Happy City

Got an e-mail today that sent chills up my spine:

Dear Mr. Fuller,

 

I have been told by another candidate who came to my door that the attachment I sent a few days ago was not included in my email.  In case that is what happened with the one I sent to you, I have typed the content and include it below so that there is no problem with attachments.  I would be very interested in your response to the quote.

 

Sincerely,

 

Beth Skala

------
Excerpt from Happy City:  Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery (page 43):

"I propose a basic recipe for urban happiness drawn from the insights of philosophers, psychologists, brain scientists, and happiness economists.  What should a city accomplish after it meets our basic needs of food, shelter, and security?

 

*The city should strive to maximize joy and minimize hardship.

 

*It should lead us toward health rather than sickness.

 

*It should offer us real freedom to live, move, and build our lives as we wish.

 

*It should build resilience against economic or environmental shocks.

 

*it should be fair in the way it apportions space, services, mobility, joys, hardships, and costs.

 

*Most of all, it should enable us to build and strengthen the bonds between friends, families, and strangers that give life meaning, bonds that represent the city's greatest achievement and opportunity.

 

*The city that acknowledges and celebrates our common fate, that opens doors to empathy and cooperation, will help us tackle the great challenges of this century.

 

None of these goals are radical.  The challenge now is to see just how the shapes and systems of our cities contribute to meeting them.  How are today's cities performing?  How would we build differently, and live differently, if we could chart the connection between the designs of our cities and the map of happiness?  What would we change if we could?

 

It is audacious to believe that the city might build happiness just by changing its shape.

 

But it is foolish not to chase the thought, because around the world, and especially amid the sprawlscapes of modern North America, the evidence shows that cities do indeed design our lives."

--------------

 

My reply to Beth:

 

Beth; Thank you for this; it literally sent chills up and down my spine as it so eloquently espouses what I believe and have worked for over the years. I am going to post it on my Facebook Group; Gord Fuller Municipally (A)MUSING.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/112340092206683/  

 

I draw your attention to my BIO thingy on the Daily News website Profile: Gordon Fuller  http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/news/profile-gordon-fuller-1.1433478  and ask if you might agree that in not so eloquent words I am trying to reach the same goal.

 

Huge THANX and all the best.

Progressive Nanaimo

A group that I helped start up on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ProgressiveNanaimo


I withdrew from the group after the first meeting for non-incumbent candidates as they will likely be supporting a few of them; conflict of interest.


Check out the videos from the meetings
Oct 14th https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLanAKY2RqlVrmrUL7wsg313rIhTeP5HCs
Sept 17th  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLanAKY2RqlVoNYI5q-QLlrTuCn1tJLNRN


and the candidate profiley thingy's with questions and answers given; click on the photos.


Here is mine:  https://www.facebook.com/ProgressiveNanaimo/photos/pb.498975440234956.-2207520000.1413495048./542899215842578/?type=1&theater

Governance and Participatory Democracy

This will be one of the biggest issues, along with Colliery Dams, moving forward into the next council mandate.  Discussion has happened with the Watson & Habkirk Reports but no final decisions made.

The one to really pay attention to is the Eli Mina report as it will, if adopted, severely curtail public input.  Participatory Democracy is a tenet of Nanaimo's Strategic plan and is something I have been encouraging since getting involved in the municipal process.

It is something I will fight for when elected to council as well as greater opportunity's for such.


Governance Framework,  Watson - July 2013: http://www.nanaimo.ca/assets/Municipal~Hall/City~Council/Publications~and~Forms/2013WatsonGovernanceFrameworkSummaryReport.pdf

April 16 Pages 4 thru 21 Habkirk report:https://www.nanaimo.ca/UploadedFilesPath/Site_Structure/Corporate_Services/Corporate_Administration/2014_Committee_Agendas/SOGSC140416A.pdf

March 27 Pages 6 - 27 Eli Mina Report: https://www.nanaimo.ca/UploadedFilesPath/Site_Structure/Corporate_Services/Corporate_Administration/2014_Committee_Agendas/SOGSC140327A.pdf

From Jim Taylor Blog:
Staff Views, turn it loudhttp://www.nanaimo-info-blog.com/2014/04/nanaimo-city-hall-killing-democracy.html

Agenda May 15 pgs 4 - 44 https://www.nanaimo.ca/UploadedFilesPath/Site_Structure/Corporate_Services/Corporate_Administration/2014_Committee_Agendas/SOGSC140515A.pdf

May 21 Governance Review Agenda:
Council roles, responsibilities and relationships pgs 5 - 21https://www.nanaimo.ca/UploadedFilesPath/Site_Structure/Corporate_Services/Corporate_Administration/2014_Committee_Agendas/SOGSC140521A.pdf

Link to ALL Governance Steering Committee Agendas/Minutes:http://www.nanaimo.ca/meetings/?Q=&Year=ALL&Abbreviation=GSC
Surprisingly there have not been that many.

Videos:
April 16thhttp://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLanAKY2RqlVroZdj6OGX1-dOIm6acJ9-3
May 15thhttp://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLanAKY2RqlVriC2yXpzQzJTCRonsQ9S6R
May 21st http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLanAKY2RqlVo391nu0oKRze4JtRHQ5f0X
Council Meeting Monday June 9, 2014http://www.nanaimo.ca/meetings/VideoPlayer/Index/C140609V

More in the News (actually posted Nov 18th)

Comments below on stories from both local newspapers.

Nov 18
Hot election issues may be shaking up voter apathy
We do indeed need to attract technology based jobs and work to create better opportunities for employment in Nanaimo. While we cannot rely on “pretty views” to attract business we can hype the assets we have in the community including these pretty views to attract business and people.

Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo will cooperate with police probe into election wrongdoing
True colours emerge from a couple of the candidates. It is never too late to disassociate oneself from something, especially if it is illegal and for Fillmore to call it silly and hype shows he simply has a disregard for the law.

Ron Bolin: Time to move on from housing debate and avoid bigger problems
Another excellent column

Turnout at advance polls in Nanaimo and Parksville well ahead of 2008 election

Opinion: Occupiers must move or be removed
Couldn't disagree more. If they were actually a problem then so be it move, but they are in fact not.

"The attitude of the Nanaimo occupiers seems to be that they are quite willing to share the square with others. The problem with that approach is that the occupiers, not the public through the city, end up controlling a space that belongs to us all."

The Krall Space is one of the most unused public spaces in the community. This group has kept the avenue open to the Library and Credit Union, the only two reasons for folk to even enter the plaza.

They are also responsible for bringing many into the downtown and hence spending money at downtown businesses.

Nov 17
Police will probe election activities of Nanaimo group

The big question is; for a group that pushes for transparency and communication why do the financial backers remain anonymous? There seems to be some hidden agenda by the CCN. I feel for those that are being snowed by this group, they should really be asking themselves who is actually behind this and what are the real motives.

Nanaimo's willingness to vote in civic elections has been waning each year
It is a shame that in an election which has the most potential to affect the population the population seems unwilling to take part. I hope this year we will see more people vote but I fear we will see even less than in 2008.

Editorial: Groups strive to fight apathy
A problem for years it is nice to see so many groups actually trying to encourage people to vote. The one problem I see is are people actually looking at the information on candidates or as is the case with the Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo being influenced by a hidden agenda.

