Issues and Observations:
General:
It’s time for a change.
I may not know all the answers, but I do know the kinds of questions which need to be asked.
We need someone with extensive experience in working with bureaucracies and on development issues on Council. I have the training and the experience to provide good counsel on Council.
We need far more transparency and public participation than we are getting.
Nominations for public appointments and public dedications should be advertised and open.
Planning and Development:
I am more focused on the interests of the citizens who live here now than on those who might come here someday. Growth is good, but growth which is too rapid is known as cancer.
I am for comprehensive planning and it should start with Nanaimo’s existing neighbourhoods.
Nanaimo has the capacity for extensive in-filling of its existing urban areas. Infilling should be encouraged as it minimizes infrastructure development, maintenance costs, servicing and transportation costs.
If we make a downtown area which we want to visit, then outsiders will want to visit it as well; the reverse is not necessarily true
I can support a joint venture Multiplex where reputable risk managers will vouch for the security of a public return on any public money spent. I cannot support another venture like the conference centre where public money is not invested, but is sunk.
Budget and Administration:
We need more attention to the ballooning city budget patterns at all levels. Like all economies, our chickens are coming home to roost.
We need a cap on the “rainy day” fund. This fund is generated by surplus taxation and is at the discretion of Council. I believe that at least $30,000,000 from this fund have been spent on the conference centre rather than on any rainy day emergencies, i.e. it has become a slush fund.
I understand the difference between "economic impacts" and "economic benefits." Spending large amounts of money will always have economic impacts. Whether there are economic benefits, however, is another matter. We are now seeing some of the effects of economic impacts in the world's economy that did not have corresponding economic benefits.
We need management contracts for senior executive staff at City Hall. Senior management in large corporations is moved every few years to redistribute talents and review problems in a new light.
Elections and Representation:
A ward system or a variant is needed to ensure that all sections of our city are represented on Council.
I will work to ensure that Nanaimo voters are protected by paper ballots that can be recounted and that we do not move to "black box" electronic machine voting.
We should examine the question of term limits. Why do politicians remain in power in one place so much longer than do executives or board members in private industry?