THANK YOU!

...For making Victoria Votes a success for its second year! We managed to reach about 10,000 individual voters this year, which is over half of the voters in this city. We hope that Victoria Votes has helped you to become more informed about the municipal election, and look forward to our next election together!

In the meantime, we will be looking for ways to sustain Victoria Votes throughout the Council term, so if you have any suggestions just email us!

Here is the City of Victoria election summary.

And here is B Channel's final report on the election.

And a Monday Magazine article on the election.

Read More

Results

Click here for detailed results!

The new council is, in order of most votes: Geoff Young, Charlayne Thornton-Joe, Lisa Helps, Ben Isitt, Marianne Alto, Pam Madoff, Shellie Gudgeon, and Chris Coleman.

More on this later!

Read More

Marianne Alto Q&A

Marianne Alto is running for her first full term on Council after being elected to serve the remainder of Sonya Chandler's term in the 2010 by-election. Alto ran unsuccessfully in '05. She is a business consultant and facilitator - her website is here and here are her answers to our survey:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: I bring people together, find common ground, balance competing interests and get
results. I think those are good skills to have at the city council and CRD tables. Elected just last fall, I’ve already secured city council approval for an integrated plan to help vulnerable residents get the health services they need, and a comprehensive open government initiative that will give easy access to information and bring city hall to TV.

I’ve scheduled regular Open Door sessions in my liaison neighbourhoods, made planning
decisions that preserve heritage and promote appropriate development, and made Victoria a ‘Blue Community’ to keep water resources public. I’m an activist Councillor and I'll get a lot more done with a three year term.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: I’d have to choose 5 issues, because they are inter-related and solving just one still leaves a gap for our residents. And I think they can all be achieved in the next three years:

1) mitigating the high cost of living in Victoria by facilitating more affordable housing (including co-ops and co-housing), more jobs and decent wages;

2) continuing to reduce homelessness, particularly for vulnerable people who need housing that comes with supportive social services and integrated health and harm reduction services;

3) regional planning and delivery of primary services, like transportation, police services and emergency preparedness;

4) implementing the open government and open date strategies recently endorsed by Council, and

5) finding new sources of funds so we can continue to deliver high quality municipal services and limit tax increases.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: I love Canadian football.

Read More

Conservation Voters of BC Announces Endorsements

The full list of Conversation Voters of BC endorsements is here, but here are the names for Victoria:

Victoria
John Luton
Philippe Lucas
Lynn Hunter
Lisa Helps
Ben Isitt
Rose Henry

Read More

Release form Paul Brown's Campaign

Sent out this morning:

Paul Brown’s Vision

If I am elected Mayor of Victoria, my key pledge is to deliver a Council and City Hall that is open, accountable and transparent to the public.

Here’s what I mean by that:

· Victoria will have a realistic and public plan for restoring or replacing its crumbling infrastructure, including its sewers, roads and public recreational facilities.

· Future city budget plans and financial forecasts will share with the public all the assumptions they are based on, not just those that make the numbers look better than they are.

· When taxpayers are told their rates will increase by only 3.9%, they will not get a tax bill later saying 7%.

· When city projects are budgeted, that is the amount taxpayers can expect to pay, not double or triple that amount due to a lack of financial controls at City Hall.

· City Council will devote itself to creating realistic and measurable targets and monitoring results, not micro-managing every issue and project that comes along.

· City Hall will be seen by the public as a collaborative partner in the development of proposals, plans and initiatives that address the stated objectives of the City Council and the community at large.

· City Hall staff will be non-partisan, free of political influence and perform to the universal standard of a professional public service.

· Council and City Hall will operate to a publicly-recognized standard for open government transparency and the timely sharing of information. By default, all information will be made public unless there is a sound and defensible legal reason for not doing so.

· City Council will not conduct in camera meetings without a legally sound reason. And if Council goes in camera, the specific reason will be shared with the public.

Paul Brown’s Action Plan

Here are 13 actions I will take to achieve this result:

· I will conduct an independent review of the City’s financial affairs and position

· I will eliminate the City’s Corporate Communications Office

· I will order a review of the City’s executive, management and administrative functions

· I will re-examine and re-structure the City’s public advisory committees if necessary

· I will develop and publish a list of the City’s infrastructure needs and conduct a public consultation to prioritize and build them into the City’s annual budget plans

· I will order the public disclosure of the financial status of the Johnson Street Bridge replacement and the prioritized list of risks associated with it

· I will open an immediate discussion with Esquimalt to determine possibility of renewing the Policing Agreement

· I will open discussions with Oak Bay, Esquimalt and Saanich to determine the feasibility of sharing garbage and organic waste collection services

· I will request the CRD to consider funding the Johnson Street Bridge replacement on the same basis as the replacement of Craigflower Bridge (92%)

· I will fund the implementation of the Official Community Plan and the Downtown Core Area Plan

· I will that Local Area Plans be updated

· I will order a review and public report on the City’s efforts to mitigate homelessness and the results to date

Read More

Er... Where Do I Live?

So it occurred to us that there are 13 municipalities and something to the tune of a million candidates running in the Capital Region. This makes it prety hard to figure out who to vote for if you're coming at it for the first time. To help you along, here are:

A map of all the municipalities in the CRD so you can figure out where you live...

...and for those of you living in Victoria, a map of the city's neighbourhoods so you can get a sense of where your closest polling station might be.

Finally, if you check out the How To Vote page on this website, you'll find a map for each polling station in Victoria.

That's all for now. If you'd like us to look into something before the election, drop us a line and let us know!

Read More

Remaining Candidate Interviews

So far, we have received survey answers from all but four candidates. In lieu of answers to our questions, here are the B Channel interviews for those candidates:

Saul Anderson



Marianne Alto



Sukhi Lalli



Robin Kimpton

Read More

Finally Updating That Video Page

That's right! But here's a sneak preview:

B Channel mayoral interviews are here.

B Channel has more mayoral candidate interviews - this time on fiscal policy, infrastructure, and poverty. We can't stress enough how awesome B Channel news is, especially on local elections. Despite being a volunteer indie news site they have by far the most comprehensive overview of candidates in Victoria, and being on video just makes it so much easier to browse through.

B Channel's council backgrounders are equally fantastic. More council candidate interviews will be posted before the election.

Read More

Events Update

Hot off the e-press. 

Nov. 8 - Victoria West Community Centre(521 Craigflower Rd)  6:30 to 9 pm

Nov. 14 - Burnside Community Centre (313 Jutland Rd)  7 to 9 pm

Nov. 15 Oakdlands Community Centre (#1-2827 Belmont Ave.)  7-9 pm

Read More

B Channel Council Interviews

Are here and we will re-post them here in a little while.

Read More

Chris Coleman Q&A Plus News

Before we get into this, a couple of notes: We have just decided to allow comments, although several stored comments have been deleted because they were pretty offensive.

Beyond that, there are just about 2 weeks left before the election, so GET READY TO VOTE. Remember you get to vote for eight councillors and one mayor as well as 3 CRD directors (more on this later) and the school board. For this reason, you might want to make a list to take with you to the polling station and really give it some thought rather than just show up and start ticking boxes. Lots of people we've talked to will sit down with other civic-minded friends (or hopefully friends who are new to voting) and discuss who to vote for on November 19th as a group, which makes the selection process less tedious.

Moving right along... Chris Coleman is running for his fifth term on Victoria Council. Chris received 6102 votes in the last election, or 5.95% of votes cast. His CV includes a number of boards and commitees across a wide spectrum of local issues, so Vic Votes can't really pin down one issue that Chris is all about. His website is here and here are his survey answers:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: I have 12 years experience in the municipal governance model, and have a good track record of working with diverse interests in seeking common solutions

The skills that I bring to Victoria City Council table are:
- an aptitude for meeting with people & listening to their problems;
- an ability to weigh various (often competing) perspectives; and,
- a desire to find solutions that make our community better & safer for everyone.

