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The importance of a candidate's place of residence?


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#1 DavidL

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 04:53 PM

I'd like to get a sense of whether it is a significant detriment to a candidate in a municipal election to run for office in a municipality in which they do not reside.  Saanich resident running for Victoria, Victoria resident running for Esquimalt etc.  Does it matter if it's for Council or Mayor.  My own feeling is that council less important, Mayor probably more important.



#2 sdwright.vic

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 05:20 PM

I think all should live where the work. This includes police and fire as well. You have more of a vested interest in both your actions and decisions/ voting.
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#3 Coreyburger

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 06:00 PM

I'd like to get a sense of whether it is a significant detriment to a candidate in a municipal election to run for office in a municipality in which they do not reside.  Saanich resident running for Victoria, Victoria resident running for Esquimalt etc.  Does it matter if it's for Council or Mayor.  My own feeling is that council less important, Mayor probably more important.

 

From what I have seen, it matters more in the smaller munis. Victoria doesn't seem to care, not sure if it has ever come up in Saanich. In Oak Bay it was a big deal.



#4 Casual Kev

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 06:04 PM

I'd say it doesn't matter too much. Someone living in Esquimalt or Saanich might still spend the majority of his or her spare time in Victoria and vice-versa. Of course there's more potential for what's being advocated not quite aligning with a candidate's direct investment, though - e.g. say someone's super jingoistic about building up everything around downtown but he lives in Cadboro Bay, or he wants everyone to be mega ultra compassionate and woke with the downtown homeless but he lives in View Royal... and so on.



#5 Bingo

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 06:33 PM

I'd like to get a sense of whether it is a significant detriment to a candidate in a municipal election to run for office in a municipality in which they do not reside.  Saanich resident running for Victoria, Victoria resident running for Esquimalt etc.  Does it matter if it's for Council or Mayor.  My own feeling is that council less important, Mayor probably more important.

It should be the same for councillors and for mayors, as a councillor is acting mayor during the mayors absence.

Otherwise leave it up to the voter and they will indicate how they feel when they mark their ballot.



#6 On the Level

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 08:34 PM

I can see a bit of a conflict of interest in allowing someone that lives elsewhere run as a candidate.  If you are voting to spend money that could ultimately increase property taxes, you won't be hit by the increase yourself.  If the municipality that you live in ends up benefiting by the CoV spending funds, would you push for the CoV to pay for the whole thing or would you approach the other municipality?   



#7 DavidL

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 09:02 PM

I can see a bit of a conflict of interest in allowing someone that lives elsewhere run as a candidate.  If you are voting to spend money that could ultimately increase property taxes, you won't be hit by the increase yourself.  If the municipality that you live in ends up benefiting by the CoV spending funds, would you push for the CoV to pay for the whole thing or would you approach the other municipality?   

 

There is no barrier to running in any municipal race that you want, regardless of where you live, however you have a bit of a point.  Although what about all the council members and the mayor who is a renter?  They don't pay property taxes, and no I don't want to get into the "but the renter pays the property taxes through their rent nonsense".  What if you owned investment property in Victoria and worked in Victoria but happened to live over the line in Oak Bay?



#8 Rob Randall

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 09:20 PM

 They don't pay property taxes, and no I don't want to get into the "but the renter pays the property taxes through their rent nonsense".

 

When I was a Victoria renter I contributed my fair share to Victoria's budget just like when I was a condo owner.

 

I hope my past history as a dirty, lousy renter didn't affect your property values. 


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#9 Greg

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 09:28 PM

I'd like to get a sense of whether it is a significant detriment to a candidate in a municipal election to run for office in a municipality in which they do not reside.  Saanich resident running for Victoria, Victoria resident running for Esquimalt etc.  Does it matter if it's for Council or Mayor.  My own feeling is that council less important, Mayor probably more important.

 

I won't vote for mayor or council for someone who doesn't live in Victoria, period. I don't care whether they rent or own.


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#10 phx

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 09:45 PM

I can see a bit of a conflict of interest in allowing someone that lives elsewhere run as a candidate

Isn't it more the opposite?  The non-resident candidate has less self interest and could better serve the public.


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#11 On the Level

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Posted 15 July 2018 - 10:06 PM

Isn't it more the opposite?  The non-resident candidate has less self interest and could better serve the public.

