Robin Kimpton | Victoria Council

The question I have is "why"?

A person described in the media as a "slumlord" is among the candidates running for Victoria city council.

Robin Kimpton is one of 20 people hoping to fill eight council seats in the capital city. Kimpton's properties have frequently brought the attention of municipal inspectors and the city's media, and he is in an ongoing court battle with the city to recover costs from having his buildings shut.

http://thetyee.ca/Bl...KimptonCouncil/

I think Hosni Mubarak has a better chance of being elected. Heck, I bet Muammar Gaddafi has better odds. I mean, Kimpton may be a super nice guy and a worthy candidate but you'd hope that an Internet search would uncover at least one positive thing about him. Unless it's all a joke, but this is a lot of trouble to go to for a joke.

Election date is November 19th, 2011 for city council elections in Victoria, BC. I found this date was hard to find and took a lot of digging to find the dates. I am voting for Robin Kimpton and you can find some more information on a brand new website for him www.RobinKimpton.ca. You can forward questions to Mr. Kimpton if you have any questions for this potential local politician in the city of Victoria, BC. Ask questions and get answers from this electorial candidate before the big election day.

Welcome to Vibrant Victoria VictoriasOn.

Love the forum for Victoria BC residents. Great job guys and gals!

Personally, I'd like to know how the candidate expects us to take him seriously, given his long history and reputation as one of worst slumlords in town (not my words and well documented in the media for years)? Mind you, if it his idea is to let City infrastructure degrade to the point where it is a public safety hazard, as he he has done with his properties, he ought to fit right in with The Dean Team!

I merged VictoriasOn thread into this thread as they are related

Personally, I'd like to know how the candidate expects us to take him seriously, given his long history and reputation as one of worst slumlords in town (not my words and well documented in the media for years)?

Agreed. My eyebrows shot way up when I saw his name on the list of candidates. And that "website" full of spelling and grammatical errors, but devoid of information or ideas, sure doesn't help me take him seriously.

Personally, I'd like to know how the candidate expects us to take him seriously, given his long history and reputation as one of worst slumlords in town (not my words and well documented in the media for years)? Mind you, if it his idea is to let City infrastructure degrade to the point where it is a public safety hazard, as he he has done with his properties, he ought to fit right in with The Dean Team!

Perhaps you should go meet the man and then you will know why he is running and why he hasn't been able to redevelop those properties. If you are looking for an alternative to The Dean Team and want change in Victoria, look a bit deeper. I know Robin would be happy to talk to you.

Perhaps you should go meet the man and then you will know why he is running and why he hasn't been able to redevelop those properties. If you are looking for an alternative to The Dean Team and want change in Victoria, look a bit deeper. I know Robin would be happy to talk to you.

No thanks. What is it with candidates (and/or their supporters) that think that it should be on me to call the candidate for a cup of coffee so s/he can have the opportunity to explain away their $hitty reputation or justify their inane public forum ramblings about how it's OK for them to carpetbag after being so against it in a previous election? How about just being a sane choice in the first place?

As for an alternative to the Dean Team, all of these joke candidates just take away votes from the viable alternatives. I am not against anyone throwing their hat into the ring, but if the candidate hasn't the sense enough to realize that they don't have a snowball's chance in hell in winning, why would they expect that I would ever vote for someone so deluded?

No thanks. What is it with candidates (and/or their supporters) that think that it should be on me to call the candidate for a cup of coffee so s/he can have the opportunity to explain away their $hitty reputation or justify their inane public forum ramblings about how it's OK for them to carpetbag after being so against it in a previous election? How about just being a sane choice in the first place?

As for an alternative to the Dean Team, all of these joke candidates just take away votes from the viable alternatives. I am not against anyone throwing their hat into the ring, but if the candidate hasn't the sense enough to realize that they don't have a snowball's chance in hell in winning, why would they expect that I would ever vote for someone so deluded?

How very open minded of you. I don't think anyone who spends their time and money putting themselves up for a position on council is a joke.

Election date is November 19th, 2011 for city council elections in Victoria, BC. I found this date was hard to find and took a lot of digging to find the dates. I am voting for Robin Kimpton and you can find some more information on a brand new website for him www.RobinKimpton.ca. You can forward questions to Mr. Kimpton if you have any questions for this potential local politician in the city of Victoria, BC. Ask questions and get answers from this electorial candidate before the big election day.

That is one ugly website. Just saying...

How very open minded of you. I don't think anyone who spends their time and money putting themselves up for a position on council is a joke.

I went to his website and Googled him. If he's deluded enough to think that he can win based on information available in the public domain, he can't seriously consider himself a serious contender - and if he runs despite realizing this, he's wasting everybody's time - either case = joke. Kimpton is hardly different than that fellow who's been banned for trading securities but thinks he has a serious shout at a seat on North Cowichan district council.

Just because someone runs for office, doesn't give them some air of gravitas or legitimacy. Joke. Candidate.