Philip Wolf: Earn your right to complain by getting out to vote
Another reasonably good column

Nanaimo ranks third in BC on operational spending
“CFIB did not include capital expenditures in their study.” Had they done so Nanaimo would probably be at the bottom of the heap. It is not just the capital expenditures but the means with which they have gotten approval.

Nov 16
Forum rejigs civic election
This was a lot of fun to participate in. A pleasant change to the standard All Candidates meeting.

Occupiers meet with City and RCMP to discuss concerns on each side

Young Professionals of Nanaimo urge young people to vote
One of a few groups working to encourage voter turnout. Let’s hope it works.

Grants in-lieu from province top up city with $371K
With all the downloading onto municipalities by the Province far more monies should be coming our way.

Ruttan seeking second term to finish business
"With the recession over," Tell that to the majority of those in Nanaimo who struggle daily to make ends meet. Drop the issue of a hotel for the conference centre. We tried to give away part of Maffeo Sutton Park to get this going and that didn't work, if a hotel is not happy with the city giving them the property on which to build then so be it let it go.

Nov 15
Graduation rate on the rise in Nanaimo-Ladysmith District

This is indeed good news. All graduates deserve kudos for their hard work. Keep it up and let’s see these numbers increase even higher.
BC Child advocate reappointed
It is all well and good that the Child Advocate wants to expand her mandate but what should really happen is she should be given more power to actually implement change.
Child poverty on the rise (related story from July)
It is a sad state that Child Poverty in BC has been the highest in Canada since the Liberal government came to power in 2001.

Nanaimo is particularly hard hit with high unemployment and a service based industry that pays little and often only offers part time employment. While the recent raise of the minimum wage will help I have my doubts that it will have that great of an impact.

Nov 14

Job creation among the topics in Nanaimo election
Councillors cannot create jobs but what they can do is work to make things better towards creating a more diversified work force. Limited Tax incentives, not at all like those proposed in an attempt to attract a Hotel for the conference centre, and a smoother process for development that benefits the community are things that can be done.

I constantly hear how difficult getting permits can be and how if you speak to more than one person the answers you get will more often than not be different. A smoother process is necessary so that we don't have things like the 5 months that it took just to get a permit to raise the height of the storage space at the food bank.

Walter Cordery: Department aids community
Our parks are one of Nanaimo's greatest assets and the more we can do to protect and enhance them the better. Some thought now needs to go into how we can purchase a large part of the undeveloped privately owned land in West Linley Valley.

Not only will our parks benefit the citizens of Nanaimo into the future they will also be an attractor for tourism and people moving to Nanaimo for the quality of life it has to offer. Our Parks need to be part of the new Economic Development Corporations overall agenda to create jobs by bringing business and tourism into the community..

Green light group emerges in support of low-barrier housing
Finally a group that is willing to put out actual information.

Council candidates debate issues among groups
As stated above, a lot of fun. Video of the event can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/midislandtv?feature=mhsn#p/u/0/Y-bdgLZcgZ4

Addiction treatment in strong demand
Treatment and detox for all kinds of addiction issues are much needed in BC. Expanded from the original 42 days operated by Surfside; Nanaimo John Howard has taken the program to 4 months which should give people accessing the program a far better chance of success.
When we look at the issue of Housing the Homeless and Low-Barrier housing we also have to put in place programs that will help those accessing the housing who have addictions. This one will be a big help but more and varied programs are needed.

Nanaimo Council Candidates
Not very in depth information for people looking at the candidates and trying to choose whom to vote for. Probably said this number of times but it behoves folk to look at all aspects of a candidate and make an informed decision.

If one has a few council candidates they particularly like for the position then they should limit their votes to just those candidates. Picking more, or all 8 in Nanaimo, could result in those one is iffy on actually beating out the candidates they person likes.

Column: Homelessness is everyone's problem
An excellent column by Rachel Stern of the Bulletin. She has an excellent grasp of the situation of homelessness and the many needs t address it. Rachel is one of my favourite reporters and has done some excellent stories in the past on homelessness and poverty.

North end residents need a wake up call
http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/opinion/letters/133832263.html

Perhaps the best letter I have seen on the housing of the homeless issue. This from a student at Dover Bay who had also wanted his opinion published in the school paper and was denied.

Supporters need to follow rules
Citizen group acts from a place of fear
Couple of good letters from the bulletin re the CCN groups illegal endorsement of candidates. Re the latter I believe the group knows exactly what they are doing and there is an underlying motive. If in fact, as rumours have it, Roger McKinnon and Norad Development are indeed funding the fear promoting ads and misleading the public as to why they should vote for their slate of candidates then charges should be laid by the RCMP.

Nov 12
A democratic lesson in misstep by CCN
There will be more on this issue as I have been in contact with a person who will be pushing for an investigation.

Nov 10
Concerned Citizens agree they are now campaign organizers

"Some city council hopefuls endorsed by the group say they did not give permission for their names to be used in campaign, but are unconcerned the group may have over-stepped the law." “But they also say they're unconcerned about any potential missteps made the group previously as unregistered campaign organizers.”
So let me get this straight; it is okay for some people to break the law and not others? Something is very wrong with this picture.

“Inglis said he has been involved in election campaigns at all government levels..."
One group with previous experience at all level was not aware and another with no experience was; something fishy here.

For a group that espouse to value transparency and open communication they have still not released the names of those funding their campaign.

This story has garnered more comments than any other; they are well worth the read.

Lobby groups may have crossed line into campaigning
No may here they did.
Election Promises: new council may find it difficult to cut taxes
Difficult but not impossible:)

Groups election efforts under fire as campaigning
As well they should be and charges should be laid.

Agriculture issue demands action
Solution should have been simple
A couple of well written letters on the Lantzville Urban Farming issue. As Municipal elections draw near, on November 19th, I hope that those living in the District of Lantzville will elect some progressive candidates to bring in a progressive bylaw.

9th
Occupy group says they won't leave downtown plaza
Good for them.

Two candidates clarify stance on Uplands housing
Doesn’t surprise me that Jeet has flipped but Brunie on the other hand does.

Battle over low-barrier housing could have implications for candidates
It would be really sad if people simply choose one issue on which to base their vote. Really sad indeed.

Nov 8
Controversial project has industry officials at odds with politicians
A lot of coulds and maybes involved here. This Tax Break is a bad idea and if even the hoteliers in Nanaimo are saying so then it should not happen. Even if, big if, there were to be a new hotel it would not provide the rooms that are needed for what has been said to attract bigger conventions.

More updates on various issues

Nov 3
D/N
Get to know the 26 people running for seats on Nanaimo City Council
Interesting take on providing information about the candidates. You click the name of the person then get a bio and video link to the 5 questions asked.

They did however get my age wrong, I am actually 53.

Sisterhood contemplates sale of lakeshore grove

Great idea for a city purchase though if the Tennis Club is allowed to make their member only restaurant into a open restaurant club there will be no more tranquility.

City will force smokers to butt out in parks
This is one of those things where I think the City has gone too far. For one it is unenforceable unless of course the City proposes to hire quite a number of police. Most smokers are respectful of others and tend to smoke downwind or far enough away that the rising smoke does not go near others. If the city wanted to ban something around parks it should be vehicles as they cause far more harm than a few smokers.

Smoking as an addiction is extremely hard to quit but it is something most smokers contemplate doing.

Bus service aims to attract more patrons to downtown bars
Good idea. Not only will it bring them in it will also take them out. should see a bit iof a drop in the petty crime in the area and less garbage not to mention the potential to save lives.