I would like you to support me in being re-elected to Victoria City Council & elected to the CRD Board.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: If the noble goal is to continue building a "sustainable", but affordable community for all, then one of the cornerstones has to be a range of housing options. Of particular interest to me are initiatives that address options for:

1) young families entering the housing market;
2) Seniors, particularly those on fixed incomes; &,
3) homeless citizens.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: Not many realize that I sit as one of 75 elected members on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities National Board (only 8 members are from BC, and I am the only one from Vancouver Island). We advocate on behalf of all cities & communities with the Federal Government on a range of issues, lobbying for:

- a national "Housing & Homelessness Strategy",
- a national "Transportation Strategy",
- broad programmes which allow Canadian communities to address the "Infrastructure Deficit",
- the municipal interest in the nation's "Immigration Policy",
- the role of cities & towns play in "Climate Change Adaptation".

Of this work I am very proud.

Read More

Jon Valentine Q&A

Jon Valentine is running for Victoria Council. He ran in '08 and got 257 votes, or 0.25% of votes cast. Not much else to say, here's his website and his survey answers:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: Ran for Victoria City Council in 2008, and have been fortunate to meet people from all walks of life related to the political scene. The momentum seemed to be there, and a good number of people thought it great that I was running again. I do this for them, and for my sense of wanting to do something nice, big, and significant, that is for a greater good. As part of this, I intended to work for practically nothing, by donating most of my city councilpersons salary back to the community, via local projects and such.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: Housing/Homelessness. We have to invest in people first, before anything else happens.


Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: A Hollywood legend once put it that "a little mystery goes a long way". So I suggest going to my website (as well as the "Jon Valentine" Facebook Page), for more info.

Read More

Oh Look, News

First of all, Focus magazine has two articles about the election - one from Gene Miller about the election as a whole, and one from Aaren Madden endorsing Geoff Young.

The Time Colonist finally has an election page up here.

Finally, B Channel News is amazing. They have posted the first of many, many video interviews to come over the next few weeks. The first run is an introduction to mayoral candidates, but will be followed by a series of interviews with each council candidate as well as a second round of follow-up mayoral interviews.

These interviews are probably the best way to get to know this year's candidates. B Channel asks all the right questions, and video allows you to get a sense of each candidate's personality.

So here goes:

Read More

Geoff Young Q&A

Geoff Young is running for re-election to Victoria Council. According to Victoria Vision, Geoff is Victoria's longest-serving councillor, with 23 years in office. He has been an advocate for alternative transportation, sound financial management, and environmental protection. His website is here and here are his survey answers:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: The city needs experience and a balanced approach to ensure our city remains inviting and affordable for young people, families, seniors and business. I bring an understanding of the wide range of issues that affect the city and the region through my experience at council, the CRD (the last three years as chair) and the community, and through my professional training as an economist.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: Addressing climate change is our most important long term priority.

Our best way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is through good regional planning - I support rapid transit systems, density in the downtown, and walkable communities, but regional planning to reduce energy consumption and preserve the environment would be easier if everyone paid the true cost of travel, particularly road travel.

A carbon tax on a global scale would also mean more demand for local food as the price of distant-sourced food rose to reflect transportation costs. We must not sacrifice the benefits of compact communities to guarantee local food supplies, but we can have some land that does double duty, providing open space and recreation as well as food.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: It is my views and how I have voted on the issues of concern to you that I hope will determine your vote. Have a look at my website, which is full of my thoughts on many topics, or give me a call, if you are curious.

Read More

New Stuff

First of all, the Saanich Civic League isn't a Victoria thing, but you should check them out.

Moving right along, the Victoria Chambe of Commerce has asked business-related questions to all of the candidates in the CRD, including Victoria. That's here.

We've also finally found some dates for all candidates meetings, which are:

TODAY! (Tuesday) Nov 1st 6pm James Bay Community School

Monday Nov 7th 7pm Fernwood Community Assoc 1923 Fernwood Road – Mayoral candidates only

Wednesday, November 9 at 7 pm. All-candidates meeting on housing and poverty at First Metropolitan Church on Pandora.

Enjoy! - VV

Read More

Charlayne Thornton-Joe Q&A

Charlayne Thornton-Joe is running for her third term on Victoria Council. She is the highest polling elected representative in the city, having garnered more votes in the last election than even either of the mayoral candidates (9887, or 9.64% of votes cast). Her record on Council seems to focus on the issues of homelessness and economic development - her website is here and here are her survey answers:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: I am running for the same reasons that inspired me the first time that I ran, I want to make a difference and I want to be able to serve the community to the best of my abilities. I have been involved with many non-profits and I wanted to see how I could become even more involved. You should vote for me because I am compassionate, a hard worker, and am a team player. I work with others to try to find solutions to issues in our community.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: Unfortunately, there are so many issues that we deal with every day, and I try to put what the citizens say is the most important to them to the top of my list as well. I have put a lot of my energy to the issue of homelessness, mental illness and addiction....and because of the complexity of the issue of homelessness, it has also included poverty and cost of living issues. Anyone that knows me, knows I am also passionate about animals, so I have also tried to be a voice for them as well! Why am I involved with these issues? I don't like to see suffering of any kind, so I work to try to solve human suffering and abuse of animals.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: Hmmmmm, my life is pretty much an open book so it is hard to think what is unknown.....when I was 8, I got to go on stage with Diana Ross and the Supremes at Caesar's Palace!

Read More

Pamela Madoff Q & A

Pamela Madoff is running for re-election to Victoria City Council. Madoff is one of Victoria's longest-serving council members and is running for her seventh term having served a total of 18 years on council. She is known for her work in heritage and the arts in Victoria. Near as we can tell she does not have a website, but here are her survey answers:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: Having served on Council for the past 6 terms I hope that I have a reputation as a principled and well-informed decision maker. With a background as a community activist I welcome community input and look for ways to accommodate consultation in a meaningful way.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: We seem to be living in a particularly complicated period in history. So many issues are inter-related. If I must identify one issue it would be that of sustainability - sustainability in all things.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: Probably that in spite of being seen as a regulator in my role as a member of Victoria City Council that I often find the greatest joy and satisfaction in the unplanned: spontaneous community initiatives - even pre-flash mobs- that remind us all that the energy and creativity of the community is the heartbeat of the city. A favourite gardening book: 'A Gentle Pleas for Chaos' espouses that in 'controlled disorder lies the essence of beauty'.

Read More

Lynn Hunter Q&A

Lynn Hunter is running for a second term on Victoria City Council. Prior to serving on Council, she was elected for one term as MP (NDP) for Saanich-Gulf Islands. She is part of the unofficial Dean Team slate. She does not have a website, but here are her answers to our questions:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A:I am running because I believe that although much was accomplished over the past 3 years, there is still much to do. I feel that my record of being elected and working at both the federal and the civic level of government provides valuable experience on how to get things done and also the importance of focusing on agreed upon priorities and working as part of a team.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: Affordable housing remains the most important issue to tackle. Lack of affordability hurts not only those who are struggling in sub standard living arrangements but it also affects the whole local economy because people are deterred from bringing their talents and skills to work here because of the high cost of housing.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A:I am a twin. My sister and I have had very different lives but she has helped me enormously in appreciating the consequences of life's choices.

Read More

So this mayoral debate happened a few days ago in James Bay. If you didn't make it, here's some video!

Steve Filipovic Intro:

Steve Filipovic (Intro) All Candidates Debate-Oct 28, James Bay from Orcacedarbough on Vimeo.

Dean Fortin Intro:

Dean Fortin (Intro) All Candidates Debate-October 28, James Bay from Martlet on Vimeo.