Sorry...I don't see it.  Someone running for council should do so because they are invested in their community and not because they think it will look good on their CV/Resume.



#12 tedward

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Posted 16 July 2018 - 10:27 AM

I won't vote for mayor or council for someone who doesn't live in Victoria, period. I don't care whether they rent or own.

 

Ditto.


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#13 jonny

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Posted 16 July 2018 - 11:06 AM

I won't vote for mayor or council for someone who doesn't live in Victoria, period. I don't care whether they rent or own.

 

In general I’d like to agree, but you have to admit our regional borders are seriously dumb. The municipal borders are by and large meaningless and there for purely historical and bureaucratic reasons. Why does the CoV end at Tolmie Ave? Who the hell knows.

 

If the best downtown small business owner ever and most qualified mayoral candidate in world history wanted to run for CoV mayor, should we disqualify them if they lived in Oak Bay?

 

 

I think all should live where the work. This includes police and fire as well. You have more of a vested interest in both your actions and decisions/ voting.

 

This is seriously impractical. If a fire fighter moves across the block from one side of Tolmie to the other, would you expect them to resign from their City of Victoria firefighter position? 


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#14 Rob Randall

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Posted 16 July 2018 - 11:11 AM

It's something to take into consideration on a case by case basis. You could have a hypothetical candidate who lives deep in Gonzales along Foul Bay Road and they work mostly out of their home, do most of their shopping in Oak Bay Village and rarely venture into Downtown. Yet someone that lives across the street commutes by bike into Downtown every day and is passionate about the City of Victoria is automatically disqualified? Even if they were born and raised in the CoV? Come on, a blanket ban is nonsensical, especially when people like me are priced out of Victoria--you are arbitrarily limiting the pool of candidates. 

 

When people asked me if I was going to run again in 2010 I had just moved to Saanich but I don't think anyone would say that my experience and knowledge and interest in Victoria vanished overnight.

 

I would consider residency among the top five concerns when evaluating a candidate, nowhere near the top. 


Edited by Rob Randall, 16 July 2018 - 11:13 AM.

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#15 Nparker

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Posted 16 July 2018 - 11:13 AM

Just more reason for amalgamation of the core municipalities.


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#16 Sparky

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Posted 16 July 2018 - 11:13 AM

^ Perhaps the reason that Tolmie is the border is because that was the north end of the Douglas "street car" line. Everyone had to get out and turn it around in order to get back to town.

Beyond that was banjo country.


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#17 Cats4Hire

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Posted 16 July 2018 - 11:20 AM

I'd have to know why. Say a Langford/Colwood/Sooke resident wants to run in Saanich and their main thing is trying to figure out the mess of Interurban/Wilkinson and all the surrounding roads as that could be a vested interest for them they couldn't do on a west shore council and that would be useful for a lot of Saanich residents along with the west shore while maybe someone living in Gordon Head that just wants to build bike lanes around that neighbourhood specifically would only be useful for the residents of that neighbourhood (which I don't live in) so I'd rather the westshore person.



#18 Bingo

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Posted 16 July 2018 - 12:56 PM

^ Perhaps the reason that Tolmie is the border is because that was the north end of the Douglas "street car" line. Everyone had to get out and turn it around in order to get back to town.

Beyond that was banjo country.

 

The streetcars ran out Douglas as far as Cloverdale where there was a 16 car barn East of Douglas Street.



#19 tedward

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Posted 16 July 2018 - 01:07 PM

In general I’d like to agree, but you have to admit our regional borders are seriously dumb. The municipal borders are by and large meaningless and there for purely historical and bureaucratic reasons. Why does the CoV end at Tolmie Ave? Who the hell knows.

 

Yep, Amalgamation is the answer. 

 

 

This is seriously impractical. If a fire fighter moves across the block from one side of Tolmie to the other, would you expect them to resign from their City of Victoria firefighter position? 

 

Apples and Oranges. Residence in the city has no bearing on your employment by the city. A fire fighter is doing a job for residents (and others) while mayors and councilors represent the residents.


Edited by tedward, 16 July 2018 - 01:07 PM.

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#20 Sparky

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Posted 16 July 2018 - 02:18 PM

The streetcars ran out Douglas as far as Cloverdale where there was a 16 car barn East of Douglas Street.


Survey error.
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