Letter: Tax relief the start of headaches for taxpayers
An excellent letter regarding the tax break for hotels, especially related to the convention centre. How will these tax incentives be paid for? By you the Taxpayer, that’s how. Dumb move on the part of the current council; it will make it even harder to keep taxes down in the future.

Bulletin
Council votes down motion to freeze Uplands project.
Believe I commented enough on an earlier story from the Daily News. Good news and good on council.

D/N
Nov 2
Taxbreak proposed for hotel project
A lot of BS going on here. What is the current vacancy rate for hotels and motels in and around downtown? Is not giving them the property to build on enough of an incentive? How much will
the "apply to any development or re-development" end up costing
taxpayers?

Hotel or no hotel the convention centre will always need to be subsidized. Has the license been changed yet from food primary to liquor primary? Instead of focusing on conventions lets get on with utilizing and encouraging its use for
other things.

Minimumwage hike draws mixed reaction from Nanaimo businesses and workers
It seemsthat every time the minimum wage is raised the same concerns are
expressed.

By increasing the minimum wage it could help lift some out of abject poverty to just plain and simple poverty and the added benefit of the raise will mean that some have a bit more money to spend at city businesses.

What is also needed is to increase assistance rates and provide those on assistance with a bus pass so that they can look for work instead of spending all of their time just trying to survive.

Opinion: Raising minimum wage a balancing act
Not a bad column.

Bestwick says he's sorry if fellow councillors were offended by remarks on housing strategy

"dishonest at best and deceitful at worst." Not true.

I have stated often, and despite being in support of Supportive Housing and Nanaimo's action plan on homelessness, that the communication process has been flawed. This said it is flawed when it comes to most issues and that primarily because what communication is done is
to the bare minimum required.

When the Homeless Strategy was in development community was invited to get involved in
the process, very few chose to do so. It is the same with much else and it is only when something is believed to have a direct effect that citizens get up in arms. A direct result of the current
processes used by the City to inform the public.

A sad aspect of the whole housing thing is that a few people through fear and misinformation can galvanize so many. On a positive note the city can learn from it.

Information whether fact or fear can be gotten to the public relatively easily and doing so
well before the issue becomes an ISSUE is paramount

Nov 1
Proposed delay for low-barrier housing turfed by council
"I am not convinced there was any great flaw in the procedure and process and I certainly think we should carry through with the commitments we've made,"

Yes, it is about time that we moved forward as this will now allow us to work on the other aspects of housing proposed in the Homelessness Strategy. On the first part of Councillor Holdom's
comment I have to disagree.

The great flaw is exactly how the City communicates in order to get community involvement, not just on this issue but on all issues. Sadly a couple of notices in newspapers does not exactly encourage community participation in the Civic Planning.

Was there communication? Yes, but only to the minimum required. This has to change so that the City actually works to encourage community participation.

The blatant threat by the Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo to actively seek to have people not vote for candidates that support the issue of Housing the Homeless is sad to say the least. To not vote for someone simply because they disagree with you on one issue is of great concern.

Sitting on City Council is no easy process because at times it does require compromise. Voters need to look beyond a single issue and look at what those running have done in and for the
community. Take off the blinders, research the candidates, and when you vote make it an informed choice and not one out of anger.

Businesses take differing views on Occupy Nanaimo's impact
I think the predominant view is that the occupiers are working well towards maintaining
the site to the mutual benefit to all in the Downtown. Kudos to the businesses that are actually
contributing.

Bulletin
Nov 1
City can't afford to save west Linley Valley
Certainly the City could afford to save some if not all of the property. How much will the 10 year Tax deferment the City just gave to Hotels that choose to renovate cost us? What about City Park reserve funds?

There are growing questions being asked about the New City Annex and other City expenditures such as borrowing $22 million for the proposed $65 million Water Treatment Plant.

When choosing to spend the taxpayer’s money better choices need to be made. Choosing to purchase all or the majority of land in Linely Valley would actually benefit the City, its people and the potential for tourism.

Let’s protect the assets we have instead of focusing on grandiose schemes destined for failure.

Bulletin

Oct 28
Lantzville aims to clarify urban farming issue
I think a lot of clarifying will be done by the vote in the upcoming election and if they really want to clarify they will reform the committee that worked on the bylaw, making it more balanced, and rewrite the bylaw so that it is less discriminatory. At a minimum the allowed usage per lot should be 60% though 75% would make them more viable.

Election candidates featured at meetings
Two interesting links to sites mentioned in this story, http://democraticnanaimo.blogspot.com/ & http://www.nanaimochamber.bc.ca/ . The first requests input for its All Candidates meeting the second will link through sustainable cities to the answers to questions posed to the candidates.

Oct 31
Editorial: Mixed message worth hearing
One of the best editorials I have seen dealing with the occupy movement.

Reality demands public participation
Many years ago I chose the red pill; sometimes wonder if it was the right choice? In reality I do
believe my choice, well over a decade ago, to get involved was right; I have much more fun than I ever did back in the days of choosing other options.

D/N
Oct 31
Lantzville Council delays implementation of cotroversial urban farming bylaw
Probably the best move they could have made. The bylaw as it stood was literally a piece of crap.

Much more on the Supportive Housing debate

Below are links to a number of news storys and letter on the Suppotive Social Housing debate. Many I have commented on and in a couple of the storys I am mentioned. PS; this may be a bit long for some tastes:)

Oct 24
Women's centre supports low barrier housing
As one of those that worked on the ad talked about in this story I sincerely hope that this story will spur the many other organization and citizens in the community to publicly state their support. We cannot allow a few people to spread fear and misinformation gathering others into their misguided endeavours.

Letter: Comments from meeting very discouraging
Letter: Fear mongering must not ruin opportunity
A couple other well written and informative letters about Supportive Housing; it is heartening to see many more of Nanaimo’s citizens writing in support of Nanaimo’s Homeless Plan.

Letter: Seniors also in need of affordable housing
This letter is right in that affordable housing is needed for seniors, it is also need for all ages. Where he does miss the mark is that many of the homeless are seniors with addictions and they will be helped through low barrier housing. There are many other seniors that suffer from addiction to prescription meds as well and they to need to be housed in an environment supportive of their needs.

Oct 22
D/N
Uplands site was the most suitable for low barrier housing says city planner

North-end residents vent at meeting about low barrier housing
This was the one where I lost it a little and did some venting of my own. The following is posted on my Elect Gordon Fuller to Nanaimo Council facebook page.
When I went to the Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo Friday night I should probably have stuck with my original idea and just observed. Alas after listening to MLA Cantelon spout off, then Councilor Bestwick and a few other choice candidates in the election blatantly sucking up to the crowd for votes, the final straw came when prospective councilor Brian Fillmore came up and opened his mouth about the housing issue.
The meeting, I would guess three hundred in attendance, started with members of the CCN. One talked about how this wasn’t about pictures or spreading fear but about process. If that was the case why the photo shopped pictures, one of a family scene with a young girl in the background shooting up and obviously photo shopped into the scene? Why the rhetoric about crime and violence being brought to the area because of the housing when there is absolutely no proof of supportive housing doing so?