Paul Brown Intro:


Filipovic Closing Comments:

Steve Filipovic All Candidates Debates-Oct 28, James Bay from Martlet on Vimeo.

Fortin Closing Comments:

Dean Fortin All Candidates Debates-Oct 28, James Bay from Martlet on Vimeo.

Brown Closing Comments:

Paul Brown All Candidates Debates-Oct 28, James Bay from Martlet on Vimeo.

Read More

Dean Fortin Answers Our Questions

Dean Fortin is running for re-election as Mayor of Victoria. Fortin won against Rob Reid in the 2008 election, and served on Council for two terms (6 years) prior to becoming Mayor. He is running alongside the Dean Team, an unofficial slate consisting of (far as we can tell) Pam Madoff, Lynn Hunter, John Luton, and Marianne Alto. Prior to 2008 Fortin also served as Executive Director of the Burnside Gorge Communtiy Centre. His website is here and here are his answers to our questions:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: My name is Dean Fortin, and I am running for re-election as Mayor of Victoria. In the last three years we have accomplished so much, and I want to continue to build on that momentum and continue to support a vibrant, welcoming and sustainable city.

From housing and homelessness, alternative transportation and economic development – for the last three years, along with my team of councillors, I have been diligently working on the priorities set by our residents. And we have made great strides in many keys areas, proving our ability to work with residents, identify challenges, and make decisions on important projects. I am prepared to tackle the tough challenges ahead in a way that balances the financial and social needs of residents.

I have learned so much and we’ve made significant progress over the last three years. I want to continue to put that knowledge and commitment to work for the people of this community. I have been honoured to serve as Mayor – it is a privilege I am hoping to be granted again.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: There are many competing interests and needs in our community. Whether it is the need for more supportive and affordable housing, public transportation, more parks, or ageing infrastructure – there is no shortage of projects and programs that will enhance our city for benefit of everyone. But how we pay for these important projects is a big question. That is why I believe economic development is a key issue right now.

We have developed a comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, with the help of community leaders from all sectors of our economy, which maps out how to grow investment in our community. It is a strategy that focuses on growing our tax base – bringing household sustaining jobs to our community, increased residential and commercial growth in the core, and innovation that secures Victoria place as a leader in sustainable growth. This is how we will pay for important projects including sewage treatment, LRT, and affordable housing.

Growing our economy in a smart and sustainable way will ensure we can continue to invest in our community and the programs and services that make Victoria a great place to call home – for everyone.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: I have coached basketball for many years. Currently I have the great pleasure of coaching my daughter’s team, the U-11 girls’ basketball night league. I love working with youth, and believe sports is a fantastic venue to get kids active and working together.

Read More

John Luton Answers Our Questions

John Luton is running for re-election to Victoria City Council. He hasserved 1 term so far, and was elected with 6002 votes, or 5.85% of votes cast. John has been a very active advocate for cycling and alternative transportation in the region for a number of years. His website is here and here are his answers to our infamous questions:

Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

I’ve got a good record on council, helping to champion our efforts to create housing diversity, tackle homelessness and provide affordable housing. I will continue to work on that agenda.

I’ve provided leadership on creating a diverse and sustainable transportation system that offers people more choices and will continue to champion cycling, walking and public transit.

I have worked to protect and enhance our greenspaces and parks and will continue to work on sustaining a green city, positive evolution of our parks system, more investment in our greenways to support community livability and promote active transportation, tending of our urban forest, and a better boulevard program to convert public space to more productive uses.

I have worked hard on council to take on our infrastructure deficit and will continue to push to repair or replace our public assets to ensure the services our citizens rely on will be there for them when they are needed.

We haven’t finished that work, and that’s why I am running again.

What is the most important issue to you and why?

Housing is the priority of the community and we must respond to the priorities of our citizens. Continuing to work on housing issues and tackling street homelessness must be at the top of council’s list for the next term and I can bring new ideas on land use and transportation planning that can provide real solutions to some of the challenges of providing more and better housing so that people who work in Victoria can also live in Victoria.

I can also bring some unique ideas to that agenda, promoting car-free and car-light housing options to bring the cost of housing down and give more people better options for housing and transportation.

What is something that people don’t know about you?

I do have a driver’s license and can be seen, on rare occasions, behind the wheel of my wife’s car.

Read More

Ben Isitt Answers Our Questions

Ben Isitt is running for Victoria City Council. Ben is a professor at UVIC and a long-time local and general political activist - he has run for Mayor in Victoria twice, most recently garnering 7298 votes, or 43% of votes cast. His website is here and here are his answers to our questions:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: I am running for City Councillor and CRD Director to make Victoria and the Capital Region a fair, safe and green place for everyone. This includes helping the people most in need of help -- including those who are homeless and managing addictions -- while working on proactive policies to improve the quality of life, such as opening a year-round public market downtown, keeping tax increases below the rate of inflation and completing a greenways network for cycling and walking.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: Homelessness and the gap between rich and poor. As long as people in our affluent society lack adequate shelter, building affordable housing and narrowing the income gap must remain top priorities.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: I have travelled to more than 50 countries for work and pleasure, experiencing a diversity of cultures and cities large and small. I think we can make Victoria and the CRD better by following "best practices," learning from innovative policies that have been successfully implemented elsewhere to address social, environmental and economic challenges.

Read More

TC Candidate Info

Just found these on the Times Colonist website, which is impossible to navigate so you can thank us later. Not sure where these came from or whether there are more to come, but you'll know as soo as we do... source

Lisa Helps

Linda McGrew

Paul Brown

Read More

News Update

Article about Lisa Helps in the Globe and Mail is here.

Got any other news links we should post? Email us.

Read More

VLC Endorsements

The Victoria Labour Council has released its endorsements for candidates throughout the CRD here, and here are the names for Victoria:


Mayor
Dean Fortin
Council
Marianne Alto
Lisa Helps
Lynn Hunter
Ben Isitt
Philippe Lucas
John Luton
Pam Madoff

Read More

Lisa Helps Answers Our Questions

Lisa Helps is running for Victoria City Council. This is her first shot at political office, but she has been active in the Fernwood community as well as the city as a whole through her work with the Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group which included establishing the Cornerstone Cafe and several units of affordable housing in Fernwood. She currently runs Community Micro Lending, a non-profit devoted to helping local small businesses with mentoring and micro loans.

Here are Lisa's answers to our questions three, her website is here and her YouTube channel is here:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

I’ve built affordable housing, helped small businesses get started, delivered leadership programs, and more. I bring this experience of getting things done - this spirit of action - to the council table.

These are my Leadership Principles and Values:

1. Have clarity of vision.
2. Meet people where they are at.
3. Pay more attention to what is than "what if?"
4. Ensure that the scale of energy invested is reflected in the scale of the effect.
5. Bring a diversity of interests, agendas and ideologies into a singularity of focus; turn that focus into action.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

City: Crumbling infrastructure and the need for an Infrastructure Priority Plan which will responsibly steward the City’s assets within the City’s means.
City Hall: Increased citizen engagement, citizen participation and oversight, and increased openness in key areas such as the city's budgeting process.
Affordability and Community Connectedness: increase affordable housing; strengthen small business sector; revitalize seniors’ centres and create opportunities for seniors to contribute their experience and knowledge to building vibrant intergenerational neighbourhoods; encourage and enable neighbourhood-based innovation; enhance and enable community building and community economic development activities.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

I’ve built two backyard chicken coops and tend a flock of six laying hens – Chipmunk, Chicken Licken, Feather, Rosa Bok, Yolko and Egglet – with two friends on my street. This building of coops and tending of chickens with neighbours, has given me a sense of the learning and connection that is possible through doing things together. Though backyard farming is a small piece of the region’s food security picture, it’s an important piece and something that connects people with their food and to each other.

