by George Le Masurier | Jun 6, 2018
PHOTO: Bob Wells and his wife, Michelle
Bob Wells says he has the experience and consensus-building skills that the City of Courtenay needs in its next mayor. He asks voters to look at his accomplishments, not the rhetoric of his opponents.
For Courtenay mayoral candidate Bob Wells, the 2018 election should be decided on a single issue: proven leadership experience.
With several multi-million dollar infrastructure decisions facing the city over the next several years — water, sewer and solid waste projects — Wells says voters should put their trust in his accomplishments, not in his opponents’ rhetoric.
“Whether it’s business or community service, I excel at what I do,” he told Decafnation. “It’s what I’ve accomplished that separates me from the other candidates.”
Wells points to his leadership on the Comox Valley Regional District’s water committee, which he chairs. The committee has approved a $110 million Comox Valley Water Treatment Project to upgrade water quality for about 45,000 residents of Courtenay, Comox and some adjacent areas.
“There wasn’t consensus at first about how to meet the health department’s requirements,” he said. “But I was able to build that consensus and move things forward.”
Wells also notes his work on the Courtenay Youth Music Centre board that saved the non-profit by “turning it around” financially, and delivering a favorable resolution to the Maple Pool controversy, which was a campaign issue for him in 2014. Although he concedes the latter was something “council did together.”
He mentions his involvement in Rotary, Start Up Comox Valley, Dawn to Dawn and Island Music Fest.
“And as vice-chair of the regional district, I’ve helped shape the agenda, and I’ve been effective at utilizing that opportunity,” he said.
He says it’s this depth of experience that sets him apart from opponents David Frisch and Erik Eriksson. All three announced mayoral candidate have served one full-term on council.
“In the first 30 days, the mayor will face decisions on water treatment and sewage pump station issues,” Wells said. “I’m ready for these challenges, Frisch and Eriksson are not.”
He said with more experience, Frisch would make a great mayor in eight years.
Wells feels unfairly criticized for what some have called an erratic voting pattern. Wells admits he’s a “swing vote,” but insists he decides his vote on “what’s best for the community.”
“I’m not strident in my perspective like some others,” he said. “I haven’t already made up my mind. I take time to investigate both sides. The community is more divided than that.”
And the candidate says he fully respects differences of opinion.
“As mayor, if council voted for something, I would run with that,” he said.
On housing issues, Wells says as mayor he would steer the city toward a strategy for increasing the stock of rental units, which he thinks will require partnerships with other agencies and developers.
He’s argued for homeless coalition funding, supported the inventory of city-owned properties and personally volunteers for Habitat for Humanity.
Wells believes he takes a holistic view of the community. More information and feedback results in better decisions and a capacity to enlist support, he says.
But on election day — Oct. 20 — Wells says voters should ask themselves “who’s proven they can get things done.”
“Honestly, if I didn’t see a big divide there (between him and the other candidates), I would support one of them,” he said. “There’s a lot coming down in the next four years, and the city needs someone with proven experience and collaborative skills.”
by Guest Writer | May 30, 2018
Canada has evolved over the years, our voting system hasn’t
By PAT CARL
I walk a great deal. It’s my exercise. While walking, I sometimes meet my neighbours.
They are older couples, mothers pushing babies in their prams, students on their way to school, bicyclists and runners. Some are dog walkers and, when encouraged, I pet the dogs and talk with their owners.
The other day, I spoke with one man out walking his dog, with whom I’ve talked before. He asked me how my retirement was going.
“I don’t feel retired,” I said. “I’m busy with a local group getting the word out about the referendum to change our voting system coming up in November, so I’m pretty busy.”
Just as I said this, a woman with her dog came up and stopped. I thought she knew the man I was talking with and was stopping to say hello. Slow on the uptake, I didn’t realize until a bit later that he didn’t know the woman at all.
Maybe the man sensed what was about to happen and that’s why he didn’t even say goodbye as he scurried away. He knew somehow, as I didn’t, that I was about to get an ear-full. It went something like this:
“My friends and I want to know what the question is going to be,” she said. “I get that proportional representation is fairer than first-past-the-post. But that’s not enough for me and my friends. We like things the way they are. Some of my friends are Conservatives, but I’m not. But I agree with them. Just because first-past-the-post isn’t fair, well that’s not enough.”
Fairness isn’t enough.
I admit I got stuck right there, but she continued.
“We think the question should list all the different types of proportional representation and put first-past-the-post on the list too and then everyone votes and whichever type gets the most votes, then that’s what we’ll have. But just saying that proportional representation is fairer than first-past-the-post isn’t enough for me and my friends. Fairness isn’t enough.”