If this was simply about communication then I would have to agree with them; yes the process was not the best and sadly the same happens all the time and not just on the housing issue. I will talk more about communication at a later date because it is one of my pet peeves and a reason I am running for council.
Ron Cantelon got up and it was so obvious that he was vote pandering, at one point even asking how many people in the room lived in his riding. He mentioned how he had spoken with Rich Coleman and was assured that if the uplands location was put on hold the government would not withdraw the money. Yeah right, how many lies has this government told and should we trust them?
Councilor Bestwick got up and spouted on for at least 10 minutes. He has always been in opposition of the housing. About the only thing I can say I agreed with him on was when he mentioned too much of councils time was spent in camera; for those not in the know this means no public input and no need to release what the meeting was about or the decisions made there-in.
There were then a few other speakers, most talking about crime, drug addicts coming into their neighbourhoods as well as a couple council candidates. Their was also talk about research showing that smaller works better, abstinence based, and how pathways in New York place people in individual units and research showing smaller was better.
The reality is that while I do not disagree with this research there is also research that shows larger facilities work as well. There is one organization in Seattle where they have 9 low-barrier units housing 800 people and within a few months almost 100% are working with supports brought to the buildings.
If one were to actually look at Nanaimo's Response to Homelessness Action Plan page ES2 (more on pages 14 thru 20) they would see that in it is not just the 160 units of new builds for 5 locations but also creating 75 rent subsidies and 70 acquisitions of existing housing.
Personally I have always thought that the rent subsidies should have been implemented immediately in conjunction with the new build and housing acquisitions as outlined on page ES2. Rent subsidies would have allowed for almost immediate access to housing. Alas when the monies were put forward by the Province they were for new builds and have led to where we are at today.
Okay now we get to the losing it part. So, up until Brian Fillmore got up to speak, and after listening to rhetoric and vote pandering for at least 45 minutes, I was still just planning to listen. It was only during Fillmore’s spiel about drug addicts and how he had personally went to visit Warmlands Low-Barrier Housing in Duncan, found it not to his liking, and spoke with a business person and neighbour who allegedly told him that problems of crime and drug use in the area had gotten worse that I decided I had to get up and speak.
I found much of what he was saying to be so much bullshit that I was infuriated. Especially since we had previously heard from the school district about how well Warmlands, located next to two schools was working well and that Warmlands actually had a community garden where they were teaching school children about healthy eating. We had also heard from business and neighbours that since Warmlands had opened crime and drug use had actually decreased in the area.
As Fillmore was leaving the podium and walking by me I called him scum to his face. I have thought about this comment a lot since then and while I likely should not have said it, better I say it to his face then behind his back.
When I got to the mike the first words out of my mouth were, “I AM NOT HERE TO KISS YOUR ASS FOR VOTES.” I then said something to the effect that I stand by my views on Supportive Housing and am not ashamed to say so. One person in the front said well you are not getting my vote to which I replied if this is the only reason I am not getting your vote then I don’t want it.
I then went on to say that I agreed about the communication process but it goes deeper than just this one issue and I brought up the recent borrowing of 22 million for the Water Treatment Plant as an example, only one public meeting only about the borrowing.
I also went on to mention that when these public meetings were announced, and set up in the community, there was very little participation by the public. It is only when something was perceived to affect them directly that people got upset and banded together wanting the very input they could have actually given earlier on. The Homeless strategy is a perfect example in that when the community was invited to give input very few chose to do so.
I then talked briefly about the fact that the homeless strategy was more than the 160 units, also encompassing acquisitions and rent subsidies. At this point I was being nudged to stop speaking as my three minutes were up, though oddly enough others had been given more, and still pissed off as a wrap up stated that Brian Fillmore was a liar. I then promptly exited stage left, last thing I saw was Fillmore storming back up to the line for the mike looked like he wanted to hit me, with a few people thanking me as I left the building and a few thanking me outside as well.
The reality is that the only thing I specifically regret was accusing Fillmore of being a liar. I have to honestly say that I do not know this for a fact but then I also do not know that he actually went down to Warmlands in Duncan and talked to anyone.
Bulletin
Letter:

D/N
Oct 21
Cantelon says city had other options for north end housing for homeless
Talk about intentionally inflaming the issue. He had told me on a number of occasions that he had been going out in the North End area with a few others speaking in support of the planned housing.
Our view: Cantelon has inflamed the housing issue
Extremely well written editorial, couldn’t agree more.
PS; I keep hearing about this 1400 strong petition. If getting people to sign it involved any of the blatant fear mongering tactics and false information put out by the Mythical CCN group then no wonder so many signed.

Oct 20 DN
Letter: Counter misinformation with factual information
It is unfortunate that when a few people spread fear and misinformation they gather many to their cause which makes giving accurate information even harder. Months ago I had mentioned to a couple of councillors and the social planner that they should be going out to the North End and speaking to people about the issues of Homelessness and Addiction; educate them about all the details of the Homeless Strategy. Had this happened the uproar in North End area would have been far less that it is now.

Oct 20
Bulletin
Social Housing debate continues
A sitting councillor or candidate would have to be nuts to attend this as it will very likely be a bitch fest extraordinaire. Hmm, perhaps I might just attend.

Oct 19
Bulletin
Letter: Residents campaign fails on several fronts
Letter: University women's group advocates inclusive community
A huge thanks to CFUW-Nanaimo for this letter.

Oct 18
D/N
Group continues fight against low-barrier housing project
Our View: Lies about low-barrier facility unhelpful

Oct 18
Bulletin
North End residents rally against low-barrier housing (Published as ‘Social housing opponents voice concerns)
I attended this council meeting and spoke in favour of the housing as well as thanking council for their ongoing support. Interesting to note that one of the delegations, the only person yet to admit to being part of the group Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo, refused to answer councils questions after her presentation. Amusing as one of their primary beefs has been a lack of communication and consultation.

If you check this link out Council Meeting October 17 2011 you may want to skip over the delegations prior to the ones regarding housing. I did not get to speak until after 10:00pm, 3 hours after the start of the meeting.

Letter: Are we a welcoming inclusive community
An excellent letter and something we need to work on.

Letter: Ad is a tasteless joke if sponsors are unknown
The ads can be viewed on this website http://www.whatswrongwiththispicture.ca/

Letter: Many things wrong when looking at this picture
This letter speaks to the above

Oct 14
Citizens band together in effort to scuttle city's housing project
Oct 13
Bulletin
Opposition and support emerge on low barrier housing
Editorial: Resident takes leadership role
D/N Letters
Letter: Inflammatory pamphlet only spurs negativity
Letter: Lack of consultation for low-barrier housing
A very good quote at the end of this letter.

Oct 11
Letter: Residents must not exclude other people

Oct 8
Bulletin
Uplands land required lift on restrictions
This explains how the Uplands site came to be chosen. It is in essence a close to perfect site and in my opinion City Council could have done this in the open instead of in camera.

D/N
Letter: Dump low barrier idea for a workable solution

Supportive Social Housing heats up again

It’s been a busy few weeks what with running in the upcoming election, dealing with work and all of my other commitments. Sadly it looks like the Supportive Social Housing will be one of the main issues.

With the announcement of the North End location things have really been heating up. A particularly nasty little group calling themselves the Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo has a website up, What’s Wrong with this Picture where a lot of misinformation and fear is being spread. They have a lot of money behind them and have sent out a card, with some of this misinformation, which people can send to their MLA and City Council. The group has also placed a number of full page adds, seen at the bottom of their home page, in the papers in order to galvanize and misinform the community.