Read More

John Turner Answers Our Questions

John Turner is running for Victoria City Council. He ran in the last municipal election and garnered 942 votes, or 0.92% of votes cast. As of this moment it doesn't look like he has a website, and it's unclear what his past or current political record looks like. If we know more, so will you! In the meantime, here are John's answers to our questions:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: My name is John C. Turner. I have been a community servant in Victoria as a voluntary street counsellor and community support worker for 16 years. I believe that my 14 years of socio-economic development research and international advisory services give me the ability to address the issues that most face us in Victoria and The CRD in a way that no one else can. I want to bring this to the table of city council to help build my communities up and prosper my brothers, sisters and neighbours in a way that will build Greater Victoria for a 2020 Corporate Victoria Vision.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: Stopping the insane waste as proposed by the initiators of The Douglas Street Corridor Project because it will destroy our region and put each of the 13 municipalities in debt by an estimated $20 m for each of the next 15-20 years.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: Over the last 14 years I and my organization's supporters internationally have been developing and preparing to implement a socio-economic revitalization and development infrastructure built on the backbone of an alternative community transportation infrastructure which will incur no significant "carry over debt" from one stage to the next. This community based model includes the virtually immediate (within 3-6 months after provincial and federal funding and regional go ahead) implementation of Esquimalt Harbour Seabus LTD. and a series of "Community Enhancements Projects and Programs". This would lead to the integrated radial development of a community based Light Rail System.

Read More

Shellie Gudgeon Answers Our Questions

Shellie Gudgeon is running for Victoria City Council. She's never run before, but has been active for quite a while in the Quadra Village area, where she owns Fifth St. Bar and Grill. She is running as an independent, her website is here and here are her answers to our skill-testing questions:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?


A: I am running for City Council because I will be a strong, experienced and independent voice for neighbourhoods and for local businesses. I believe in giving back to my community as an individual and as a local business owner.
You should vote for me because as a member of City Council, I will be committed to serving Victoria, accessible to its citizens, and accountable for my decisions.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?


A: I believe that the critical issue facing our community is the need for greater collaboration with residents, businesses and advocacy groups at City Hall as well as a need for greater openness and transparency. More co-operation and communication among the various levels of our municipal government is one of my key goals.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?


A: That I contribute to and support many diverse causes in the city. As a concerned citizen, I also regularly attend public meetings involving city concerns such as sewage treatment, protection of our waterways, waste disposal, our transportation system and many other issues and problems that are facing our neighbourhoods and communities.

Read More

Fun Article...

At the Tyee, regarding Council candidate Robin Kimpton.

LINK

Read More

Sean Murray Answers Our Questions

Victoria Votes is composed of some fairly politically savvy people. As a result, we usually know something about everyone running - we've met them, or heard of them, or know someone they know, or whatever. Sean Murray is not one of those people. So far, Vic Votes has no information about what Sean does, where he comes from politically, or anything along those lines. So here he is answering our questions, and we'll try to dig something more up later.

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

I am running because I believe in my policies, I have 11 on my platform. I feel that good economics and good ecology go hand in hand. Eco means house e.g. the Earth nomics means management and ology means study of.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

The most important issue for me is ensuring public ownership and operation of our fresh water supply, because I would not like to be given a huge bill to get water from a firm.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

I hold a diploma in pure and applied sciences, with many electives. I also have 2 years University in Biology, 1 at McGill and 1 at UVIC.

Read More

An Abridged Press Release From Paul Brown

Paul Brown slams mayor and council for “fiddling while Victoria burns”

New report recommends closure or $58-million replacement of Crystal Pool, plus $6.5-million upgrade or $16.5-million replacement of Fire Hall #1

Victoria, BC: Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Paul Brown, Victoria mayoral candidate, says a new report – calling for decommissioning Crystal Pool or building a $58-million replacement, plus at least $6.5 million in seismic upgrades to Fire Hall #1 – shows just how badly the current mayor and council have mismanaged the City's finances.

“Mayor Fortin and the current council have been fiddling while Victoria burns,” says Brown. “Aside from the Johnson Street Bridge, they haven’t dealt with our city’s crumbling infrastructure. Instead, they’ve been worrying about garden suites and downtown urinals.”

The new report identifies Fire Hall #1 and Crystal Pool as both being in “poor condition” and requiring “immediate attention.” Fire Hall #1, built in 1958, does not meet current “post-disaster” seismic standards. Options range from seismic upgrades costing $6.5 million to replacement of the building for $16.5 million.

Crystal Pool, built in 1971, operates at a loss of $1.2 million per year, and is identified by consultants as being “at the end of its effective life.” According to the report, options range from decomissioning the facility to replacing it for $58 million.

The report is posted on Open Victoria’s website, at http://openvictoria.ca/?p=348

Open Victoria’s candidates for council are commercial realtor Aaron Hall, environmentalist and businesswoman Linda McGrew, and respected pharmacist Sukhi Lalli.

Read More

Always A Few Surprises

Candidates just decalred for Council. the list follows, and in the next day or two we'll add an annotated list with a brief bio on each candidate to the summary page, but for now you'll just have to be happy with this!

Mayoral Candidates:
Paul Brown (Open Victoria)
Steve Filipovic
Dean Fortin
David Shebib

Council Candidates:
Marianne Alto
Saul Andersen
Christopher M. Coleman
Shellie Gudgeon
Aaron Hall (Open Victoria)
Lisa Helps
Rose Henry
Lynn Hunter
Ben Isitt
Robin Kimpton
Sukhi Lalli (Open Victoria)
Philippe Lucas
John Luton
Pam Madoff
Linda McGrew (Open Victoria)
Sean Murray
Charlayne Thornton-Joe
John C. Turner
Jon Valentine
Geoff Young

Read More

Candidates on Social Media

Straight from here:

You are invited to attend Social Media, Citizen Engagement and Municipal Politics on Monday, October 17th at 6:45pm at the University of Victoria, David Strong Building, room C126.

Mat Wright will be asking a panel of municipal candidates and political organizers their thoughts on Social Media as it effects municipal issues, in particularly the challenges and opportunities for citizen engagement at this level.
 
All municipal candidates who are using social media as a component within their campaign are invited to be part of the panel. Please contact @MatVic on Twitter.

Read More

Fun Video

Just found this on YouTube, kinda fun... The video is a promo for Lisa Helps, running for Victoria City Council.

Read More

Linda Lisa McGrew Answers Our Questions

Linda Lisa McGrew is running for Victoria Council, and is the most recent person to answer our candidate survey. She has never run before, and is (for lack of more creative prose) political fresh meat. She shares this quality (about which it's too early to make any sound judgement) with everyone else she's running with on the Open Victoria slate, making this at the very least an interesting twist in what would otherwise have been a pretty predictable election.

Linda works for the Cetus Institute, which is an organization that works to protect whales. She has also run two successful businesses, and you can learn even more about her by reading this:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

I am running because I strongly value making that which is good still better and I believe that is what the role of civil servants should be. I hope to bring much needed youthful optimism, environmental stewardship and a global perspective to city hall. Along with transparency and accountability at City Hall, I believe in a more sustainable community, which is both environmentally and business oriented. As councillor, I imagine not only supporting the people of our communities to make healthy life choices for themselves and their families but also facilitating the city in making healthy choices for the global environment and local economy.

I would add value to city hall as a councillor because I am pragmatic, logical and educated through a variety of life experiences. I have a BSc and an MBA from universities in Victoria and have spent 8 years running businesses both locally and internationally. I recently spent 3 years working, studying and travelling in China and currently I am the director of a local non-profit: Cetus Research and Conservation Society.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

We all deserve a city hall that promotes environmentally and financially sustainable practices. The current solutions to sewage, land use, transit and garbage are unsustainable and insufficient. As a community, we must believe in a city that finds a balance between supporting business and supporting the environment. City Hall can do this through promoting new solutions for services, infrastructure, and green spaces. I want to push for a more environmentally friendly city, where Victorians can feel proud of our initiatives to decrease carbon and water usage, decrease consumption and increase parks, gardens recycling and compost.

