and achieving climate justice.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on sustainability?candidate's own words

Indigineous People are the first stewards of this land. Their knowledge systems are integral to developing solutions to the climate crisis especially at a municipal level. (Municipalities own approximately 60% of public infrastructure in Canada and have direct or indirect control of 44-50% of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.)

Food Systems & Security 3 questions

Food Systems & Security

In the context of growing pressure for economic development and the connected loss of farmland, what role do municipalities and the Region hold in promoting local food livelihoods, production, and processing?ranked from highest to lowest importance

Develop a local food strategy, including research on how land-use change affects the food system
Promote and support low-barrier spaces for local producers to distribute and sell food
Partner with other levels of government to develop local food hubs that reduce costs and barriers for small businesses
Encourage and support local landowners to rent to newcomer farmers
Leave local food livelihoods to the private market

How should municipalities and the Region approach food insecurity and affordability?select up to 3 per part

A. Access to food

Partner with local charities, non-profits, and other organizations to strengthen access to food and redistribution of surplus food and produce for low-income residents
Support the development of community buying clubs or municipal grocery stores
Support local food procurement for school food programs, including processing/preparation infrastructure, food literacy, and youth learning opportunities

B. Access to land for growing food

Make public lands (Regional and municipal) available for sustenance food provisioning, including in urban and peri-urban spaces as cities expand
Enable access to land and resources for local people who want to grow their own food (e.g. the community-garden model)
Encourage and support private landowners to make lots available for food provisioning

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to strengthen the local food system.candidate's own words

Support the creation of more community gardens that are free or low cost

Growth & Planning 4 questions

Growth & Planning

How should councils weigh the long-term cost of maintaining existing infrastructure when making decisions about outward growth and expansion?ranked from highest to lowest importance

Prioritize infill and intensification where infrastructure
Use development phasing tied to infrastructure capacity
Proceed with outward growth to address housing supply
Require detailed cost and risk analysis before approving
Limit outward growth unless full lifecycle infrastructure

How should councils balance provincial and regional mandates for increased housing density with neighbourhood opposition and local infrastructure constraints?select up to 4 per part

A. Planning & zoning tools

Expand as-of-right zoning to reduce case-by-case political decisions on housing forms
Focus incremental density near transit, schools, and commercial areas

B. Managing neighbourhood opposition

Use public engagement to inform design, not to veto density
Phase or adjust density in response to neighbourhood concerns about design or servicing capacity
Require demonstrated city-wide benefits to justify local impacts

C. Infrastructure & servicing

Approve density where infrastructure capacity already exists
Pair density approvals with targeted infrastructure upgrades

What can the municipality/region do, if anything, about land which sits vacant for years because it is being used as an investment (land banking)?candidate's own words

vacant land registry

Budget & Taxes 5 questions

Budget & Taxes

Do you think the Region's or municipality's budget process should be more transparent and accessible to residents?single choice

It should be more transparent and accessible

Municipal and regional costs have generally risen faster than revenues restricted by property tax rules and limited local revenue tools. How would you balance tax increases against maintaining service levels and long-term financial sustainability?select up to 3 per part

A. Revenue approaches

Moderate, predictable tax increases to maintain service levels
Actively pursue provincial and federal transfer funding and grants
Exploring new local revenue tools where permitted by provincial legislation

D. Growth & cost recovery

Re-evaluate development incentives or subsidies that create long-term liabilities

B. Service levels

Maintain current service levels, even if taxes rise
Improve current service levels for those that are not meeting resident standards and invest more in the ones residents have greatest satisfaction with (fire
library
recreation)

C. Capital & infrastructure

Require lifecycle cost analysis before approving any new infrastructure

Please describe one concrete example of a trade-off you would support (or oppose) when costs rise faster than revenues.candidate's own words

I would oppose any long term investment that leaves taxpayers down the road paying for it for years to come (e.g. RIM Park)

If you chose "It should be more transparent and accessible", please describe how.candidate's own words

Prelim budgets should be shared out to residents and thresholds of engagement should be met prior to key decisions on budgets

About the Candidate3 questions

About the Candidate

Why are you running for this position?candidate's own words

Having immigrated to Canada as a child, I know firsthand what it means to feel unseen and unheard, especially in spaces where I often looked different from everyone around me. I am running to ensure Waterloo’s decisions reflect everyone who calls it home—bringing an energetic, grounded voice to Council for local families, newcomers, and long-standing residents alike

How does the current two-tier structure of municipal and regional government affect the Region's ability to make coherent decisions on housing, planning, and infrastructure?candidate's own words

Structural reform deserves serious study before the next election cycle

Please describe one specific area where you think the governance structure helps or hinders good decision-making.candidate's own words

There are currently a few areas of overlap where the mandate is owned by one level of government but has strong impacts on another. One area that the City of Waterloo is specifically facing is development. The City is responsible for the strategy on how to grow and provide housing for its population growth, however, key infrastructure such as Water is a Regional mandate. With the current water crisis, Waterloo is unable to meet it's development targets while the region overall is experiencing a water shortage thus leaving the City to figure out how to maintain/attract development whilst also using every possible lever of influence to unblock the water crisis.