^I have to agree. Basically, there are three main categories: joke candidates, like the guy with the clown nose, deluded candidates, that don't realize they can not win, and credible candidates.

It's a hard job for voters to sort out who's who without adequate information. Kimpton's website is skimpy although it claims it will be updated. Right now, there's not much to differentiate him. Let's face it, every candidate is campaigning on better government, fiscal responsibility, safer streets etc. etc.

The question that is asked (it was asked of me) is: "what makes you so qualified to be a Councillor? Why should I vote for you?"

Since information about Kimpton is hard to come by, we are forced to read the newspapers. There you will find allegations that he owned buildings that were dangerous and filthy, putting residents at risk. A City inspector said one was "right up there with the worst". Leaky gas, mice, no fire escapes or smoke detectors were just a few of the items noted by the media. Kimpton's reply was not to fix the problems but to fight the City, costing taxpayers a fortune in legal and other expenses.

Every story has two sides. The election is coming up fast. It's time for Robin to tell his side of the story and to let us know why he is better qualified than anyone else running.

Thank you Mr. Randall for adding some sanity and civility to the Blog. It permits a response.

Over the days leading to the election, it is my intention to respond to this Blog and to set out my positions on various issues.

With respect to Mr.Fogger etc, you really need to be in the trenches dealing with the day to day aspects of the closed properties to properly comment.

Over the years, I have dealt with the hard to house or difficult tenants, often not by choice but unfortunately due to the nature of what Victoria has to offer. The Yates and Cook properties were prime examples. Unfortunately, I had a manager prior to 2001 who did not care. I came to Victoria in 2001 to try and attack the mess. I lived in a sleeping bag in the basement of Yates and Cook and tried to stem the tide of drug dealings and drug use. In one instance, I stood on Yates street until approximately 3 oclock in the morning until the police came along and asked me what I was doing. I told them that there was a dealer in the building and I was trying to discourage the trafficking. They asked the persons name, looked him up and said they were aware of him. They said they could go in and rattle a few chains but that 5 minutes after they left the trafficking would start up again. They advised me to go home to bed (little did they know my bed was a sleeping bag in the basement).

At that point, as an owner what do you do, go home and see the traffic increase and your building torn to shreds or try to deal with it? I stood my ground, only to my utter surprise, to have the police return telling me to go home or they would charge me with loittering.

I could list story after story like this. Some violent, some compassionate as the user breaks down and tries to break the cycle.

One needs to step back and ask what is actually going on when the TV cameras show up filming a suite or building absolutely trashed by a tenant. What owner in his or her right mind wants the building destroyed?

I spent some $250,000 on the two buildings between 2001 and 2003 when the buildings were shut by the City.

With respect to the Cook Street building, the City was in such a rush to shut the building, in my opinion, it proceeded without legal authority. This question is before the Courts. Little, if anything will happen to this building until the litigation is resolved.

With respect to Yates Street from information provided by the City, if Yates Street were torn down a duplex could be built there. In my opinion, this is not a reasonable option for a building in this location with a 30 unit property and a 45 unit property on either side. Given the angst and animosity which seems to exist in the City and Mr. Fogger etc, are apparently a prime examples, I will not go forward with this property where I have to ask the City for any sort of variance.

Over the years since the closure of these buildings, every time there has been a significant discussion of the homeless problem in the news, I have written the Mayor suggesting that we enter into discussions of developing these buildings. In each and every case neither Mayor Lowe nor the current Mayor Fortin have ever responded, not even an acknowledgement.

At the staff level over the years, whenever I contacted City Hall, I would be told by the building inspector, “my instructions are not to talk to you”! Surprise, if you are inside City Hall, you would know this is so. It is well known by many in the building community that the City staff have not talked to me and this is even when I have approached the City to talk to them about other properties than Cook and / or Yates. The building inspector would refer me to his boss and on from there. Usually, it might take two or three days for something which should take 20 minutes. Most often, I would simply give up. Not that it enters into it everyone is entitled to the same service, but I pay the City hundreds of thousands of dollars in any given tax year.

This is in fact, one of the reasons I am running for Council. The mood and culture in City Hall is rotten. It is mind numbing to me that it is but it is and needs to be examined.

So there is my response to Mr. Fogger etc. I will write soon on what I see as some of the election issues, my positions and suggestions on them.

Mr. Randall, thanks again for adding some sanity and civility.

Mr. Kimpton, thank you for your post.

I have also edited the text size to make the text larger and easier to read

As stated in my previous post, it is my intention to set out some of the issues in this Election and to comment on them the first Issue I am going to comment on is homelessness.

I have some 20 plus years of housing the hard to house in Victoria. I have had many experiences both good and bad over the years.

However, lets start by saying the term “hard to house” or “homeless” or those on welfare is far to general and sweeps up a wide variety of individuals. Those to which we most often refer are those who are highly visible that is those addicted to drugs.