Affordable housing for families is also dear to me. Development can be worked in partnership with sustainable environmental and social needs in mind. I look forward to promoting these things in city council.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

I speak Mandarin and have cycled toured over 20,000 kilometres through over 10 countries.

Are you a candidate? Have we not sent you our questions? Let us know!

Read More

Philippe Lucas Answers Our Questions

Philippe Lucas is running for re-election to Victoria City Council. He has run for office in Victoria several times, succeeding in 2008 with 7042 votes, or 6.87% of votes cast.

In '08 Lucas ran as a Green with Sonya Chandler, but has since left the Party and is currently running as an independent. His answers below are pretty comprehensive, so we're not going to bore you with more details up here. Lucas has a website and we will post more information if it comes up.

Enjoy,
VV

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: While I feel that I’ve successfully represented progressive voices on City Council and the CRD over the last three years, there remain serious social, economic and environmental issues that still need to be addressed in our city and region.

The Environment and Local Food Security: I spearheaded a ban on the land application of biosolids (sewage waste) on farmland in the CRD and introduced a motion calling for a moratorium on the installation of Smart Meters in Victoria. Additionally, I’m working with Synergy Enterprises to make my re-election effort the first carbon-neutral municipal election campaign in Canada.

Economic Sustainability, Lower Taxes and Keeping Resources Public: I was the only councilor to vote to lower the residential tax rate in 2010, and to keep a rail crossing as part of the new Johnson St. Bridge project. At the CRD, I was the sole Director to vote to keep our upcoming sewage treatment project 100% public.

Downtown Vibrancy and A Family-Friendly Victoria: I’m promoting the re-establishment of a downtown local food market and I passed a motion to create family-friendly and car co-op parking spaces in the city’s parkades. and stops have a bench or shelter.

Homelessness, Harm Reduction and Poverty Reduction: I’ve championed a huge increase in affordable housing (including support for secondary and garden suites), and passed motions in support of fixed site needle exchange, the distribution of crack kits and supervised consumption sites.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: I have focused much of the last term on social justice issues that affect each and everyone one of us, such as homelessness, environmental sustainability, harm reduction and food security, and plan to continue working on these important issues, but will also spend the next three years promoting strategies for community economic development and poverty reduction (particularly childhood poverty) through City Council and the CRD.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: Due to a strong philosophical belief in transparency and accountability, there are very few parts of my life that aren’t on the public record in some form or another, but many residents may not know that every year I dress up as the Easter Bunny to host a huge Easter Egg Hunt at Market Square for local families.

Read More

News Oct. 5

Ran into Jon Valentine yesterday, and he confirmed that he is running for Victoria City Council.

Jon ran in the last election and got 257 votes, or about 0.25% of votes cast. Vic Votes doesn't know too much about Jon other than the fact that he is very interested in our city's role in combating climate change. We will post Jon's answers to our three questions when they arrive - to date, he does not have a website.

This week is pretty packed with campaign launch events. Shellie Gudgeon (owner of Fifth St. Bar and Grill) officially announced her candidacy yesterday, tonight is Philippe Lucas' campaign launch at Solstice Cafe, and tomorrow night Lisa Helps is launching her campaign at the Martin Batchelor Gallery.

Just received Philippe Lucas' survey answers, so stay tuned for that...

VV

Read More

John Turner Running for Victoria Council

Just found out that John Turner is running for Victoria City Council.

John Turner ran for Mayor and then Council in the 2008 by-election, garnering 942 votes or just under 1% of votes cast.

It looks like John doesn't have a website yet, and little is known about him apart from the fact that he has run before and is extremely supportive of the idea of a seabus-style harbour ferry for Victoria and is concerned about homelessness.

We'll post more as it comes up.

Vic Votes

Read More

Paul Brown and Open Victoria Announce Slate

Three new Council candidates were announced today, coinciding with the launch of a new elector organization called Open Victoria. The crowd numbered about 50, and included Jane Sterk of the BC Green Party, campaign organizers for Paul Brown and Open Victoria, and a range of pols.

Open Victoria is in its formative stages. Near as I can tell, it was created to support this slate of candidates but its organizers plan on keeping it running after the election regardless of the results. The organization will be releasing a platform and information related to its primary issues over the next couple of months, and is giving its official endorsement to the following slate of candidates:

- Paul Brown, who has been mentioned several times on this site. 
- Aaron Hall, a local food enthusiast and realtor specializing in downtown property sales.
- Linda McGrew, a director (either the Executive Director or a board member, I can't tell) at the Cetus Research and Conservation Society, a sort of save the whales type deal.
- Sukhi Lalli, who owns a downtown pharmacy and naturopathic store.

Moving on, we received answers to our Know Your Candidates questions from Aaron Hall and Philippe Lucas. Aaron Hall's answers follow, and Lucas' will be posted in the next few days.

Know Your Candidate - Aaron Hall

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: I am running to support a positive change in the way our city is managed.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: Creating a positive vision for the future of Victoria. Victoria is my home town. I plan to continue raising my kids here and live here for the rest of my life.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: I am a pretty open person so this is hard to answer. I have a local food show on Shaw TV, and I created my first business venture at the age of 8, it was a car wash just off Fernwood Rd on Denman St. This turned out to be highly lucrative, considering we were eight. Unlimited ice cream sandwiches! We ran that car wash regularly for a long time.

Read More

It's Like Christmas for Pols

It's that time again. Leaves are falling, kids are going back to school, and politicians are starting their campaigns.

Actually, that's a lie. Half of the campaigns running at this point started months ago with phone calls and quiet meetings. I'd say there were backroom deals, but this is Victoria and that we're just not that sophisticated yet.

Point is, campaigns officially begin in just a few days. Between the 4th and the 14th candidates submit their nomination papers; failing to do so means you're not on the ballot and not a candidate. With this momentous occasion on the horizon, we here at Victoria Votes decided to update you on the current who's who of who's running.

To date, only 7 new candidates have declared along with all of the incumbents (three more to be added Monday), which makes this a small crowd by Victoria standards. The complete list (as far as we know) is here.

But this is all in the past, and the real fun is in speculation. Two things can happen in the next two weeks - either we stick with the number of candidates we have now and come out the other end with a truly ferocious and heavily contested election on our hands, or the usual happens. What's the usual? 20 new candidates come out of the woodwork and we have an admittedly amusing parade of impossible to follow candidates harassing us for precious minutes of our attention.

Either way, sounds like fun.

VV

Read More

Big News

After a cryptic conversation with Paul Brown last week, during which he mentioned that I should "keep Monday the 3rd clear", it turns out he's announcing three new candidates for City Council at noon in front of City Hall.

Not only that, but the candidates will be running as a slate, something that hasn't been done since the 2005 election hammered the VCE into non-existence. Coupled with the "Dean Team" unofficial slate and the impressive list of backers for both sides, this is going to be a truly vicious election. I'm excited, are you?


So today I met with this group's - we'll call them the Other Slate - campaign manager. He outlined a platform focusing on changing the way Council operates, streamlining municipal services and operations, and generally gathering the reins on City Hall.


Who's on the Other Slate? I won't ruin the surprise, and anyway it's no one you know (yet). Make no mistake - these are not big names, but this slate is going to be a contender. The list of backers, organizers, and endorsements for the Other Slate will ensure that.

The Other Candidates

In the meantime, it looks like Shellie Gudgeon has also semi-announced that she will run for Council. Shellie is the owner of the Fifth St. Bar and Grill, and has been heavily involved in the Hillside-Quadra neighbourhood and the community at large since setting up shop in Quadra Village.  She has never run before, and her website is not up yet but will be here.