I had difficulty getting a word in edgewise because the discussion was less a conversation than a lecture. Besides, I really don’t think quickly on my feet. That’s one of the reasons I write, so that I can carefully consider my thoughts and consider carefully how I express those thoughts.
Consider this: Canada, like all Western democracies, is governed by the rule of law. In turn, the rule of law governs our voting system, the way we select those who govern the provinces and the country.
As a young colony, Canada inherited the rule of law governing its voting system from Great Britain. Not only did that rule of law include the overarching system informally called first-past-the-post, but it also included legal guidelines that, for all intents and purposes, restricted the vote to wealthy white men,
As a country matures, what is defined as legal changes. Some countries develop values that are fairer. For example, Canadian voters now come from all ethnicities, voters include women as well as men, and, while many of us voters have barely two cents to rub together, lack of wealth no longer prevents us from voting.
I think we can agree that Canada, as a nation, and Canadians, as its citizens, are overall more concerned about values which acknowledge human rights, justice and equality than we were even 100 years ago.
And what is justice and equality but fairness when you boil it down to its essence?
While Canada and Canadians have changed, our voting system hasn’t changed since first-past-the-post was adopted. First-past-the-post does not match what we value as a society because, dare I say it, it isn’t fair.
We teach our children in kindergarten to be fair – to share their toys, to play nice in the sandbox, to give others an equal chance, to listen when others speak. All of these guidelines teach our children to be fair. Why don’t we expect the same of our voting system?
While fairness may not be enough for some people, it’s a damn good start.
Pat Carl is a member of Fair Vote Comox Valley and a Citizen Journalist for The Civic Journalism Project. She may be contacted at pat.carl0808@gmail.com.
by George Le Masurier | May 21, 2018
Comox Valley governments agreed to follow the Sustainability Strategy in the Regional Growth Strategy, but some are doing better than others. Learn the pertinent questions to identify candidates that value sustainability at a public forum this Thursday, May 24 in Courtenay.
Not all Comox Valley voters know about the Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy (CVSS) that our four local governments adopted in 2010.
The CVSS provides a detailed framework to meet eight important goals that reflect the visions contained in Official Community Plans and the Regional Growth Strategy.
To make sure voters know about these goals and the pertinent questions to ask candidates seeking office in the Oct. 20 municipal elections, three community organizations have teamed up to stage a public forum at 7 p.m. this Thursday, May 24, at the Rotary Room of the Filberg Center in Courtenay.
The Comox Valley Council of Canadians, Imagine Comox Valley and the Global Awareness Network hope the forum will raise the profile of sustainability in this fall’s elections.
Some Comox Valley governments have done better than others in following the CVSS. Some haven’t done well at all.
The public forum on Thursday will remind candidates (incumbents and announced candidates have been invited) of the CVSS goals.
And it will also arm voters with the right questions to identify candidates who value sustainability and are committed to working toward the CVSS goals.
REGISTER TO ATTEND: Click here, because space is limited
Helen Boyd, one of the forum organizers, said voters should ask for more accountability on sustainability from their elected officials.
“We want to empower voters on the (Comox Valley) Sustainability Strategy,” she said. “And we want candidates to champion some of these issues.”
The eight goals of the CVSS address housing, ecosystems (natural areas and parks), local economic development, transportation, infrastructure, food systems, public health and safety and climate change.
Kathie Woodley, of the Council of Canadians, said sustainability and climate change should be major factors in government planning.
“We have a clear, integrated, long-term plan already designed,” she said. “If elected officials commit to following it, there’s a clear path to a prosperous and sustainable future.”
At the forum, five local speakers will make presentations on a range of issues that relate to the CVSS, and then answer questions from the audience. There will also be an overview of the sustainability goals in the Regional Growth Strategy.
Admission is free, but the organizers ask people to register through Eventbrite because space in the Rotary Room is limited.
FURTHER READING: Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy
by George Le Masurier | May 14, 2018
For Will Cole-Hamilton, local government is something people do together, not something that is done to them. He hopes to join the Courtenay City Council on Oct. 20 to address “available” housing and other issues.
Will Cole-Hamilton remembers when he first realized that local government isn’t “something that happens to you.”
Cole-Hamilton, who will seek a Courtenay City Council seat in the upcoming Oct. 20 municipal elections, was a teenager in Newmarket, Ont. when his parents and friends opposed a city plan to widen their street for better traffic flow. It meant cutting down many beloved maple trees that lined their street.
After his dad made a presentation at the city council, the city made the street less wide, saved the trees and traffic flowed better than it had before.
“That’s when it hit me, government is something you do with other people,” he said from the board room of his wife’s family law practice on Fifth Street. “It’s not something that’s done to you.”
