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Dean Fortin [incumbent] | Victoria Mayor


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#1 Mike K.

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Posted 31 August 2011 - 12:29 PM


Image courtesy of City of Victoria

Mayor Dean Fortin is seeking re-election as Mayor of Victoria in 2011.

Dean Fortin became the 51st Mayor of Victoria when he was elected on November 15, 2008, and was sworn into office on December 2, 2008.
Dean's top priorities include addressing the severe shortage of affordable housing in the city, the complex issue of homelessness, sustainable growth, supporting a vibrant downtown, and advancing a transportation strategy that meets the needs of the growing region.
Dean is Chair of the Victoria Police Board. He is a director on the Capital Regional Board and serves as the Vice Chair of the Planning and Protective Services Committee.
Dean is also the Co-Chair for the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, and serves on the Victoria Regional Transit Commission. - http://www.deanfortin.com/


Political affiliations: NDP; Victoria Civic Electors
Campaign website: http://www.deanfortin.com/
Resident of: City of Victoria

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#2 Mike K.

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Posted 14 September 2011 - 03:50 PM

The following article by Focus Magazine was posted in the 2011 election general discussion thread but I feel it should be re-posted here as well since it concerns Mayor Fortin.

Poppycock at City Hall
By Patrick Murphy
http://www.focusonline.ca/?q=node/263

Election season is upon Victoria, and for city taxpayers there is a serious issue of soaring property taxes, bloated City staff, and the veracity of council itself.

In a letter to ratepayers this year, Dean Fortin wrote: “For 2011, City Council approved an overall property tax increase of 3.96 percent.”

This is utter poppycock, and Fortin is treating voters as nitwits. Even the Times Colonist had to admit it was a minimum seven percent hike, but the reality is even more, for property assessments have risen and that means more taxes. [Read more]


Several excerpts from the article:

What compounds the problem is this council’s lack of vision. They were almost apoplectic about the condition of the Johnson Street Bridge, warning that it would fall into the sea taking all down with it if not replaced within two years. Oh, now this death-trap is good to go until 2015. Likewise, it had to be completed by March 31, 2011 to get federal funding. No work to-date as the bridge gives Victoria the finger.

Aside from the $100-million bridge that council tried to ram through with no consultation, and record tax increases, what have these ditherers accomplished?

Council twiddled its thumbs while the Provincial Capital Commission tried to take a BC Day event away from the founder; it shuffled around as the Harbour Authority allowed cruise ships to pollute taxpayers in James Bay; it kind of, nearly, maybe suggested a super marina in Victoria Harbour might not be a great thing; it hemmed and hawed on a super harbour airport; it jumped on the billion-dollar LRT program while abandoning a viable transit corridor into the city on the E&N line.


Let’s take the City’s own figures: According to the fact sheet, the general tax rate is up eight percent. That translates to 16.15 percent on a house with an average assessment increase.

Carry on down the list for this typical house: Total taxes up 10.82 percent, water rate up seven percent, sewer rate up nine percent, CRD sewer charge up 66 percent, police up 8.8 percent, schools up 2.5 percent and (shockingly) CRD levy down 15.8 per cent.


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#3 Bingo

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Posted 14 September 2011 - 04:59 PM

The following article by Focus Magazine was posted in the 2011 election general discussion thread but I feel it should be re-posted here as well since it concerns Mayor Fortin.
Several excerpts from the article:


"Aside from the $100-million bridge that council tried to ram through with no consultation, and record tax increases, what have these ditherers accomplished?"

And that doesn't take into account the final bill for sewage treatment or the proposed LRT.

Do you think we can build an LRT from Langford to Downtown, for only ten times the amount quoted for a new Johnson Street Bridge?

#4 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 15 September 2011 - 09:44 AM

[I]

And that doesn't take into account the final bill for sewage treatment or the proposed LRT.


Saanich councillor Vic Derman was on CFAX this morning and pretty much admitted that sewage treatment is a dead issue right now, as nobody wants to fund it.

And don't worry about the LRT, nobody will fund it either. Too bad we spent $3.1M making a plan.
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#5 G-Man

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Posted 15 September 2011 - 10:44 AM

I thought 3.1 million was reviewing the plan :) Probably more than that has gone into the work over the last three or four years.

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#6 aastra

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Posted 20 September 2011 - 09:18 AM

Council twiddled its thumbs while the Provincial Capital Commission tried to take a BC Day event away from the founder; it shuffled around as the Harbour Authority allowed cruise ships to pollute taxpayers in James Bay; it kind of, nearly, maybe suggested a super marina in Victoria Harbour might not be a great thing; it hemmed and hawed on a super harbour airport; it jumped on the billion-dollar LRT program while abandoning a viable transit corridor into the city on the E&N line.


Shouldn't that be "super cruise ships" and "super LRT program"? Don't they have an editor over there?

#7 martini

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Posted 25 September 2011 - 11:29 PM

Dean's top priorities include addressing the severe shortage of affordable housing in the city, the complex issue of homelessness, sustainable growth, supporting a vibrant downtown, and advancing a transportation strategy that meets the needs of the growing region.

