6 replies to this topic

[knightofstjohn]

Hi all,

I'm brand new to victoria, but believe it's very important to exercise one's suffrage rights, and am having a little trouble getting through all the election speak. I've read the posts, seen the candidate's responses to various questions, but it seems like many are reading from the same "I'm being sensitive because it is election time" talking points.

I would consider myself a civil libertarian -- meaning i don't think government has the right to tell citizens what to do with thier person or their property. I admit I am concerned about some of the anti-development rhetoric in relation to homelessness as I think there is a danger of stifling the city's future. Some candidates seem against development in any situation - not in any green spaces, not allowing property owners to replace low income property with new options (what's left?) - and it seems that that would ultimately create a situation where many middle class and above people (due to lack of housing) and eventually businesses (they would follow their customers) would be driven away from the downtown and into the suburbs (I personally think this is bad). Many candidates though seem to be speaking very carefully at risk of offending activists or perhaps just because of the general contentiousness of the issue.

So in short, are there any pro-business, pro-development candidates out there?

Thanks very much for any feedback.

[Caramia]

Welcome to Victoria and to Vibrant Victoria. I don't really know that there are any candidates that fit your description, given the culture of the region. There are some that very definitely do not. I would suggest you check out the following websites:

The Chamber of Commerce
http://www.victoriac...r.ca/elections/
Downtown Victoria 2020
http://dv2020.ca/2008_election.html
The Urban Development Institute
http://www.udi.bc.ca/udi_victoria.html
(they are in the middle of updating it with candidate responses by the looks of it, so you may want to give them some time.)

Off the top of my head if I were to name a collection of candidates who have shown qualities of fiscal responsibility, pragmatism, and willingness to have reasonable conversations, or work with business, it would be a short list. I can't say with any confidence that either of our Mayoral front runners are on it.

Rob Randall
Susan Woods
Chris Coleman
Geoff Young
Charlayne Thornton-Joe
Barry Hobbis

These are the people whose track records I know enough about to name, there may be others who belong on the list, but I don't know enough about. (There's my disclaimer)

But I wouldn't go as far to say that any of them are right wing. Take Geoff Young, who is council's resident accountant and legal mind. But then look at his track record of supporting alternative forms of transportation and championing heritage preservation, and he becomes harder to pigeon-hole. Barry Hobbis comes off as pro-business, tough on crime, but then he spends his spare time at fund raisers for for street kids. The best I can say to you is that the names on that list do not belong to the BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) group. And if you happen to disagree with them you won't be branded a capitalist pig who is somehow corrupting the democratic process.

[Caramia]

Hey KnightsofStJohn, I think this guy here is your election news source. I'm not his biggest fan but with the values you stated, I think its a good match.

[knightofstjohn]

Hey KnightsofStJohn, I think this guy here is your election news source. I'm not his biggest fan but with the values you stated, I think its a good match.

Hey Caramia,

Thanks so much. I think it's very cool that you're willing to point me in the right direction (no pun intended) even though clearly it ain't your thing. Myself -- I'm always for ideas over ideology and if the people you've named are at least open-minded enough to listen then they've got a shot at my vote no matter where they may fall on the political spectrum.

My Regards...

[Mike K.]

You can also check out VibrantVictoria's council candidate report. It lists candidates that "fit in" with the issues raised on VV, and where possible, supplies info on candidates with a VV tagline.

[gumgum]

^Great stuff! Thanks for that page VV people!

[Mike K.]

Vic News published the following piece yesterday.

Information-hungry voters have plenty of options
By Keith Vass - Victoria News [Link]

Published: November 11, 2008 2:00 PM
Updated: November 11, 2008 2:19 PM

With municipal elections set for Saturday and record-breaking numbers of candidates running for Victoria council, voters have some online options to help them sort out their picks for public office.

You can start at www.vicnews.com, then click on the Civic Elections button near the top right-hand corner.

That will take you to all of our municipal election coverage for Victoria, Esquimalt and the Greater Victoria School District board, as well as special web-only candidate profiles.

Feature stories include profiles of Victoria and Esquimalt mayoral candidates and issue-centered looks at major challenges facing the city and the township. Once on the civic election page, you can also plug in your postal code and find a list of self-submitted candidate profiles.

A number of community groups have also gotten into the online election-coverage game, hosting candidate information on their websites.

Victoriavotes.ca, an initiative of the B.C. Community Economic Development Network, sent Victoria candidates nine questions on three topics: affordable housing, development and economic sustainability.

The website was launched "because there are too many candidates and too few ways to learn about them," said Nicole Charland, the group's co-ordinator.

The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce has a special election page, found via a link at www.victoriachamber.ca. Candidates in the four core municipalities were given a list of questions related to business concerns.

VibrantVictoria.ca's election discussion forums are unique in that they give readers and candidates a place to interact and discuss issues, said Mike Kozakowski of Skyscraper Source Media, which runs the website.

"(Readers) have the ability to see a candidate's entire campaign - what they're for, what they're against - and one of the coolest things we've noticed is that some (candidates) actually changed their opinion based on feedback they received from individuals on the forum."

Some websites are dedicated to collecting candidates' views around single issues.

Dog owners may want to turn to www.citizencanine.org to learn for candidates' attitudes toward pooches.

Those worried about how the city will protect its parks can turn to the Cridge Park Rescue Group's site, www.cridgeparkrescue.com, for answers.

The City of Victoria's website, www.victoria.ca, has a full list of candidates and everything you need to know to cast your vote, with polling locations and time, plus voter I.D. and qualification requirements.

For the first time, the city has posted election information on Facebook, where users can search for the 'Victoria Votes 2008' page.

Esquimalt has the same information for its voters at www.esquimalt.ca.

kvass@vicnews.com