Who to Vote for in North Van & Rest of BC - 15-Oct-2022

Why Vote on 15-Oct-2022

 BC municipal politics matter to me because they can have a big impact on decisions that affect:

• More Housing Options
• Land-use Policy and zoning, which are huge drivers of the housing crisis
• Think "six floors and a corner store" 

• Active Transportation Networks (Walkable Cities, Transit, Bike Lanes)
• Have you tried an electric bike yet?  Game changing.  Ask me sometime.

These are two big issues that can have a direct impact on my quality of life.  Even more important, my north-star is climate change, and these are also key building blocks for making a difference to climate change.

I live in North Vancouver, and I'm going to focus this article on our candidates.  I'll also include some links at the bottom for help identifying who to vote for in your municipality.   In my day job I'm lucky enough to do work having a positive impact on climate change. Being focused on climate change a long time, I know politics has an outsize role to play, and local governments can lead faster and better than other governments on these key issues.

So:

1.  Please vote on 15-Oct-2022 in your local government elections.
2. I'm hoping to make this easy for you - here is who I plan to vote for & why.

Who to Vote For: DNV

In the DNV (District of North Van) staff have been bound by a split council this past 4 years. Three councillors fairly in favour of active transport (Mathew Bond, Jordan Back, Megan Curren), Two mostly opposed = Mayor Mike Little, Betty (Pigeon) Forbes, and also not reliably in favour = Lisa Muri and Jim Hanson.

The choices on Oct 15 really matter in terms of how fast housing policy and bike infrastructure can move. Do get out to vote, and encourage your friends and neighbours to do so too. Both for CNV and DNV. 
The younger (50 & under - especially 18-35 vote) are especially important to try to get out to vote.

For what it's worth,  my voting dance card for DNV so far looks like this:

• Mayor: Matthew Bond

Council:

• Jordan Back
• Greg Robins
• Elison Mallin
• Catherine Pope

You need 1 mayor vote, and up to 6 council votes. People tell me better to only vote for 4 if you're not sure about the other 2

 This is my current list. I may add to this list as we get closer to 15-Oct. 

Here is the full list of DNV candidates in 2022

Don't just trust me. In prior years I've used the HUB cycling advocacy candidate list, and found that the people that are in favour of their policies, are progressive and usually in favour of more housing options as well.

Last note: Incumbent mayor Mike Little says "thoughtful growth and some transport options" - but his record that I've observed is of minutia, status quo, and not rapid improvements.

Who to Vote For: CNV

If I lived in CNV (City of North Van) my dance card would be:

• Mayor: Linda Buchanan

Councillor:

• Tony Valente
• Jessica McIlroy
• Angela Girard
• Holly Back
• Don Bell
• Kathy McGrenera

There may be another candidate or two aligned fairly directly with Linda Buchanan. I'm sure she's not perfect, but I definitely want more of the "walkable city" and bike priority work that has been happening for the past 4 years.
Our family goes to the CNV by bike routinely. The destinations are great (Shipyards, Moodyville Park, Grand Boulevard), and the routes are palpably better when we cross the DNV/CNV border.  I want more like them in the DNV too!

Here is the list of CNV candidates in 2022

Who to vote for - other Municipalities in BC

If you live in the Lower Mainland, HUB Cycling has put together lists of candidates who have endorsed their platform. (Same link shared above) As I said above, I have found that the people that are in favour of their policies, are progressive and usually in favour of more housing options as well.

Outside the Lower Mainland of BC, I haven't yet found as good a resource. Please send it along do duncan@wilcock.ca if you find one. I've asked the BC Cycling Coalition if they have a similar list, but they have not responded after a few days. Feel free to ask them on twitter at @bccycle :) 

Ride on!  🙃🚲