148 replies to this topic

[Bernard]

Image courtesy of http://carlforcouncil.com/

Carl Jensen is seeking election to Central Saanich council in 2011.

I have been a resident of Central Saanich for the past 12 years. During that time I have developed a great appreciation for Central Saanich and I want to ensure that it remains a great place to live for years to come, as I don’t plan on going anywhere any time soon! I am seeking the opportunity to represent you on the Central Saanich Council. My philosophy is one of common sense and balance as I feel that every opportunity, situation and challenge in Central Saanich deserves a thorough and critical analysis. Each of these scenarios must be evaluated to ensure they meet the needs of an evolving climate in our municipality. - http://carlforcouncil.com/

Political affiliations: not available
Website: http://carlforcouncil.com/
Resident of: Central Saanich

[CarlonCouncil]

I have only 8 weeks left to connect with as many CS residents as possible in person, over the phone and over the net to get a sense of what you as residents are seeking in the form of a Councillor. As stated on my website (www.carlforcouncil.com) I have provided three areas that I believe are important to CS and that is where I want to target my efforts. But it is important to get YOUR sense in terms of what you the resident, taxpayer and business need in the way of assistance/support to ensure that CS remains your municipality of choice.

I'm looking forward to the dialogue and I look forward to meeting many of you in the weeks to come!!

Carl

[CarlonCouncil]

Looking for opportunities to get in front of resident and business groups within Central Saanich on on the Saanich Peninsula. If your group is looking for a dynamic speaker to present on the value of supporting municipal elections, please get in touch with myself as I would be happy to come and present to your group.

Carl

[CarlonCouncil]

Recent article coming out of UBCM on the possibility of online voting for the 2014 municipal elections: http://www.bclocalne.../130739708.html

What are your thoughts on this move? A step in the right direction or will this hurt voter turnout?

With Central Saanich turnout at 33% laste election, I think this could help to boost those numbers.

Carl

[Mike K.]

Welcome to VibrantVictoria, Carl!

I would think that any new ways to get voters involved increases turnout. Online voting seems like a natural step.

[jklymak]

^ Online voting seems great so long as security is maintained. It'd be great seeing a list of candidates, and then being able to research their platforms while mulling over your decision.

The only disadvantage I can see is vote stealing. Right now each individual has to go down to the polling station and have their id checked. If its done online, there is nothing to stop an overbearing family member from physically voting for the whole family. Seems some could be disenfranchised.

[Mike K.]

That's a very good point.

I can see people also making the excuse that if their family or friends aren't voting, at least let someone else vote for them.

[rjag]

Hi Carl,
I'm a longtime business and property owner in Keating.

What is your vision for Keating in regards to making CS a more attractive place for investment (local jobs)?

What are your views on Amalgamation?

[LJ]

^ Online voting seems great so long as security is maintained. It'd be great seeing a list of candidates, and then being able to research their platforms while mulling over your decision.

The only disadvantage I can see is vote stealing. Right now each individual has to go down to the polling station and have their id checked. If its done online, there is nothing to stop an overbearing family member from physically voting for the whole family. Seems some could be disenfranchised.

I had concerns about this as well. It seems though, where this has been implemented, you can vote as often as you like so you can let "dad" vote for you then sneak away later and vote on your own. Only your last vote before polls close count.

As long as no one has access to the numbers before the polls close I suppose that could work.

When I think what some people in other countries go through in order to vote I still feel you should be able to drag your ass down to a local polling station though.

[jklymak]

^ Hmmm, that makes it less of a concern, though still somewhat of a concern...

[CarlonCouncil]

@Mike K - Thanks for having me here on VV! I thinks its great that there can be a central location where you can bring together the candidates and their residents for some online discussion to drill down into some of the key issues which otherwise we might only scratch the surface on. I look forward to getting to know the residents of the Capital region better through this site as I think some of the regionally-focussed discussion may have some learnings and/or implications for other districts.

@jklymak - Good point on the security, I would like to learn more about how that is managed and maintained throughout an election.

@rjag - One of the first things I would do is connect with the business owners such as yourself to start building better Public Private Partnerships (P3's) in Central Saanich by engaging in an ongoing dialogue to determine from a business point of view what is working or not working for the business owners such as yourself. I believe the business community is an integral part of CS and if the municipality is not working WITH the business community I want to know why. I see a strong partnership between the district and the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce for a regular dialogue to ensure CS is a destination location for business. With its proximity to the highway, airport, ferries and without the traffic of the Colwood Crawl, I feel the peninsula should be a great place to set up a business. Two things that I believe will assist the situation:
1) Managed/controlled residential growth in CS's residential zoned areas; 2) An overpass from the highway. We need to be more aggressive in pitching the province for assistance with this as we have sat by and watched the development of an interchange for an intersection that already had lights and now we are hearing talk of pedestrian overpasses in Sidney and at MacKenzie and the TCH. We need the Keating overpass to get to the top of that list as it is a safety hazard and an impediment to the Keating Industrial area. That's a start, but let's continue this dialogue over the phone or in person as I want to hear from you!

Finally, on the online voting, is there an opportunity for a blended process that would see both in-person and electronic polling? Perhaps that's the answer to hit as many demographics as possible, which for me is the goal!

Carl

PS - Thanks for jumping on this thread to spur on some discussion, I look forward to many more discussions such as this in the weeks to come!

[CarlonCouncil]

@rjag - Sorry, missed this question as I got so fired up talking about ideas for Keating!! My thoughts on Amalgamation, I have to say as a small district, compared to Victoria, that amalgamation is not in the best interest of the community of CS. I agree that there are economies of scale and cost savings that would be associated with this, but I feel that our sense of community and what makes CS unique and exceptional would be lost within a single Greater Victoria district. I believe as a district we can be self sustainable and I feel that the increased costs we pay for that are worth the level of service and attention we receive from the Central Saanich Council and district staff. I believe there is great benefit when it is your neighbours, friends, co-workers and family that are helping to make the decisions that will shape the community in which you reside because they have a stake in the decisions they are making as residents.