Stay tuned for another update on Monday after the Paul Brown announcement, and for our continuing Know Your Candidate interview series.


Vic Votes

Read More

Steve Filipovic Answers Some Questions

The latest in our Know Your Candidate series is Steve Filipovic! Remember: there will be a test.

Steve ran for Mayor in '08 and for the empty council seat in the recent by-election, placing a distant third for mayor with 8.3% of the total vote, and a much closer third for council with 14.8%. While he is currently running for Council, it's looking like a run at the Mayor's spot will be the fate of this campaign, that direction having been hinted at by Filipovic a number of times over the past few months.

At the moment Steve doesn't have a website, but we will post it as soon as it's around.

And here are his answers to our now famous questions:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: I am running to instigate change in Victoria. Both of the two Establishment Teams will cling to the old way of doing things, they support the old boys club. It is time for a new boys and girls club to take over. You should vote for me and encourage your friends to vote for me because I will run the city in an open and democratic manner. More respect for the people and less PR! Right now the city is in the hands of developers, it should be in the hands of the people.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: Affordable Housing is the most important issue it effects everyone making it very difficult on young families to buy and very expensive for the 63% of Victorians that rent. Housing ownership was set up to cost about 35% of your disposable income; over the years we have seen rental costs skyrocket to well above the cost of ownership. We need to create more rent-to-own opportunities and promote cooperative models with city by-law support to remove hurdles for our renters to transition into home owners which is proven to be the most cost effective and provides plenty of spin-off benefits, like improved health and well-being.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: Most people don't know that not only am I an environmental and social rights activist through my work with Earth Walk, I am also a small business owner. Having run a successful contracting company that specializes in building fences and sundecks for over 24yrs. I have also built many houses and even some apartment building under the tutelage of my now retired Dad who owned a very large construction company here in Victoria. So I know housing and I know we could be doing a lot to make it more accessible to the working class of Victoria.

Coming soon: What's up with school boards?

Until then,

Vic Votes

Read More

Paul Brown Anwers Our Questions

Paul Brown Is running for Mayor of Victoria this year. He ran during the by-election and placed 5th with 7% of the total votes.

Brown is a consultant to various levels of government in the Pacific Northwest, and in talking to him it seems like his main concern is with the financial situation of City Hall. Brown's campaign has sent out a number of press releases on the subject of the City's ailing finances, and he appears to have spent quite a bit of time looking into the subject.

You can visit Paul's website here

And here are his answers to our questions three:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

We need to ensure our City realizes its greatest potential. This means retaining our sense of community, culture and heritage while embracing opportunities for the future.

I am running because taxes and expenses at City Hall are both rising much faster than the rate of inflation and this poses a serious threat to the social and economic health of our City.

I believe in genuine citizen engagement. I believe in public access to all essential information. I believe in open debate and transparent policy development. Most importantly, I believe in setting honest, realistic financial goals and living within your means.

My experience consists of 23 years providing advice and consultation on financial, governance and risk management to governments throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Q: What issues are the most important to you and why?

We need to preserve the ongoing delivery of essential city services by reforming and strengthening its tax base.

Our City’s financial challenge is the most pressing issue. For the past two years, city services and department budgets have been cut while taxes increased well in excess of the rate of inflation. Our City’s infrastructure is showing the strain of age and neglect. Grants to community organizations are shrinking. Residents are concerned that megaprojects, such as the sewage treatment plant, the proposed LRT will overwhelm our City’s resources.

We need to:

• make better use of our City’s limited tax resources and become more prudent in our financial affairs.
• work closely with our neighbouring communities to establish a broader range of shared municipal services
• work more closely and collaboratively with senior levels of government to ensure their financial support
• accurately and fairly consider everyone’s perspective
• be open and honest with the public when we develop City policies, budgets and tax rates.

Q: What’s something people don’t know about you?

I spent my summers during the 1980’s and 1990’s exploring the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound, the Sunshine Coast and San Juan Islands. The experience demonstrated to me the importance of stepping back to gain perspective and how delicate our environment is. Today, my wife and I treasure our walks throughout our City and do our best to respect the environment we call home.

Read More

An interesting post over at Victoria Vision, regarding the longest sitting councillors in Victoria.

Here it is.

In other news, no new council candidates have announced,  however councillor Lynn Hunter has said that she will run for re-election. There are rumours floating around that some current councillors will not be seeking re-election, but to date Victoria Votes hasn't been able to confirm anything.

Candidate surveys continue to arrive, and will be posted as quickly as we can get them out.

VV 

Read More

Rose Henry is our first official candidate interview!

Rose has been a poverty activist in Victoria and abroad for many years, and has run in both the by-electon and previous general municipal election, both times garnering between 2 and 3 thousand votes.

You can view Rose's website here.

You can view a recent Monday Magazine feature about Rose here.

And here are her answers to our three questions:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

A: I still believe that the municipal leaders are just as important as the provincial and federal elections and that all citizens should have an active role in this democratic system; and that our elected leaders need to hear from the people who have lived in the inner city core for the past two decades. What I have to offer the city as well as the council is a lot in tapped and written wealth. I believe that the voices of the most marginalized residents of the downtown core have been silenced for too long. Because I have lived in the inner city for the most of the twenty-seven years here in Victoria I believe I have a lot to offer as a resident from a First person perspective. My age and experience are an asset as is my tenacity to stick to being a part of the solution to many of the social problems that are very costly to everyone.

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

A: Most people would expect that I would say Homelessness: to me no one issue is greater or lesser then the other. But homelessness is solvable and it is in everyone's best interest to get this social problem under control. Why this is important to me is that this issue is costing everyone far too much. The tax payers pay with higher taxes, longer waits in community services like health care services, judicial system and multiple community services. The poor and the homeless also pay... they pay with the loss of their lives in addition to paying the sames taxes and other services as their counter-parts (the housed).

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: There is only one thing that I have regretted not finishing this year. That is not finishing my constitutional charter challenge (Bill C--31). This is the voter identification bill. I had been working on this case for three and a half years. Right now there is not a lot that the communities of Victoria don't know about me personally; but what I do want to let people know is that if I succeed this time at getting in that it will be a historical event that will start to bridge to gab between the First Nations and the rest of the world. Victoria will be 150 years old in 2012 and not once have they ever had a Coast Salish Representative on their city council. People need to hear that when I speak I speak from my heart and only want the best for everyone, and that I am more than capable of speaking out about just one issue and can give more than five minutes of my time to really listen to the issues of co-inhabitants of this community.

Read More

Candidate Surveys Announced

So we've just sent out our candidate survey to everyone who has announced that they're running for the City of Victoria as either Mayor or Council. Answers will be posted as they arrive.

Our questions were:

Q: Why are you running and why should I vote for you?

Q: What issue is most important to you and why?

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

VV

Read More

Jack Layton Remembered

We're just going to take a quick break from the election if that's alright with everyone. 

Victoria Votes is not a partisan organization, we do not endorse any political party or candidate, but we do feel it's important to recognize the contribution of Mr. Layton to Canadian Politics and to our country. Today, Canada lost a great man. This evening, around 200 people gathered near the office of NDP MP Denise Savoie to remember the contribution to Canadian politics made by Jack Layton.

Among the dozens gathered there were MLAs Rob Fleming and Carole James, along with MPs Randall Garrison and Denise Savoie. The tone was one of sorrow, but also of admiration and warmth as each speaker remembered Jack's personality and his leadership. In the crowd were council candidate Rose Henry and current City Council members Philippe Lucas, Marianne Alto, John Luton, and Lynn Hunter, along with Mayor Fortin.

The highlights of the evening were speeches by Rob Fleming and Carole James, both of whom took time to echo words from Layton's final letter to Canadians while relating their own personal experiences working under Jack's leadership. All of the speakers stressed the value of coming together as Canadians to heed Layton's final request, that we work tirelessly to improve our country and our communities.

