I'm running for office

I'm running for office in the municipal elections in 2021 in Espoo, Finland I live with my husband and two daughters in Espoonlahti, in Hannusjärvi. in Espoo I have lived since the early 1990s. I was born in Savo and my family is from Eastern Finland.

As a mother and a lawyer I have skills and heart to join in to build Espoo a city with more circular economy, which can afford well-being services to its citizens. Espoo has set its goals high and seem to be on its way to gain them.

The idea of running for office in the municipal elections got a daylight when we returned to Espoo in the autumn of 2017 after four years of living in Belgium. I looked around for a moment and realized that in the coming years almost everything interesting in Finland will take place at the municipal level and challenge us to adapt to change. I also realised that many of my friends and colleagues living in Espoo also were involved one way or the other in the work for City of Espoo. I want to be involved in this work, too.

Espoo has set its goals high

The goals of the town Espoo are high. The goal is to be a climate neutral City by 2030, to adapt well to the risks of climate change and to develop economically, ecologically, socially, and culturally sustainable. The sustainable development goals are planned to be achieved by 2025. The goals are tough but so far, the pace has been good. I think it is important that all Esbobor of different ages and in different life situations stay involved. In addition to climate goals, social sustainability will be achieved only if financial plans are prepared and decided on in a human and ecological sustainable manner. Experience shows that the needs of people and businesses can be considered without compromising biodiversity, species and their habitats that are a resource for all.

In Espoo there always is an issue on the agenda on how to make the city self-sufficient in terms of jobs, and attractive to companies of different sizes. The solution obviously is not anymore one new large international company but rather several companies active in the Finnish and may be also international markets. The level of well-being services available to people living in Espoo is not a foregone conclusion.

The means to secure services must be built in the budgets every year. Every resident of the city is valuable, and therefore every residential area is valuable. Cooperation with residents, their groups and companies is important in order to target services fairly.

Finland's second largest city is thus moving towards high goals and trusting that the city and its residents have a good future ahead of them. We need to work on that. Together.

Espoo and Suur-Espoonlahti in my heart – sydämessäni - i mitt hjärta

Espoo is important and so is the Espoonlahti area, which I know well. Low-emission mobility will be significantly increased with the introduction of five new metro stations in 2023. A new metro line will be built from Matinkylä to Finnoo, Kaitaa, Soukka, Espoonlahti and to Kivenlahti. Three of the five new subway stations are within a mile of my home address. The metro takes you from Vuosaari to Kivenlahti, and even to one of the most important bird watching sites in Finnoo. There will be a new or refurbished shopping center on or next to each metro station and new and refurbished residential buildings next door. A total of 60,000 new residents with purchasing power are expected to attend. How do you adjust such a big change to the infrastructure with the current areas from earlier decades with country-side appearance? How will the new communities be blown into life with new high tech buildings and squares yet without history? – I think we can do it. Together.

Green politics works also at the level of cities

Among the Greens, I get to implement policies in line with my values and work extensively with other parties and people. In my time, I studied law to get an impact on the environment and society. For more than 30 years, I have experience in Finland in various ministries in the preparation of legislation, co-operation and decision-making. My first job was to acquire land for nature conservation purposes. After that, I got into a working group of the Ministry of the Environment to draft a law and a degree on the environmental impact assessment procedure and to implement it. I have worked as a civil servant sent by Finland in Brussels, first in the 1990s by the EU Commission and later in 2010s’ to Finland’s permanent EU representation to negotiate and prepare for the Council decision in the Field of Environment. In the Council I had in my portfolio EU's circular economy package, the waste package and the Alien Species Regulation. I now work as a senior government adviser in the Ministry of Finance in the preparation of legislation.

Networking is a strength of both the Greens and me. My own networks are a source of support and power in developing, influencing and bringing things to fruition, both in resident communities and in expert collaboration. The aim of this work is to prepare practical solutions that work together to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, end natural loss, prevent exclusion and increase economic and social sustainability. My network was strengthened in the autumn of 2020, when I was accepted as one of the Espoo Greens 'municipal candidates - and in November 2020, when I got a seat in the board of the Espoo Greens for the period 2021-2022, and in December in the board of the Espoonlahti Greems for 2021. I thank for your trust – I feel ready to start the election work with all the candidates in Espoo!