Carl

[Sparky]

Carl, I live but a stones throw south of the CS border, but spend lots of time and money in your municipality.....given that hopefully you live there.

Please don't feel that you have to answer tonight....although I see you are still online...

There have been some contentious issues of late that have brought your municipality into the spotlight so to speak. Please allow me to list them in point form...then you can comment if you wish.

1-Keating business district in decline.
2-Vantreight removal of property from the ALR for subdivision.
3- CO-OP planning on building on First Nation land rather than the land they own on West Saanich.

Gee...this is better than an all candidates meeting.

Thanks for participating on Vibrant Victoria.....if this type of respectful dialog is successful, we will be the venue to discuss issues and concerns with candidates at all levels.

[CarlonCouncil]

@Sparky - Thanks for getting involved in this thread despite not actually being in CS. I think a forum such as this will bring people together whether they are in the same district or not which I believe is very important given the implications of some of the decisions being made at the municipal level. Despite the fact that you are not a resident of CS, I believe it is important that you access our businesses and that is very important, and I am hoping that if you know of any people from CS, I would encourage you to please pass my name on to them for their consideration in the election. Now to your questions!!

First of all, yes, I am a resident of CS, as I have lived in Brentwood for the last 12 years!
1) Keating - I just put together a paragraph on Keating about 2 comments up in this thread that you should take a look at, but if there is anything I have not covered in terms of your question, please let me know.
2) Vantreight - I spoke in support of the proposal for the following reasons: the land being used for the project is non-ALR land because it is essentially a big pile of rocks with a forest on top which cannot be farmed and they are proposing a subdivision that would generate the revenue to support the farm. For more details: http://www.thehillpr...__/Welcome.html
3) Co-op - Based on the history of how the land on W Saanich was purchased and based on subsequent changes after the land had been purchased to the zoning, I felt it would be appropriate to allow the store on that location as I feel that the support that the Co-op provides CS and the Peninsula in terms of $300K/yr of financial support, a great employer for the local residents as well as the member refund benefits, it was worth allowing the plan to proceed. But due to the CRD not allowing the amendment to the Regional Growth Strategy, they have essentially blocked the project from proceeding. Therefore the ability to build a larger more comprehensive store on the Tsartlip lands is great for a couple of reasons, first it ensures the Co-op remains in CS, but secondly it can be a significant revenue source for the Tsartlip First Nations which is great for the CS community as a whole as well.

I look forward to the All Candidates Forum closer to the election, but in the meantime I also feel this will be a great venue to connect residents with candidates for discussions such as this. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Carl

[Sparky]

Thank you Carl.

You get full points for staying up so late....and putting your views out there for everyone to read on VV.

I think the campaigning has begun.

Cheers and best wishes.

[Sparky]

OK....one last comment...Brentwood has to be the bedroom community of choice today....OK not discounting Cook Street Village...and Fernwood...OK and James Bay.

But this short commercial street is "on fire"...as far as improvement is concerned.

You have a lot to work with here.....no?

[CarlonCouncil]

@Sparky - I have been very happy with the progress in downtown Brentwood Bay! I think the work done by the Brentwood Revitalization Committee has given a huge surge of life to the commercial/residential components of downtown Brentwood. It has brought a nice mix of multi-level buildings which blend street level commercial with living units upstairs where they have worked to bring the storefronts out to the street putting the parking in behind the buildings. Still potential as we watch the progress on the new building where the old post office used to be and will be interesting t see how things shape up in the Royal Bank mall.

Just found out that Video Shop is closing down in Trafalgar Square. That is really too bad as they have been a staple in the community for the last 12 years while I have been there. With the closing in Saanichton of Xanivision, we will be forced to go to Royal Oak or Sidney for movies. Although I would have to say that the library's collection of DVD's and now Blue Ray discs continues to grow as there are always lots of movies available at the Central Saanich Branch. You just have to get used to not always watching the DVD's you want to watch when you want to watch them!!

Carl

[Bernard]

2-Vantreight removal of property from the ALR for subdivision.

This is an error that people have been making from the start vis a vis the Vantreight proposal. The land they are developing was part of a lot that was split between ALR and non ALR. The non ALR portion has been subdivided off and it is where the development is happening.

One of the problems with the RGS is that it looks at things on a big scale and this leads to mistakes on the local level - this property is one of the best examples of this in the CRD. If the RGS has been looking at the urban containment boundary without sticking to lot lines, this area would have been within the urban containment boundary. It is a natural and logical extension of the Dean Park area and housing is the best use for this land.

The Vantreight proposal in fact did more to protect ALR in this region by consolidating agricultural land into larger properties and therefore making them viable for the long term for farming. Supporting the Vantreight proposal is supporting the ALR and agriculture.

[Bob Fugger]

Carl - What is your position on the Foundation Organics compost facility being run out of Stanhope Farms?

http://vibrantvictor...read.php?t=5044

[CarlonCouncil]

@Bob Fugger - Still doing my research on Stanhope prior to determining where I stand on the subject. I have heard a great deal about the trucks, the truck routes and opinions on what should or should not be done on the farm. My next step is to get out there to meet with somebody on the farm as I would like to learn more about what they have planned for the site.

One of the 3 points on my platform is to work with the agricultural/farming community to ensure that they are able to utilize modern and sustainable practices to ensure their farms remain financially viable. I am hoping that a visit to the farm will give me a better appreciation for what they are trying to achieve.

Carl