Thanks to everyone who came out.

VV

Read More

Lisa Helps on A Channel

 From the A Channel website. Video is here.

August 19, 2011

VICTORIA - When Lisa Helps takes us around the side of the house she's sitting for a friend Friday, we find a box built overtop of the BC Hydro meter and a message you can't miss - "Do Not Install Smart Meter Here."

Helps says "The World Health Organization came out in May 2011 and said technology we're not sure about like cell phones and smart meters are a possible carcinogen, and to me the word possible is really the important thing. It's not saying these are going to cause cancer, but you know what, if we think they might, we've got to go a little more slowly on this."

Helps is part of a movement questioning BC Hydro's plan to equip homes and businesses with new radio-frequency equipped smart meters that track hourly electricity consumption. “The smart meter program is really a way to modernize, upgrade our system, a way we can help reduce the pressure on rates to our customers, over 3 years the smart meter program can reduce rate pressures by $70 million to our customers" says BC Hydro Spokesperson Ted Olynyk.

After hearing from a number of people, Victoria City Councillor Philippe Lucas presented a motion to council to request BC Hydro allow people to refuse a new meter. He says there's been a lack of consultation, and and suggests a 2nd option. "The alternative I'm suggesting is Corix, the company that's making the wireless smart meters Hydro is putting in, also have wired versions of the meter. So people who opt out have the wired version and still pass on the info that Hydro needs."

BC Hydro says the wired-meters Lucas suggests cost $35,000 each, and have only been used in industrial applications. As for health concerns, Ted Olynyk points out some of the other "possible" carcinogens listed in the same category as the smart meters by the World Health Organization. "We'd be eliminating cars, GPS, cell phones, and doctors wireless pagers."

The final word from Lisa Helps: People have a choice to use a cell phone or wireless internet, but not to refuse a smart meter, and that's not right.

BC Hydro says it has already installed about 1600 of the new meters in the Victoria area.

Read More

Steve Filipovic Running for City Council

If you read that headline, you know what this post is about!

Steve Filipovic has run twice in Victoria, once for Mayor as a green-aligned independent, and in the recent by-election, where he came in third with 2280 votes, or about half of the winning candidate's 4529. 

While he hasn't publicly announced, Victoria Votes was assured that he intends to run this year. "I am running for City Council," said Filipovic in his statement to VV, "to steer the City into creating affordable housing opportunities for Victorians, to implement viable and cost saving solutions for housing those without homes, to get our City on track to reducing our use of fossil fuels and pesticides, and to transition our City toward Local and Organic."

Filipovic began campaigning with an event on Thursday Aug. 4th entitled "Challenge the Establishment Strategy Meeting". 

More soon.

VV

Read More

Victoria News Election Coverage Begins

From Victoria News, Jul 19 2011

Interest grows for city council seats
By Roszan Holmen

With a municipal election four months away, a few new council hopefuls are making their intentions known.

Former mayoral candidate Benjamin Isitt formally decided to run for council this week.  He joins Lisa Helps, Saul Andersen and Rose Henry, who have all decided to seek a seat on Victoria city council.

The outlook for newbies is dim, however, as all incumbents on council are expected to to seek another term.

If the last municipal election is any indication, expect dozens more candidates to file nomination papers. In 2008, there were 35 council candidates and eight mayoral candidates.

Some names you may also see on the ballot list include John Turner and Bernard von Shulmann. Both have both publicly mused about the possibility.

Not running again is Barry Hobbis.

After spending $29,170 to come in second place during a 2010 by-election, Hobbis won't be giving municipal politics another go this time around.

Neither will Rob Reid, who came in second place in the race for mayor in 2008. Between running his business and family life, Reid said he's too busy for politics at this time.

So far, only Mayor Dean Fortin and Paul Brown are vying for the top spot on council.

Once again, Monday Magazine columnist and former council candidate Simon Nattrass is reviving his website, dedicated to municipal election coverage.

"Victoria Votes will be more active again shortly in light of people gearing up for November," said Nattrass, via email. The site, he said, aims to include interviews with every candidate some issue-based articles.

Check it out, at www.victoriavotes.ca

General voting day for municipal elections in B.C. is Nov. 19. Candidates will have 10 days to file nomination papers and officially declare their candidacy between from 9 a.m. Oct. 4 to 4 p.m. Oct. 14.

Council hopefuls, at a glance

• Lisa Helps is executive director of Community Micro Lending, former chair of the Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group board, an advisor during the city's official community plan review.

• Benjamin Isitt previously taught history at UVic and UBC, and is now pursuing a PhD in law at the University of Victoria. In 2002, and 2005 the now 33-year-old ran for mayor achieving 32 and 44 per cent of the vote, respectively.

• Saul Andersen has become a well-known name on the ballot list at all levels. He ran for mayor in 2008, and for council in the 2010 byelection. He's also previously run for MLA and MP.

• Rose Henry is a long-time advocate for the homeless in Victoria. She's currently in Scotland for the International Network of Street newspapers conference, where she is being recognized for her writing in the Victoria Street Newz. 

Read More

Ben Isitt Running for Council

News! Ben Isitt is running for City Council in Victoria! In the past, Isitt has run for Mayor, and came very close to winning his last race, though narrowly defeated by Alan Lowe.

The following is taken from his website, which is here.

I am standing for election as City Councillor in the November 19th municipal election to contribute to this great city — working with city staff and citizens like you to make Victoria a fair, safe and green place to live and work.

I am excited to apply my professional expertise and a decade and a half of community service to the challenges at City Hall, building long-lasting, cost-effective solutions that work for our neighbourhoods, our downtown and the broader region.

As a parent, homeowner and small-business operator living and working near the downtown core,  I understand the impact of social problems in our neighbourhoods. This ground-level view has strengthened my commitment to building a city where everyone has a place and the support they need.

Read More

Gearing Up

So things are picking up. Articles are being written, campaigns are being announced (to recap: Paul Brown and Dean Fortin for Mayor, Lisa Helps for City Council), and... actually, that's about it. Let's fix that.

Just like last year Victoria Votes will be interviewing any and all candidates for Council, Mayor, or CRD representative in the Municipality of Victoria. In the interest of fairness, we will be asking each candidate the same three questions - in order to keep these questions relevant to you, we'd like to get to know you a little better.

So send us an email or comment on this post and let us know what we should find out about this year's candidates.

VV

Read More

Whoa, updates!

So to recap - Paul Brown is running for Mayor, Lisa Helps is running for City Council, and now Dean Fortin is running for re-election as Mayor of Victoria.

Things are heating up, and as such Victoria Votes will soon be something to watch, with regular updates as they happen (as opposed to several weeks late like this one).

FYI, here is some info about Lisa Helps:

On Monday the 16th at Cabin 12, community activist Lisa Helps announced she will run for Victoria City Council. Her meeting focussed on what Helps called building community wealth, saying she would help build "A strong, resilient, interdependent local economy; well-being, connectedness, and security in community; a healthy environment we respect, use with love, and protect; and a city where citizens lead."

Helps was the chair of the board at Fernwood NRG, the organization responsible for a number of Fernwood's affordable housing units as well as the Cornerstone Cafe. She sat on the Advisory Committee for the City's recent Official Community Plan review, and is currently the executive director of Community Micro Lending, a local non-profit which provides small loans and mentoring to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Read More

Paul Brown Announces Run for Mayor

On Wednesday the 4th, Paul Brown announced to the media and the public that he intends to run for Mayor in the upcoming (November) Municipal Election.

His website is paulbrown-victoria.org, and Victoria Votes will be be posting moreinformaiton as it arises.

A bit of background, Paul Brown ran for Council in the by-election, and placed sixth with 1065 votes, or 6.92% of total votes cast. For comparison, Marianne Alto, who won the vacant Council seat, had 29.43% of the vote.