Cole-Hamilton is a lawyer himself — a graduate of Dalhousie Law School — but he hasn’t practiced in several years. Not since he left his Vancouver research practice to start an arthouse video store and an organic grocery store.
Cole-Hamilton moved to the Comox Valley in 2012 with his wife, Shannon Aldinger, and their two children for a less stressful quality of life. They reside in the Puntledge Park area.
“We had two criteria, close to a courthouse and a ski hill,” he said.
He now prefers to run his wife’s office, which leaves him time to coach soccer, run a elementary school chess club, serve on the Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association, volunteer for Imagine Comox Valley and Elevate the Arts and engage with Comox Valley Families for Public Education.
He’s running for election this fall because the city is at a point where many large, and long-lasting decisions have to be made, and half of the council is leaving — three incumbent council members are giving up their seats to compete for the mayor’s chair.
FURTHER READING: 2018 municipal elections, who’s in, who’s out; Cumberland mayor encourages citizens to seek public office
“It’s a change election,” Cole-Hamilton said. “Courtenay is growing fast and the decisions we make in the next few years will determine the shape of the city for years to come.
“And it just happens to be the right time in my life.”
Cole-Hamilton ranks “available” housing as the most serious issue facing the city.
“The city obviously needs more affordable housing, and the recent announcement for supportive housing is wonderful,” he said. “But there is a dire need for simply available housing.”
Out of control housing prices in the Lower Mainland and Victoria, along with the Comox Valley’s natural attributes, has created an influx of population greater than our capacity to build housing.
He said School District 71 has trouble hiring new teachers because of the housing shortage, and some of his wife’s family law clients who are separating are strained going from one house to two.
Cole-Hamilton sees part of the solution in creating higher density within the city, building more compact housing on smaller lots, especially around the downtown area.
To achieve that goal, he would remove some of the barriers to building.
Among them: allowing a higher ratio of housing square footage to lot size, more compact houses, varying the rule of two parking spots per housing unit, smaller set-backs and reducing development cost charges to drive the range of housing types the city needs and where they need it.
He sees an examination of putting four houses on a lot instead of three, and using vacant lots, carriage houses and all other available space to create housing.
Cole-Hamilton believes that a higher density in the Courtenay core is a better deal for taxpayers.
“It makes sense to in fill and plug into the existing infrastructure; that’s less infrastructure required per housing unity,” he said. “And if more people live closer to downtown, that supports safety on the street and business vibrance, and perhaps they’ll only need one car, which supports public transit.”
Cole-Hamilton is also targeting transportation as one of his campaign issues.
“Where we live and how we move around must dovetail together,” he said. “Transportation is normally thought about in terms of cars, but some are too young, too old to drive or suffer a disability and can’t drive.”
For those people, the motor vehicle is not their first choice of transportation, or even an option.
But people who have to drive for work also benefit from more frequent and accessible public transit and more widespread and interconnecting bike lanes.
“It’s a connection that’s not always drawn,” he said. “But when there’s fewer people in cars, it makes it easier and more efficient for people who have to drive to get around.”
He also supports raising the profile of sustainability in this election, and promoting the idea of leveraging tax dollars to create social benefits. His sister works on social procurement issues for Oxfam in England, and he sees the work that the Village of Cumberland has done in this area as a positive benefit.
Cole-Hamilton believes the existing City Council has been moving in a good direction on housing, transportation and other issues. But with so many councillors running for mayor, “someone has to step up.”
Like his parent, Cole-Hamilton sees local government as something people do for themselves.
“I believe that I have the skills, experience and dedication to make a lasting contribution,” he said.
by George Le Masurier | May 10, 2018
The hours are long and the paycheck is short, but Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird told a crowd of about 65 in Comox that serving your community through local government can be a rewarding experience
About 65 people interested in the future of the Town of Comox and the upcoming Oct. 20 municipal general election turned out for a public forum this week on the roles and responsibilities of a council member.
Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird shared her experiences during 28 continuous years of public service with the crowd at a forum organized by a citizens’ group called Comox Tomorrow.
Kathi Woodley also spoke on behalf of the Council of Canadians, Imagine Comox Valley and the Global Awareness Network, who are co-sponsoring a Sustainability Forum on May 24 to raise the profile of sustainability in this year’s municipal elections.
The purpose of the May 8 forum at the Comox Golf Club was to increase participation in this year’s election campaigns and provide information about “life on a municipal council” for those who might be thinking about running for office.
Incumbent Comox councillors Russ Arnott, Maureen Swift and Hugh McKinnon attended along with Courtenay councillor and mayoral candidate Bob Wells and Cumberland Councillor Jesse Kelter.
Baird told the audience that despite the extra hours spent in meetings and reading reports, serving your community through local government was a rewarding endeavor.