As a response to this the Working Group on Homelessness decided to do an ad of their own thanking council for their steadfast support of housing the Homeless. On Monday the 17th I also appeared at council, council video Nov 17 2011, to reiterate that support personally. Go to the first delegation after Cathy Davis, 917pm, for delegations from the North End as well as my own.
Below are copies of the ad we put out, spent many hours pulling it all together with the help of Lynn Burrows and we still have more than 100 names that came in that we were unable to put in the ad, as well as my delegation. Have to head out soon to do some of my regular pickups for the 7-10 Club but wwill hopefully be able to spend the afternoon wwith more updates to the blog, things are pilling up. You can also find out more about what I have been doing by checking my facebook page for the election Elect Gordon Fuller to Nanaimo Council
















Delegation to Council:

October 17, 2011

Gordon Fuller
604 Nicol St.
Nanaimo, BC

I want to keep this simple and to the point so as not to take up any more of your time than needed.

I personally want to thank the Mayor and all on Council who have steadfastly supported Nanaimo’s Homelessness & Harm Reduction Strategy.

The housing first concept, used throughout North America, has proven itself in alleviating homelessness and by attaching supports to meet the need of the individual has allowed many to move forward in their fight against addiction.

Some would like to see Nanaimo revisit its strategy a strategy based on the success of the Housing First concept. I and many others in the community spent years to develop this plan and to gain support of the province towards its funding. Should we start over? No, we need to keep moving forward with a proven strategy.

As an Advocate for Social Change on Homelessness and poverty issues in Nanaimo, for well over a decade, I have attended memorial services for far too many in the community who, I have no doubt whatsoever, would still be here had the strategy been implemented sooner. It is on their behalf, and the many this will save, that I so adamantly believe Nanaimo’s Homelessness & Harm Reduction Strategy must continue to move forward.

Again I wish to thank you and the many others in the community for your continued support of this valuable initiative.

Cost of Poverty

The article below is interesting in that it weighs the cost of poverty against the cost of a plan to tackle poverty and the political will to actually do so. In my opinion it is political will that has hindered and contributed to the problem of poverty not just in BC but across Canada.

I also believe that to a degree Municipalities can also have an impact in how they design their own social policy initiatives. An example is the current debate about Supportive Social Housing and Nanaimo's plan to spread out housing to all areas. This for me is a no brainer simply for the fact that spreading out housing and services does not allow for the creation of ghettoized areas. It will take all levels of government to solve the issue.
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Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: Poverty comes with a high price tag
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/

It’s no secret that British Columbia has a problem with poverty. Many of us do our part and contribute to food drives and other worthy causes. But how many British Columbians realize that poverty is costing us – all of us – a lot more than a few cans of non-perishable food and a new toy donated at Christmas? A new study released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has, for the first time, quantified the economic cost of poverty in BC. We estimate that poverty costs the average man, woman and child in BC as much as $2,100 each and every year.

The economic cost of poverty to society as a whole adds up to between $8.1 and $9.2 billion per year. That’s a lot of money –close to 5% of the total value of our economy. Our analysis shows that failing to address the root causes of poverty is very expensive, both in terms of current and future costs. Study after study has linked poverty to poorer health, lower literacy, more crime, poor school performance for children, and greater stress for families. Poverty takes an enormous toll on the people who struggle with it, no question about it. But at the end of the day, it’s society at large that is paying a very high price. British Columbians pay approximately $1.2 billion per year in higher. Public health care costs linked to poverty. We spend another $745 million annually on policing and criminal justice costs driven by poverty-related crime. Higher costs of income supports and lost tax revenues that come with inadequate earnings account for over $900 million per year.

Poverty also acts as a significant drag on our economy. BC’s prosperity is undermined when people are excluded from the workforce because they don’t have access to the supports or training they need to do better, or when they are stuck in low wage jobs in our polarized labour market. Underutilizing all the talents and human potential of poor British Columbians to contribute to society and to our economy is among the biggest costs of poverty ($6.3 to $7.2 billion per year). This is a conservative assessment of the cost of poverty in BC, as our estimates do not capture all of the costs. Notably, we exclude the costs that child poverty imposes on future generations by perpetuating the cycle of poverty. We also do not measure many of the less tangible costs, such as the impact of high poverty levels on social cohesion and our feelings of safety in our communities. Nor do we include the direct cost of providing frontline social services to those in poverty.

The BC government’s current approach to poverty is to deal with negative consequences as they arise. This is akin to handling a leaky roof problem by repeatedly mopping the floor. It makes things look passable when the guests arrive, but it does nothing to address the root causes of the problem. And like a leaky roof, poverty’s consequences only get harder and more expensive to fix the more we put off dealing with them. The high costs of poverty in BC gives us a purely economic reason to be concerned about our poverty levels, which are the highest in Canada. Seven Canadian provinces and two territories have recognized this and implemented poverty reduction strategies (or are in the process of developing them). In fact, poverty reduction has emerged as an issue that transcends party politics and ideology to receive all-party agreement in most provinces. It’s time for the BC government to rise up to the challenge and commit to a comprehensive plan to systematically tackle the root causes of poverty in BC. We estimate that once fully implemented, such a plan for BC would cost between $3 and $4 billion per year. That’s less than half of what poverty is costing us now.

Making poverty reduction a priority is the right thing to do. And our report shows that it’s also the fiscally responsible thing to do. The biggest challenge that lies ahead is that upfront investments are needed to bring savings down the line. The four-year election cycle hardly encourages long term thinking or investments. What’s needed is leadership, vision and a willingness to do the right thing for BC’s future.

Iglika Ivanova is an economist and public interest researcher at the CCPA-BC.

In the News

Oct 8
D/N
Letter: Objective measure for council pay is required Nice letter. Interesting that Councillor Greeves, who receives a lot of support from unions, voted for the raise when even unions are receiving 2% or less. Even former councillor Brennan, running again this year after a failed attempt at the mayors’ position in 2008, also supported by unions is in agreement with the raise.

Oct 7
Bulletin
City takes possession of Oceanview properties in tax sale One can only hope that Canadian Property Investments neglects to pay within the one year allowable; the City of Nanaimo must not even give them one day extra. We have seen how well extending contracts for developers has worked in the past for the city; no hotel at the convention centre.

Council to reassess Maffeo Sutton Park plan Citizens of Nanaimo must get involved in this. If not we could see it developed towards being a private entertainment venue. The park must remain public and entertainment in the park must be accessible to everyone.

Oct 4 D/N Council will review plans for Maffeo Sutton Park
Maffeo Sutton Park improvements Jan 2009 This link to a copy of the brochure on the City website. In it it talks about a referendum but that referendum was actually about borrowing money for the convention centre. Just a tad misleading.

Oct 7 D/N: Volunteers continue battle to save Linely Valley While the title is a bit misleading, part of the valley Cottle Lake is already park, it is a cause that is worth getting behind. I once walked my dog through the forested lands between Rutherford Rd. and Hammond Bay Rd., phenomenal and an experience that should be enjoyed by all. If this group is successful many will be as able to enjoy it as I have and we will have another jewel in the city of Nanaimo.

Bulletin Oct 2: Moorecroft Regional Park planning
This is one of those things that irks me. The first open house for public input is between noon and 4:00, right when most folk are working. Despite an online survey, not yet available, I have to ask just how much they want your input?

D/N
Oct 7
Windley Contracting earns contract to build city hall annex Yeah right, as far as I know this contract was never put to tender and was simply given to Windley. “could crumble at even the slightest quake” What a crock. We have had many ‘slightest’ quakes over the years and the building is still standing. Another $16million of the taxpayer’s money well spent. Damn right I am being facetious.