If you click on the Candidates tag to the right of this post, you'll find info from the last election about Brown, including interviews with Victoria Votes and B Channel News.

Time to get into election mode, I guess.

VV

Read More

Juan De Fuca Protesters Notch Their Belts

It must be nice to own a logging company. The provincial government up and gives you a truly staggering amount of land, which you sell for a truly staggering amount of cash to developers who get to absorb the truly staggering amount of backlash once the public realize they've been wholly screwed. All the payoff, none of the work – externalization at its best.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), we can't all be logging executives. And so, we find ourselves locked into a serious predicament. The CRD, Ender Ilkay, dozens of non-profit groups, and hundreds of regular folks are, for different reasons, all equally apprehensive about the prospect of some 260 tourist cabins being built on Ilkay's 236 hectares of land along the Juan De Fuca trail.

This is the third iteration of the proposal, and the problems are still many. To start, the lands are zoned Rural Resource and the Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) says that any proposal other than resource extraction is a no-go. This contradicts the Official Community Plan for the area, which says the land can be used for tourism. Add into that a general apprehension about urban sprawl and the loss of wild space, and you've arrived at last Wednesday, when 150 people gathered outside the CRD board meeting to reinforce the hundreds who have been calling, emailing, and protesting in recent months.

The meeting was centred around two points, the most obvious being the integrity of the Juan De Fuca trail. Less apparent was the question of whether or not Land Use Committee A, made up of a portion of the CRD board, is the place to decide the fate of regionally significant land, or whether the responsibility should rest with the board as a whole. The final word? Lands currently zoned Rural Resource (including those covered by Ilkay's proposal) should be in the hands of the CRD board, and by extension the wider community.

It's unclear whether Wednesday's decision to request that the Province allow the proposed change could be the end of this development proposal (or the beginning of a very long legal battle), but it was certainly a victory for everyone working to preserve wilderness here in The Capital.

Read More

Amalgamation

Amalgamation is a vicious and terrifying word in The Capital, whispered only in dark corners of municipal halls - feared, loved, and hated in a thousand new ways with each new day. With Esquimalt's recent Force Divorce following years of budget tensions, debates about regional funding, and the recent changes to the CRD structure, it seems that we may have to start feeding the elephant in the corner.

Contrary to popular believe, inter-municipal cooperation, far from being an unworkable mess of chattering politicians, has been improving steadily for years. Regional fire, disaster, and ambulance services are well-established, and municipal governments are even relinquishing some of their power to the CRD in favour of regional transportation plans and growth strategies.

On the flip side, the brief and torrid police force affair between Victoria and Esquimalt was characterized by regular budget conflicts, uncertainty, and ultimate failure. There have been repeated calls for regional cost-sharing from Victoria, citing the higher costs of running the region's downtown and rebuilding everyone's favourite bridge.

Victoria Councillor Chris Coleman figures fewer municipalities can be a positive thing. “I think you get a much more cohesive plan for economic development.” Along with transportation and development planning, Coleman argues amalgamation would be better for the region's cultural health. “We tend to send a lot of our cultural and non-profit community around to thirteen different councils, where they might get $5000 here, a few thousand there – how much are these groups spending to do that?”

Saanich councillor Dean Murdock sees regional cooperation as an alternative to amalgamation. “[With more municipalities] you get a council with a focus and familiarity with particular neighbourhoods, and a relationship with the neighbourhood associations rather than having representatives from all over the Capital Region voting on an issue specific to a local neighbourhood where they may not have that familiarity. I think that if you concentrate that responsibility you create a distance between the residents and their representatives.

I`ve always had trouble ignoring the late great Jane Jacobs. “Respect for difference in neighbourhoods is essential,” Jacobs said. “Megacity bureaucracies cannot respond with this kind of pinpoint accuracy. It defies common sense to inflict on the citizens and businesses a government that is less responsive than what they have now.”

Read More

OURS Strikes Again

March 22^nd - In the middle of the night, with no warning at all, pedestrian infrastructure was savagely attacked by a gang of bike riding anarchists known to authorities only as "OURS". Shunning reason and civilization, these brutes painted another round in the series of sharrows marring our streets since 2009.

Or not.

Maybe a group of concerned citizens got together and decided to take up arms (read: paint) in the name of improving local cycling amenities. You figure it out.

Sharrows are road markings indicating a shared use lane where roads are too narrow to incorporate a bike lane. OURS has been painting these markings around The Capital since 2009, focusing on high traffic areas with little existing bicycle infrastructure.

Yukon Duit, spokesperson for the Other Urban Repair Squad says OURS is painting sharrows to highlight the gap between car and bike infrastructure uprgrading and maintenance in The Capital. "We're talking about bike lanes that just disappear into the ether in the middle of a route. Imagine if these were vehicle routes - we would never do that to cars."

According to Councillor John Luton, due process – meaning engineers, studies, and consultation – is still what's needed – OURS, in contrast, is undemocratic and unsafe. "I want this decision made by professionals, not by the self-appointed vanguard of cyclist's interests."

Or maybe not.

"This is exactly what democracy looks like. It's engaged citizens helping to shape the public sphere," says Duit. "The city of Victoria collapsed its one formal group for cyclists to have their voice, so there's no longer a direct route for cyclists to communicate our needs to the City." As far as Duit is concerned, OURS is filling that void.

While the group doesn't necessarily adhere to TAC guidelines when applying sharrows, Duit says that's not the idea. "Our point is not that we're using the exact materials and spacing. Our point is that the city should be doing it. This is the next best thing while we wait for the city and the region to take action. Of course the city is going to do a better job, that's the whole point."

While the goals of activists, radicals, and officials (in this case, anyway) appear to coincide, the debate over method may doom future road markings to less-than-legal status.

Read More

Malahat Safety More Than Just Regulation

Apr. 16, 6:20pm - Diesel pours from the Malahat Highway, flooding into Goldstream river.

At 9:00, I'm in the middle of a party, and I hear through Facebook - "We were in the recent aftermath of an incident on the Malahat. A gas tanker overturned (so we were told). We went down to the Goldstream river and witnessed what we feared – the river, bank to bank, flowing with fuel. The air was thick with the fumes. [My partner and I] helplessly stood there and watched a bird land further downstream. We both have a headache and can taste gaoline on our tongues. I'm so angry and I feel completely powerless."

Catherine and Matt are on their way into town when they're diverted at Finlayson Arm along Highway 1 and stop during their drive to survey Goldstream river, engorged with fuel - "The river was thick with it, the stench of the air was just incredible. During about the 7 or 10 minutes that we stood near the river the quantity of fuel was just incredible." says Matt.

At 9:30, BC Highway News reports that the Malahat is "Closed in both directions at Goldstream Provincial Park because of Collision." A quick search on twitter seems to indicate that no-one is aware of the leak as of 10:20pm, and CFAX says there are reports of fuel leaking into the river.

The highway is infamous for accidents, mainly due to weather and disjointed design, characterized by sharp turns and blind corners. In an '00 to '04 study, the yearly accident average was 56, with 5 fatal and 265 total incidents, with the section in question (Finlayson Arm) showing the highest numbers. A '99 to aught-eight coroner's report cites 7 deaths in the Malahat area. Despite maintenance and several attempts at improvement, this section of highway remains one of the most dangerous in BC.

At 11:10, a Times Colonist reports Lanford Fire Dept. assistant chief Goeff Spriggs saying a "significant" amount of fuel has leaked into the river. A Twitter search gathers posts from CFAX, The Q, the TC, and various people, mostly in regards to the traffic interruption, but the leak is confirmed.

And so the story breaks. By now, we're all familiar with the news – but for Catherine and Matt this evening is and always will be raw, a vivid memory hidden within the bare facts.

Read More