Asked what qualifications were required to run for municipal office, Baird said there really aren’t any.
Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird
“I was a mother and I had a job,” she said about her initial step into municipal politics. Adding that the learning curve is steep and that you essentially know nothing when you’re first elected.
Last year, the Village of Cumberland had 495 pages of agenda that represented additional volumes of required reading for council members.
“The most frightening thing for a mayor is when a councillor shows up and hasn’t opened their meeting package,” she said.
“There will be hard times, especially when your community is divided,” she said, referring to the controversial development proposal by Trilogy Properties Corp. in the mid-2000s. “But it’s worth it, because you’re helping your community.”
And she said council members shouldn’t beat themselves up over tough decisions like that.
“You go with your decisions based on the information you have at the time,” she said.
But the Cumberland Council and Mayor Baird go out of their way to address citizen’s ideas and complaints personally. The council holds Village Hall meetings several times every month without an agenda, and they regularly survey local residents on delicate issues.
Baird said she meets face-to-face over coffee with every resident who sends an email complaint to the village.
“I don’t see them as criticisms, but as opportunities,” she said. “You always get a better product in the end through discussion … with colleagues or citizens.”
The mayor did, however, express some frustration over people who complain about how the council spends taxpayers’ money.
“And then we hold many public budget sessions and nobody shows up,” she said.
Baird was asked several questions from the audience about how much time she spends on village government business and was the financial remuneration worth it.
Baird, who is retired, says she goes to the village office every day, spending approximately 30 hours a week on council matters. Comox Council members Arnott, Swift and McKinnon agreed generally with that time estimate.
“And then there’s the grocery store,” McKinnon said, referring to casual conversations with constituents. Baird agreed, saying it takes her forever to get to the post office because she stops to have conversations with people on the sidewalk.
Baird and the other council members present said the compensation wasn’t a factor in their decisions to run for public office. The Cumberland mayor estimated that she makes less than 50-cents per hour for her time.
Arnott, who is seeking re-election this year, said he receives roughly $900 per month after taxes.
Toward the end of the meeting, Comox resident Don Davis announced he’ll be running for municipal office in 2018, as he has every year since 1990.
by George Le Masurier | May 1, 2018
Comox Valley citizen groups get active for the Oct. 20 municipal elections; organize two public forums on May 8 and May 24 to press issues, create voter awareness and recruit candidates
The 2018 municipal elections are underway. New candidates and incumbents have declared their intentions to seek office and at least two community groups have organized early public forums to create voter awareness and encourage potential candidates.
On Tuesday, May 8, a citizen’s groups called Comox Tomorrow has organized a public forum featuring Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird, who will speak on the roles and responsibilities of a municipal council member. It will be held at 7 p.m. at the Comox Golf Club.
And at 7 p.m on Thursday, May 24 at the Rotary Room on the ground level of the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay, three community organizations will host a public meeting to raise awareness of sustainability issues prior to the Oct. 20, 2018 municipal elections.
Comox Tomorrow spokesman Ken McDonald said “We need citizens and candidates with vision who will help us build the Comox of tomorrow.
“If you are thinking about taking an active role in this fall’s election campaigns, or even running for office yourself, this is a must-attend session for information and, potentially, for support, he said.”
Mayor Baird Baird will explain the role and responsibilities of a municipal council member, why she has devoted so much of her life to public office (28 contiguous years) and how she balances her political and personal lives.
There will also be a question-and-answer period following her presentation.
McDonald said he hopes people thinking of running for Comox Council will come out and perhaps announce their intention to seek office in 2018 at the public meeting on May 8.
The Comox Valley Sustainability public forum on May 24 takes a different perspective.
Born out of a group of citizens from the Imagine Comox Valley project, the May 24 forum hopes to increase voter awareness of the goals of the regional district’s 2010 Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy (CVSS) and identify the candidates who share its values and are committed to achieving its objectives.
The sustainability forum has been organized by the Comox Valley Council of Canadians, Imagine Comox Valley and the Comox Valley Global Awareness Network. You must register for this free event through eventbrite.ca.
The group has reached out to Comox Valley nonprofits who are working on many of the key issues of the CVSS. They asked the nonprofits, “What would be your ask of municipal governments?”
At the sustainability forum, five nonprofits working on CVSS issues will make short presentations. The goal is to provide candidates with current information and to make them aware of expertise that already exists within the community.
The five presentations will touch on food security, infrastructure, ecosystems, housing and air quality.
The groups hope voters will ask for more accountability from elected officials on the CVSS objectives. They have invited all incumbents and those new candidates who have already declared their candidacy.
FURTHER READING: Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy; Comox Tomorrow Facebook page