Oct 6
Bulletin
Lantzville urban farming recommendations contested This has been an ongoing and vindictive attack on Dirk Becker & Nicole Shaw of Compassion Farm by the Mayor and a few Councillors of the District of Lantzville as well as their immediate neighbour. The goal, in my and others opinions has always been to shut down what is a prime example of Urban Agriculture on the Island.

Lantzvilles bylaw, as is Nanaimo’s is a tad unfair in that smaller residentially zoned lots are allowed 600 square metres of urban garden and larger lots 30% of the property. In many most cases, in particular in Nanaimo, the 600 square metres for smaller lots is far higher a percentage than the 30% for larger lots.

Personally I would like to see 50% for lots of one acre with that percentage rising incrementally for lots larger than an acre. For lots larger than 2 acres I believe 75% would not be be out of line.

It is also my opinion that the District of Lantzville is trying to pass their so called bylaw before the upcoming election. People in that community need to get out and vote for those friendly to urban agriculture, Andrew Mostad and Jaime Wallace for example..

D/N:
Oct 5
North End housing concerns addressed by city A group or person, with money behind them, opposed to the Supportive Housing going into the North End recently put a full page ad in the Daily News. The ad, essentially a copy of the front page of a nasty little website that has been developed Whats wrong with this picture . They also have a facebook page Concerned citizens of Nanaimo .

I am reminded of a few years ago when the 7-10 Club was looking at rezoning the Harewood Fire Hall for its new location. A website was set up that put out all kinds of misinformation and actually bordered on hate. As usual it was a very small vocal group that had no qualms about spreading disinformation and lies.

Oct 4
Neighbourhood moms mobilizing in response to social housing plan
The idea of starting up a neighbourhood group is a good one. Usually these groups are started in response to real or perceived threats to the community but the challenge is to keep them going when things die down. These groups can be a great way to build interaction with neighbours and create a true sense of belonging as long as they are not simply reactionary. This can cause the opposite effect and divide the community if the group is not careful.

Canada.com links to stories and letters about the Supportive Housing issue

Nanaimo Parks Dedication Bylaw

It would appear that Nanaimo now has a bylaw that will better protect our city parks, passed at Monday’s council meeting. I have been pushing for something like this for a few years, every time parks would come up at council, as prior to this bylaw a simple rezoning application could have been approved by council to rezone an area from park allowing use for development purposes. This bylaw is especially good for some of our largest parks, in general all parks, but there is one flaw.

According to the community charter, section 30, a motion could be moved to remove a dedication if adopted with approval of the electors. Approval of electors, that’s you and me folk, sounds good doesn’t it. The flaw, I’m getting to it, arises through how this approval is handled.

There are two means to gain this approval (see sections 85/86 of community charter);
1) Through referendum, which requires a majority of those voting;
2) Through alternative Approval Process (AAP), the number of elector responses received is less than 10% of the number of electors of the area to which the approval process applies.

The FLAW; in short 10% of voters would have to sign the approved form to have the rezoning squashed.

Governments use the AAP because it requires a huge amount of work and vast number of committed volunteers to gather the approx 6600 signatures, in Nanaimo, to defeat what is being proposed. The most recent example being the proposal to borrow $22million for the $65million dollar Water Treatment Plant in Nanaimo, only 3 people, me included, actually signed the approved petition form.

Why only three? Simply because the onus is not on government to spread the word about the process but on those opposed, resulting by and large in the failure of the opposition. The AAP, I have written other posts regarding the AAP, is in short the most likely means for government to pass things without the voice of the people being heard.

When elected to council I will be looking into the possibility of eliminating the AAP as a means of “Elector Approval”.

October 3rd Agenda City Council pgs 165 - 176
Community Charter Table of Contents
Section 30 Reservation and Dedication of Municipal PropertyDivision 2 sections 84 - 86 pertain Approval of Electors

Environment: Green Bins

Massive green bin program aims to take pressure off Cedar landfill

I have been participating in this program since it started in Nanaimo and am amazed at how much it has cut down on my garbage, usually have only one smallish bag every two weeks.

We need far more programs like this that will in the longrun protect the environment and build a better community for all..

Again with the Raise

As with all Daily News stories the comments are often better than the story

Sept 28 D/N
Darrell Bellaart:City councillors deserve raise Have to say that Darrell should be writting for rags like the National Enquirer or such as he really misses the boat on most stories and his main agenda seems to be creating conflict and spouting gibberish.

When he interviewed me he asked if I thought education should be a qualifier for siting on council and I stated no, life experience is just as valid a qualifier. When I mentioned that council wages were already more than 44% of the population of Nanaimo makes he asked, "how do you know that." My answer, go on the city website and pull up the Community Profile put out by the Economic Development Committee, the numbers are there. Sadly doing research is not Darrell's strong point and he, like many other reporters, would prefer the subject to do the research. Even then he has a knack for twisting it.

This raise that council has given themselves needs to be an election issue. So far of the comments by councillors and known candidates I am the only one who has stated I would make a motion to have the raise recinded.

My comment on the above story: "how many people on income assistance have experience running an ice cream stand," Nice Darrell, glad to know where you are coming from. Many people living on Income Assistance are there as a result of injuries suffered working or because of the 15% unemployment etc, etc.. People living on fixed income, including seniors, are far better at budgeting and keeping costs down. We need balance on council and not just those with a business background. Now I know why you said that my plan to keep my current job and donate half my council salary to charity didn't fit with your story. I have mentioned and will again that even at the current part time salary Councillors make more than 44% of those working in Nanaimo, with RDN pay more than 59%. I ask, are these folk not worthy of running for council because they may not have managed an Ice Cream Stand?

Sept 27
Citizens want a new vision for Nanaimo after November 19
The city needs an injection of new vision

Paul Walton: Ideology of right has failed I have added this one because in a way it also touches on Municipal Government. I love this comment about Democratic Socialism, “Democratic socialism is about creating wealth for all; but that depends on a shared ethic of being willing to forsake greed for a greater good.” I couldn’t agree more, puts into words my beliefs but one has to also realize that wealth does not just apply to money.

These stories and letters regarding the council raise from the Nanaimo News Bulletin

Sept 26
Council raise too extravagant Ron Bolin
Part time job paying more than most make Me
Councillors ignorant of financial realities Terrance Wagstaff

Sept 22
Editorial: Timing of raise inappropriate
Sept 20
24 percent raise in store for council

More on North End Housing

Below a few more stories on the Supportive Housing Debate. Not going to say much as if other posts re this subject are checked you will get my views. You can also see them in the comments section of the stories as well.

Sept 24
Housing debate highlights city's north south divide
Sept 23
Nanaimo's homeless getting much needed help when Wesley St. facility opens
Darrell Bellaart: Anti housing debate stale

City Park Protection

Have wanted to post something around the issue of Parks in Nanaimo for a bit.

Recently, during the debate on the new Zoning Bylaw in Nanaimo one amendment was to return properties by Pearson Bridge that had been offered as an incentive to a hotel developer for the conference centre at a bargain basement price. I say bargain basement due to the fact the City had agreed to purchase 150 parking spaces to the tune of $50,000.00 per spot, do the math.

Anywho the properties that were to be developed for 2 - 26 story condo towers were recently re-designated park when an amendment was made to the zoning bylaw. After the council meeting I put to council, also the public, that these and any other park properties could still in reality be rezoned if the powers that be wished do so and that there needed to be stronger security for our parks. My suggestion, to in the park zoning that a referendum be held if any park property were to be slated for rezoning. At that point councilor Sherry mentioned using the Alternate Approval Process and shaking my head I left the podium.

