11779 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

...it’s yet another demonstration of the thought process that seems to hamstring Council from actually making even the slightest effort to fix what’s broken.

That's not easy to do when council itself is the most broken of all.

[Stephen Andrew]

The lawyer representing Mr. Mueller requested a postponement until the after the March 2022 court determination.

The mayor was advised to proceed.

A number of counts had not been adjudicated. I could. It accept this evidence.

We were not given an option to continue suspension.

I was very firm on my questioning of the respondent and his representations.

There was lack of clarity on part of a court order that both the respondents lawyer, our solicitor, another councillor and bylaw interpreted. The appropriate action is to seek guidance from the court. The city did not. Any lawyer knows it’s up to the court to clarify its decisions NOT other parties. Therefore I could not accept that evidence.

It’s not that I didn’t believe there was a preponderance of evidence - it’s that we were asked to consider evidence, in my opinion, outside our scope.

Also there was issue with proof of notification to the respondent about violations. I feel the city should have served the respondent or his counsel with a registered letter.

I was trying to be as fair as possible. I was. I have no qualms about my decision.

Thankfully we don’t have these hearings come up too often.

[Victoria Watcher]

Exactly. These types of hearings extremely rare.

[spanky123]

Why not just fine him for bylaw infractions, let the amount add up and then seize his assets?

[Victoria Watcher]

Who is employing him? Private parking lot operators?

Tow truck drivers are a special breed. I love the ones that carry their spouse/date in the passenger seat. Wtf.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 October 2021 - 12:37 PM.

[Mike K.]

Oh yeah! I’ve seen that before!

Stephen, thank you for the recap. That’s very informative and it sounds like you made the right decision.

[Spy Black]

The COV had everything it needed to support revoking this business license from Shannon Perkins, the City of Victoria's By-Law Manager.

 

Stephen Andrew was, appropriately - a voice of one in this case ... and Council definitely made the correct decision.

[sebberry]

Thanks Stephen, I appreciate your position on this!  Ultimately I'd like to see anyone who abuses trust like this tow operator did lose their operating privileges, but if a continuation of the suspension until the court ruling wasn't an option, then I think you made the right choice.  

 

Why was continued suspension of the license not an option?  Guilty before proven innocent?

 

It's like the whole civil forfeiture mess.  Lose everything before a criminal charge is even laid.  

[Victoria Watcher]

why are towing companies even specially licensed? why not just let the market work it out?

again, who were the clients of this guy? a tow guy can’t just pick up cars willy nilly off public or private property.

Sounds like a lot of private lot owners contracted to them for some extra cash.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 October 2021 - 01:17 PM.

[sebberry]

why are towing companies even specially licensed? why not just let the market work it out?

again, who were the clients of this guy? a tow guy can’t just pick up cars willy nilly off public or private property.

Sounds like a lot of private lot owners contracted to them for some extra cash.

 

Totem doesn't do private impounds, so I-Tow fills in here and patrols/tows from smaller private lots.  

 

They're specially licensed because it's a predatory practice when you hold someone's car hostage for payment. 

[Victoria Watcher]

But every private lot owner gets a cut and signed a contract with them.

Sounds like they just reacted to market demand of the private lot owners.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 October 2021 - 01:40 PM.

[sebberry]

But every private lot owner gets a cut and signed a contract with them.

Sounds like they just reacted to market demand of the private lot owners.

 

Several years ago I worked at a store with a parking lot patrolled by I-Tow.  One day the lot was nearly empty but a father and son's car broke down and they couldn't move it.  I intervened when the I-Tow guy showed up itching to tow it and again when he came back later licking his lips at the though of another victim on the back of his truck.  

 

Not long after the father and son team came back with a part and got the car working.  No business in the complex that day was at risk of losing a customer due to the lot being full as it was no more than 1/3 used all day.

[Victoria Watcher]

that lot is not the personal car fix-it lot for that pair.

[Spy Black]

If you're a freshman politician, and (for example) your regions by-law officer with well over two decades of experience comes before you and your fellow politicians with a recommendation to enact some sort of policy or action ... and rather than support that incredibly experienced by-law officer, you choose to ignore their recommendation because "you know better" ... then you're creating precisely the same conditions that resulted in the wave of crime and violence in downtown Victoria that is currently taking place.

 

Helps and her ilk "knew better" and created a disaster in the downtown core ... all the while refusing to listen to VicPD and Victoria By-Law Officers (along with refusing to listen the actual residents and businesses in the City of Victoria).

 

Victoria politicians who are receiving the qualified and very specific advice of staff, VicPD, VicFire, Vic By-Law, etc need to listen and put their political grandstanding and personal agendas aside ... and follow the advice of the professionals who were doing an excellent job of running the City of Victoria long before anybody knew who Helps, Issit, Potts, etc even were.

Edited by Spy Black, 09 October 2021 - 06:49 AM.

[lanforod]

that lot is not the personal car fix-it lot for that pair.

You’re not a very nice person sometimes.

[sebberry]

that lot is not the personal car fix-it lot for that pair.

 

No, but I'm sure they were glad I was there to chase off bubba in his tow truck.  

 

I had my starter crap out on me in the Save On Foods parking lot a couple months ago.  Got it going again by tapping it with the end of a wrench and changed it out at home, but you bet I would have changed it in the parking lot had that have been necessary.  

[Nparker]

Here is Stephen Andrew's account of a morning spent shadowing bylaw officers on the mean streets of Victoria.
 

https://www.stephena...2yPkNSBxbM1QOH8

[JimV]

Here is Stephen Andrew's account of a morning spent shadowing bylaw officers on the mean streets of Victoria.
 

https://www.stephena...2yPkNSBxbM1QOH8

Wow, that is stark.  Quite a contrast to the happy horsesh*t we hear from Lisa.  Hats off to SA for doing this.

[Spy Black]

Andrew's narrative is certainly stark, but for folks who do business downtown every day, we already know all of this stuff.

It's been going on for years, brought to a head by Mayor and Council leading up to, and during COVID when they purposefully and aggressively chose to allow the COV to descend into darkness.

 

Perhaps with his profile now as a Councillor, Andrew could hopefully get some traction with his story ... despite the fact that all Mayor and Council ever have to do is sincerely ask VicPD or Vic By Law Officers "how are things going" ... at which time Mayor and Council would hear exactly the same story as Stephen Andrew is telling.

This story hasn't changed any time in the last 5 years.

 

It's important to note that Mayor and Council sweep their misdeeds under the rug as part of their agenda laden business model, and then aggressively and repeatedly attempt to muzzle those folks who don't follow the narrative.

One would be heartless not to hope that Stephen Andrew's story doesn't generate some sort of motivation to finally fix things ... but for those who've been around for a while, it seems just another  "what's new?" retelling of what we've already known for years now.

[Barrrister]

The truth is like poetry and most people hate ****ing poetry.