Secondly, we or the province administers a “one size fits all” policy handing out large sums of money every welfare Wednesday often to those who are not capable of handling these monies.

These are the two aspects that I am going to speak to, first the large sums of money we flush out every welfare Wednesday and second this highly visible section of the term “homelessness” or whatever term you care to apply.

There has to be a better way. Each welfare Wednesday, the Province distributes on our behalf large sums of money. The bars ready themselves, the Police brace, taxis, ambulances, the fire department and health services are over run. Surely, there is a better way. I, often wonder when the general public is going to wake up to this expenditure. To top it off, it is not getting any better. Municipal governments in particular try to create low cost housing without the taxing authority. The province tries to follow up with the medical aid to create the circumstances to break the cycle. however the problem persists.

It is magnified in the highly visible group of the addicted who, for example, flailed on Pandora and has now been moved to 710 Queens.

It is my suggestion that the homeless problem will continue unless another model is developed.

Firstly, with respect to housing, housing must be provided in smaller modules of not more than 10 or 12. To concentrate a mass of 30, 40 or more in one facility is almost impossible to monitor, control and administer without a significant reaction in the neighbourhood.

Secondly, I suggest that the system must be some form of incentive based system. The current system of warehousing with no specific programs is domed. There must be a system of task and reward. Initially, it might mean detox but once the individual is somewhat free of the immediate effects of the drug, there must be an activity to fill the void. Recent examples of farm work mixed with good food and recreation come to mind. The individual would progress through graduated tasks and rewards until he or she regains his or her confidence, sense of reward and gainful activity.

These are some of my thoughts on the welfare system. I do wonder how long the general public will put up with these expenditures of its money without significant results. The current system is economic insanity. Secondly, I offer up my thoughts on a solution through an incentive based system geared to produce some results.

I never heard of this guy before I saw him at the James Bay all candidates meeting. He presented well, clean shaven and in a suit, and he used his 3 minutes to tell about his experience with the Vancouver Port Authority (he gave the impression that he was the CEO or something) that he was a lawyer and had worked on the Workers Comp Appeal Board. I wondered why I had never heard of such an important person - esp. the Port Authority angle. With all the issues we've had here in James Bay vis a vis our Harbour Authority, you'd think he would have taken the opportunity to comment and share his expertise.

Robin - your website doesn't help much. The home page is the same as the biography page.

What did you actually DO at the Vancouver Port Authority, and why did you leave there?

I never heard of this guy before I saw him at the James Bay all candidates meeting...

I...Googled him.

This.

As a person working to elect Robin Kimpton to city council I can assure you that he is niether a diluted nor a joke candidate.
While you may have your opinion of his chances I think perhaps you are missing the point of democracy on this one.
I can personaly testify to several good things that have come from this campainge,such as....
1. I have already seen an increased discussion surrounding rental housing in Victoria.
2. Do to Robins contact with many of the disenfranchised persons in Victoria he has been able to encouage many who typically do not vote to stand up and be heard on Nov. 19th.
3.On a more personal note this election has given me a chance to make more known the many people who have been helped to overcome thier barriers to employment and housing particularly at Hotel 760 and has given the many former homless who live and work there more pride in thier surroundings.
4. Besides--Robin IS qualified to take on the housing issues in Victoria while promoting responsable goverment and if any one wishes to take a tour of the many buildings that I manage for Mr. Kimpton please contact me at barrettrblackwood@gmail.com

1. I have already seen an increased discussion surrounding rental housing in Victoria.

To suggest a causality between the appearance of Robin Kimpton and an increase to the discussion (quality or quantity) is spurious. People were already talking about rental housing with our without his presence.

2. Do to Robins contact with many of the disenfranchised persons in Victoria he has been able to encouage many who typically do not vote to stand up and be heard on Nov. 19th.

If this is the case, bravo to the candidate - it never hurts to have more citizens participate in the democratic process. But then, this will be reflected in his polling numbers, wouldn't you agree?

3.On a more personal note this election has given me a chance to make more known the many people who have been helped to overcome thier barriers to employment and housing particularly at Hotel 760 and has given the many former homless who live and work there more pride in thier surroundings.

If this is the case, I am happy for you and your bretheren.

4. Besides--Robin IS qualified to take on the housing issues in Victoria while promoting responsable goverment and if any one wishes to take a tour of the many buildings that I manage for Mr. Kimpton please contact me at barrettrblackwood@gmail.com

Anyone reading the reasons for judgement in Fernwood Neighbourhood Resources Group v Kimpton could not possibly come to the same conclusion as you about the candidate's qualifications: http://bcjustice.com...009&Itemid=1255.

We already have a council that pursues ass-hatted real estate lawsuits and ends up losing hundreds of thousands of our dollars in the process (Rogers Chocolates, anyone?). We don't need another councillor encouraging that kind of malarkey.