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'.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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News Update

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

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Fun Article...

At the Tyee, regarding Council candidate Robin Kimpton.

LINK

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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Fun Video

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

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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!

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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