Really.

Top priority to breath some life back into Victoria is a severe shake-up this election.

Enough of the NDP 'pat each other on the back' city council. Thank you.

#8 Jacques Cadé

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 10:06 AM

Victoria's mayoral contest makes [B.C. edition of] the Globe and Mail:

Now Mr. Fortin is seeking a second term as mayor. Like Gregor Robertson in Vancouver, Mr. Fortin’s left-leaning slate – an alliance of greens and progressives – represented a sweeping change at city hall. Like Mr. Robertson, homelessness was one of his top priorities.

But Mr. Fortin is not facing an angry post-riot mood among the electorate, nor are his opponents clucking about chicken coops and bike lanes.


The "left-leaning slate – an alliance of greens and progressives" goes unexplained ... as do many other phrases in this article, which appear as statements of fact, but are actually quite debatable. Makes one wonder who provided the "background" to the Globe reporter.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-politics/advocate-for-the-homeless-seeks-second-term-as-victoria-mayor/article2196203/


#9 Mike K.

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 10:12 AM

What/who is a "progressive?"

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#10 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 10:17 AM

Ya, I'm not so sure 2011 was a moment of "sweeping change" either.


“We had originally opened 70 cots on the floor in a church – no-one was going into them,” Mr. Fortin said. “So we took that money and opened this. We went out on a limb.”


Took what money? Returned 70 cots and got back the $6M they had spent on them?
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#11 Holden West

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 10:17 AM

What/who is a "progressive?"

Ha! Good question!
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#12 Lover Fighter

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 10:39 AM

Ouch on the comparison of Paul Brown to Rob Ford. That could almost be considered libel in Victoria.

#13 Bob Fugger

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 10:57 AM

Victoria's mayoral contest makes [B.C. edition of] the Globe and Mail:



The "left-leaning slate – an alliance of greens and progressives" goes unexplained ... as do many other phrases in this article, which appear as statements of fact, but are actually quite debatable. Makes one wonder who provided the "background" to the Globe reporter.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-politics/advocate-for-the-homeless-seeks-second-term-as-victoria-mayor/article2196203/


Wow, I can't believe the depth of research done in this fine piece of investigative reporting! Thank you for bringing to light that Dean and Co. have set their sights on demo'ing a 87 year old swing bridge!! You thought he'd be happy destroying the JSB; now he's set his sights on a mystery swing bridge! Does his villainy know no bounds!?


Idiot.

#14 jklymak

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 11:08 AM

His solution is to grow the tax base by encouraging development, and later this week is expected to roll out an economic development plan to explain how he’ll do that.

Globe and Mail


I'll be curious to hear this development plan - they have not been very stellar on that in the previous three years.

#15 martini

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 11:39 AM

Ouch on the comparison of Paul Brown to Rob Ford. That could almost be considered libel in Victoria.


I tried reading this over to understand what she was saying.
I have to say this has to be one of the most poorly written pieces, and seems more like fluff on the spin cycle.

Doesn't do anyone any favours.

#16 gumgum

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 11:57 AM

The article looks like a successful PR release to me.

#17 slinkyo

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 09:38 PM

To see how the left-leaning-NDP-haters like to cluster..kinda like flies on **** :P

#18 Bingo

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Posted 10 October 2011 - 10:09 PM

Wow, I can't believe the depth of research done in this fine piece of investigative reporting! Thank you for bringing to light that Dean and Co. have set their sights on demo'ing a 87 year old swing bridge!!


The reference to the "swing bridge" appears to have been made by Paul Brown.

Mr. Brown says he got into that race because he was “irritated” over city hall’s plans to replace an 87-year-old swing bridge – imaginatively known as the Blue Bridge."
http://www.theglobea...article2196203/

The only swing bridge I know of was the bridge that was replaced by the present Johnson Street Bridge.

#19 aaroninvictoria

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Posted 16 October 2011 - 08:32 PM

The reference to the "swing bridge" appears to have been made by Paul Brown.

Mr. Brown says he got into that race because he was “irritated” over city hall’s plans to replace an 87-year-old swing bridge – imaginatively known as the Blue Bridge."
http://www.theglobea...article2196203/

The only swing bridge I know of was the bridge that was replaced by the present Johnson Street Bridge.


The way I see it is the reference is made by the reporter... the only quote I saw in that section of the article was the word Irritated, to me the rest appeared to paraphrased by the reporter...

I know Paul quite well, he is a really smart guy and genuinely concerned for our city... (that is a total plug for him btw ;) but also the truth)
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#20 Mike K.

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Posted 14 November 2011 - 03:30 PM

Open Victoria has reported that Dean Fortin received in excess of $55,000 for his campaign in 2008.

The top three donors were the BC Government Employees’ Union ($8,000), Canadian Auto Workers ($6,000 total), Victoria Labour Council ($4,000 total).

Together the three unions handed the mayor $18,000.

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