For those that may be unaware the Alternate Approval Process (AAP) means 10% of the electorate would have to sign an approved petition in order to stop a process. Those that do not sign the petition are deemed to be in support of whatever is being proposed

The AAP is a typical move by government as they know far more often than not, unless the issue has significant meaning and backing of volunteers to gather signatures, AAP’s will fail. A referendum would be a far fairer means as it gives the voting population a chance to have a say, an honest say where in if you vote YES or NO both count and if you chose not to vote it does not mean either or.

Shortly after this council meeting I was heartened to hear that council was planning to take steps to protect the parks. While the two stories below mention Referendum they do not mention whether or not the Alternate Approval Process would also be a means to change the designation. The Community Charter allows municipalities either/or. What we need to do as citizens is demand that in the language of the bylaw a referendum would be the only means of ever changing Park Zoning.

Sept 16
Walter Cordery: Parks are worth saving
Sept 15
City takes steps to protect its parks from development

Council Raise Pure Bullshit

Ya gotta love the story below and especially some of the comments. I, of course, was not interviewed which doesn't surprise me as I am the only one it seems who does not support the increase in pay. Then again it might be because I made a comment on a story Derek Spalding wrote saying how our failed convention Centre was responsible for the increase in visitors to the downtown and its revitalization; said it was the worst story he has ever written.

The story below reveals a lot. Brian Filmore does not have a high opinion of Seniors, "it's a small price to pay if it may help to attract strong leadership that's not currently collecting CPP." Saw him yesterday and he tried to backpeddle his comment.

Ted Greeves, strongly supported by unions, gives himself a 24% raise over 3 years and yet those very union workers that support him get a paltry 5% over the same time period. Council does not agree parity should be used in negotiations with workers andd yet choose parity when deciding there own salary; wondering if Greeves voted for parity.

Diane Brennan agrees with the increase, "recognizing the work load that most councillors take on." It's still part time work Diane and councilors make more than half of workers city wide.

Anyway check it out and my letter to the editor also posted in the D/N

Candidates support city council pay hike
Letter Council pay raise more than what poor will get

Council Remunerates Selves

And so they went ahead and gave themselves a raise. With the majority of Nanaimo Citizens making less yearly than council does at a part time position giving themselves a yearly pay increase of 8% a year over the next three years spits in the face of those that pay their salary.

This should be an election issue this November but will it be? It is unfortunate but Nanaimo has traditionally proven to be somewhat apathetic when it comes to certain issues. Will this be one?

I believe a large part of the problem is a reall lack of communication with its citizens on the part of council and to a degree this can be compounded by the upper echelons of city staff. More to follow on thecommunication issue.

Below is a letter I sent in regarding the raise as well as the Daily News story and Editorial. I have also posted a story printed the same day from the nearby community of Parksville, their councillors also giving themselves raises.

Sept 21
Letter Council pay raise more than what poor will get

Sept 20
Raise in pay for council given the OK
Editorial: Modest wage hike for council sensible

Parksville: Council members vote to increase pay

Nanaimo City Council Remuneration

City Council is once again looking at how much it gets paid and if some of the ideas are passed, at the Finance Policy Committee of the Whole(FPCOW) meeting on the 18th, they could ultimately see hefty increases to their pay checks.

As someone who has and is running for council I am adamantly opposed to this, in my opinion cost of living increases should be quite adequate.

Supporters of raises cite a better wage would result in more qualified and younger people running for council. I personally tend to not look at it as a job and believe it shouldn't be looked at as a job. Personally I look at it as a privilege to serve my community and I also believe that one should not be allowed to serve more than two or three consecutive terms. With a maximum term limit you would always get some new councillors with fresh ideas.

I look at this issue and think of the widespread poverty & unemployment in Nanaimo and I have to say; what the hell are they thinking. Even at the base rate of $26,414.00 this PART TIME position pays more than what 44% of the citizens in Nanaimo earn yearly.

When you consider that 7 members of council also receive between $10,000.00 & $11,000.00 from a position on the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) they then earn more than 59% of the population, not too bad for part time work. If looked at it from the point of median incomes throughout the City council salaries, including RDN, would be the highest and again this only for a part time position.

In looking at the information provided on the agenda for tonight’s Finance Policy Committee of the Whole a councillor attends approximately 34.5 council and committee meetings, per year, as per their role as city councillor. This breaks down to approximately $746.00 per meeting, a heck of a wage when you consider each meeting might run 3 hours.

Yes they may attend other functions but even then, in my opinion, they are more than adequately compensated and as I say in these economic times a cost of living increase is adequate.

Saying that the raise is needed to attract quality people, when the salary is already more than the majority of people make, is simply denigrating those that already make less with fulltime work than councillors do part time and states they are unworthy. Giving themselves any more than a cost of living increase is a slap in the face to the citizens of Nanaimo.
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Median income 5 postal areas. $23,135 Downtown, $26,294 Central, $30,933 North, $35,594 North, $30,643 South

D/N Sept 17: Council salaries may see drastic increase to reach parity
FPCOW Agenda re Council Remuneration pgs 20 - 26
Nanaimo Community Profile 2010
Nanaimo Economic Development Research & Statistics

2011 early by-election?

I was really saddened to hear that Larry McNabb passed away on the 24th. My wife Gayle was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late March of 2003 and passed away after a 5 month fight on August 26th. Our 10th anniversary would have been the following day, I still think of her every day. My sincere and deepest condolences go out to Larry's family, he will be remembered by the many people he touched in life.

Larry was in a way part of what got me involved in the political climate of the city. When I first started attending council meetings he would come out prior to the start and bum a smoke off me and we would chat. I may not have agreed with every decission he made but I had a huge amount of respect for him and unlike others, though he did call me a liar at one meeting, he never lied to me.

So now that he is gone the news comes that we will likely have a by-election in the spring of 2011, Nanaimo must hold byelection to replace McNabb . I had to chuckle because I made a comment, see the comments to the story, that I had heard a rumour I might be running. This comment is followed by three others supporting me if I do.

The liklihood is about 99.9% that I will run and then of course have to run again in November. It is a good thing I have a lot of signs left from my last three shots, will really cut down cost I can little afford. Guess I will have to go through my other posted stuff re the last election. I believe most of what I posted then is pertinent today so my platform, updated, has changed but little.

Seems many of the issues affecting the community have a tendancy to drag on. With me what you see is what you get; HONESTY, INTEGRITY & above all NO BULLSHIT!

Anyway would appreciate any feedback that comes my way

Election Platform 2011

Election Platform 2011

Building Community
An Alternative to Vested Interests

In running for Council for the fourth time I believe I would bring a balanced perspective with both personal and professional experience around social issues as well as his involvement over the years with various community groups and boards on issues from Homelessness & Housing, Food Security & Poverty, to Neighbourhood & Community Planning and Downtown Revitalization.

A long time Social and Community activist I know it is critical to recognize the importance of a healthy diverse economy in providing meaningful employment and the necessary tax base from which to run our fair city. “We need a strong advocate on council representing the interests of the South End, an advocate who also understands the issues in other areas of the city as well. There is much to be said for the Ward system as opposed to the at large. This becomes even more apparent when we consider south of the Hospital area has seen no elected representation for years.”

I am a third generation Nanaimoite, having lived in Nanaimo for the past 30 years most spent in the South End and Downtown areas. In 2002 I completed a degree in Child & Youth Care at Malaspina University/College while working full time as manager of Samaritan House Emergency Shelter. I am currently employed with Nanaimo Youth Services Association as Coordinator of their 20 unit Youth Housing Complex.

I believe Nanaimo is a unique city that still has an opportunity to work collectively towards not repeating the mistakes other cities have made in the past. We need to focus on the preservation of Nanaimo’s heritage with development that works in harmony with the waterfront and mountain vistas, maintaining the unique character of neighbourhoods and the community, Citizen Driven and Not Developer Driven. Smart Growth not rapid growth should determine Nanaimo’s future.

We need to implement sustainable small-scale social programs throughout Nanaimo that move away from the institutional and towards community integration. We must work towards Social Equality and the elimination of the endemic poverty that exists in Nanaimo. This process can be accomplished in part through innovative sustainable affordable housing options that do not place a greater burden on the already high taxes that exist in Nanaimo. It is imperative that we, as a community, recognize and value diversity and the potential of all citizens in contributing to make Nanaimo a vibrant and inclusive community.

In keeping with a vision of a healthy community I believe that we must look towards the environment both urban and rural. Initiatives towards green energy, environmental protection and public ownership of our drinking water must also be given priority.

Nanaimo Community Vision
"Nanaimo will be a community that respects people. It will hold neighbourhoods as the building blocks of the city. Nanaimo will be safe and supportive for people of all ages and all income levels. It will be an attractive place to live with the historic downtown core forming the "heart" of the city. Change in the city will be based on the foundation of community participation. Nanaimo will be a community that respects and preserves the environment and one that is pedestrian friendly. It will be a city of social and economic opportunity that has a diverse economy and a wide range of social, recreational, cultural and artistic amenities and services."

Platform

Communication & Community Involvement
At its best the city currently does the required bare minimum to promote community participation. The ultimate result of this is often seen by people getting up in arms when decisions are made that they see having a direct impact on them. This has most recently been seen when related to placing Supportive Housing in various neighbourhoods throughout the city.
The City needs to preempt this by meaningful communication and education on issues affecting the community. When elected I will take steps to improve communication and community involvement by initiating town hall style meetings, informing the public via social networking and newspaper flyers and any other cost effective means suggested.
First Nations:
Through my work and community involvement I have gotten to know many people of First Nation heritage. I have also built relationships with a number of councilors and the chief of Snuneymuxw First Nation. As one of the poorer of the first nations groups in BC the city of Nanaimo needs to support the Snuneymuxw people in their efforts of seeking redress from Provincial and Federal Governments. Nanaimo needs to continue to cement its relationships with the Snuneymuxw and work towards making this a better community for all.
Parks:
“From recreational to Tot Lots we need to ensure all of Nanaimo’s Parks are safe from rezoning in the future.” This was my original statement from 2008 and in the interim progress has been made. It is not however totally there yet. With nagging from people like myself the City of Nanaimo initiated a bylaw that now recognizes parks as being dedicated and the only way to change that would be through the will of the people.

The flaw in this process is that to rezone does not just require a referendum, it can be through the Alternate Approval Process (AAP). The Alternate Approval process would require gathering 10% of the Voting population to sign an approved petition form and is usually used when government want to push something through as it is extremely difficult and time consuming to gather the required signatures. Unlike a referendum where both yes and no votes count in the Alternate Approval Process if you do not sign the petition form you are deemed to be saying yes.

The properties, at Maffeo Sutton Park, offered to a developer for a hotel at the Convention Centre have been zoned Park. We also need to look at the purchase of Linley Valley West as well as other properties and increase the amount of green space for the enjoyment of both citizen and tourist.

When elected I will work to change the City Process and look to disallowing the AAP unless for emergency or simple measures. I will also work towards measures that allow for the increase in park space in Nanaimo.

Water:
We need to ensure that privatization of water never comes up on the agenda of the Municipality and Regional District. Nanaimo needs to look to the purchase of the watersheds surrounding our drinking water.

Development must not take place at the sacrifice of future water use and supply.

The Snuneymuxw First Nation does have some claim to the watershed area and we must work with them towards utilizing the watershed and Nanaimo River for the benefit of the community.

Planning & Development:
Nanaimo is fast becoming a laughing stock, among communities across Canada, when it comes to urban planning. We need to implement smart growth principals creating density within rather than by expanding through sprawl. In the event that the Cable Bay Developers default on their taxes the City must look at pulling the Urban Containment Boundary back to its pre 2008 designation.

Community contributions towards subdividing and density bonusing must be brought in line towards a more reasonable percentage that will benefit the community.

Neighbourhood involvement needs to be the first step for developers before taking their projects to the city for approval. At least two neighbourhood plans should be initiated each year to give the immediate community input on future development in the neighbourhood.

Housing, Homelessness & Concentration of Social Services
The City of Nanaimo must lobby provincial and federal levels of government to work with the municipality in the provision of affordable/social housing and other means to end homelessness and poverty in Nanaimo. I have been involved in working towards alleviating homelessness for well over a decade and was involved in the development of Nanaimo’s Homelessness Strategy.
I offer no apologies for my commitment to addressing homelessness and my steadfast belief that in order to do so as well as to combat poverty we need to decentralize many services as well as housing and place them throughout the community.

Most communities work from the adage that you put the services where the people are. This has tended to concentrate services in the downtown or bordering neighbourhoods and results in urban decay and the ghettoization of the community. Poverty is not located in any one area and as such we need to look at creating smaller scale services outside of the downtown areas. We need to move away from large scale all-in-one institutional settings.

Food Security:
The City of Nanaimo must adopt a food charter coordinating municipal strategy that will encourage greater support for local food producers. The recent addition of Urban Garden’s to the re-developed Zoning Bylaw for Nanaimo is a step in the right direction towards food security and by allowing the sale of grown food a step towards allowing added income to those in need in Nanaimo.

While Urban Gardens are a good step the allowable portion of property to be used favours smaller lots. When elected I will work towards an across the board 75% usage.

Mayor & Councillor Behaviour:
Recognizing that comming before council can be a stressful process ALL citizens must be treated with dignity and respect.

City Council Terms of Office:
Too often this has become a career, many having sat on council for 25 years or more. I believe we need to limit the number of terms a person sits on council to 2 or 3 at the most. This would allow for a quicker turnover to fresh ideas and enthusiasm on the part of newly elected municipal officials. Mayoral terms should be limited to a maximum of 2.

Council Salaries:
Prior to the election council effectively raised the pay for this coming council by almost 26% over the next three years. Council justifies this by stating that Nanaimo Council and Mayor salaries are far below the median salary when compared to 12 similar communities.

The problem with this rationale is that as communities strive to reach the median the median will always increase. It is my belief that Council and Mayoral salaries should be tied to cost of living increases only.

At the current salary of $26,000.00 Nanaimo councilors make more than 44% of the population of Nanaimo and if you add in the amount of $11,000.00 received by those that also sit on the Regional District Board the wage rises to more than 59% of the population. Not bad for what is essentially a part time job.

When elected I plan to keep my day job and donate 50% of my council society back to the community. I will also be putting forward a motion to have council salaries tied to cost of living increases only.

A strong believer in an open communication process you can feel free to contact me at:
Ph: 250 754 6389Cell:
Cell: 250 797 0531

e-mail: gorfathome@yahoo.ca