John Marshall - Council Candidate

[L1sa]

I have know John Marshall for more than fifteen years and would absolutely vote for him. I have not been listening to local media, when and where does one go to cast the vote for John Marshall?

[mlroberts]

Depends where you live Lisa. But the elections are on Sat!

[macker]

I reviewed John Marshall's site and there is not much substance to it. I would like to know what he has been involved in? What has he contributed to Kelowna? What is his education?

[Kel6508]

Well, Maybe he should get an account????? Does he not think the people who ask him questions on this forum deserve an answer? What would it take to login and create an account, 2 minutes.

Not one I will vote for.

[macker]

As one replier quoted:

"Well, Maybe he should get an account????? Does he not think the people who ask him questions on this forum deserve an answer? What would it take to login and create an account, 2 minutes"

My thoughts exactly!! He should be directing his efforts through all the various avenues to address the voters' questions.....this forum being one of them.

[MarshallJ]

Good day all.
Please allow me to mark Nov 12th as being the date of my first ever cyber post on a "thread".

Jo, thanks for starting all of these wonderful things.

Rekabis, thanks for bringing these activities and this forum to my attention.

Orison, Fisher-Dude, GreyGoose and L1sa, thank you for your kind words and support. I must know all of you, but I'm not sure whom most of you are because here it is only user names.

BVG666 and GCLoulou, thanks for the input. I must also know you guys too. Or maybe it's you girls? Again, user names.

mlroberts, thanks for keeping people informed. I hope L1sa sees your post and makes it out on Saturday.

Chmmr, Kokanutdad, Mechanic_virus, macker and Kel6508, you all had some questions and comments. I will endeavor to answer them.

Chmmr. Nope, I'm no relation to the feed lot family. I'm glad that they were able to finally come to an agreement with the city and zoning, and that they were able to relocate. I wish them all the best. As for what I've been involved in, I'll try to better explain when I address macker.

Kokanutdad. No sir, I am not, nor have I ever been involved with the "Conservatory" project at Glenmore Road and Summit Drive. I'm guessing that your asking because my last name is Marshall, and that's the same last name as some of the folks involved in that project. Nope, no relation sir.

Mechanic_virus. "Please list 5 of your top priorities, and how you would deal with each issue if it were completely up to you." Well, sir. My 5 top priorities are;
1. My son
2. My family & friends
3. My work
4. My community
5. Myself

Now, I'm sure that this information is not what you were after. Only it's just a reminder that I, like you and everyone else in Kelowna, have a life outside of this election and this forum. I'm optimistic and likely correct when I guess that you're an intelligent person. I also get the impression that you have a lot of experiences and good ideas to share because I see you've made over 3300 posts. You've also been active and at it since 2006, you have not just surfaced here in the last 14 days to make nasty posts about people. So, I'll accept your question as meaning, what city related priorities are top on my list and how would I like to see them resolved.

1. Improvement of "all" local transportation. This includes biking, transit and motor vehicle traffic.

I would like a resolve that would see a major increase in the number of kilometers of biking/walking "paths". I'd like to see less glass and debris on our existing road side bike lanes.
I'd like a resolve that sees an increase in the number of scheduled bus arrivals per location, and an increase in the number of roadside bus shelters. Also, an increase of handi-bus hours and the introduction of a weekend schedule would be beneficial to those who use that service. As for motor vehicle traffic anything that can be done to move it along at a better pace, with less time spent idling and immediate improvements to certain delicate intersections such as the one at the corner of Rutland Road and Sexsmith/Old Vernon Road. (aka, Reids corner)

2. Increase in the supervision of public spaces. I'm speaking more to parks that need to have a feel of safety. Parks and playgrounds that do not have drug users or drug dealers lounging about. Green ways that are patrolled so that our women have some sense of supervision or safety while out on a stroll. Side walks and intersections that don't have folks with squeegees or tin cups tapping on your window.

I'd be happy with a resolve that significantly reduced or ideally eliminated these occurrences. I'd favor a dedicated park/path patrol or unit. Police in a park friendly vehicle that can quickly move off the path. I'd support seeing an increase in the amount of enforcement that our local by-law officers are authorized to practice. I'd be interested in reviewing the option for a city of Kelowna police force. This force could branch out of our existing by-law department and begin to encompass traffic/speeding tickets/park patrol. This would likely decrease some of the workload from our RCMP, and afford them the time to focus on larger more criminal code related matters.

3. Boost the number of members in our fire department.

I'd support a resolve that would see Kelowna hire more.

4. Comprehensive development plan for all of downtown.

A comprehensive plan for the downtown that encompasses an area greater then four blocks would be a great resolve. I'd be interested in seeing a plan the stretches from Okanagan Lake to Richter Street and from Doyal Avenue to Rowcliff Avenue. (this would include the old K.S.S. site). As for density or building heights? Personally, I like medium to medium high density.

5. Affordable housing/homelessness. Personally, I think that there is plenty of work in Kelowna. However, a large portion of that is of the lower wage variety. To me affordable housing is not affordable home ownership, it is affordable accommodations. I recognize the requirement for lower income families and individuals to be able to better afford their accommodations. Being able to provide affordable accommodations will in turn help those who wish to work and budget themselves accordingly to remain safe and warm.

Any reasonable resolve that sees to the creation of larger numbers of affordable accommodations within Kelowna would be supported. Perhaps a property tax breaks to revenue property owners, who live in Kelowna, and allow their revenue property to become leased into a city operated rental pool. The city could set rent rate scales, and tax breaks would increase in relation to how low the rent is. This is just a personal thought of mine, and I would care to better investigate its feasibility by having figures that show the dollar amount in lost tax revenue compared to the city just building and operating the same number of units.

macker. I do not have the distinction of boasting a University degree. I'm a high school graduate. I was endeavoring to acquire a bachelor of science with a double major in chemistry and biology. This all halted when god blessed me with my son. I'm still raising the boy and have been a single father for the past 12 years. He will be driving this winter.

I've had local involvement through significant fund raising or as a board member with;
Kelowna Youth Outreach Care Society
Royal Canadian Legion
Kelowna Regatta Society
Kelowna Minor Hockey
Central Okanagan Boys and Girls Club
Big Brother and Sisters
Conservative Party Kelowna/Lake Country EDA
Memorial Cup
911 House Identification Program
Holding Hands for Hospice
Kelowna & District Jaycees

I'm sure I've missed somethings, but I'm sure those folks will forgive me.

I've had large annual budgets to approve. I've been a member of many committees. I've been the chairman of many committees. I work well in a group environment. I ask questions. I hold people accountable. I'm accountable. I'm approachable and most of all I'm a reasonable person.

Kel6508. Yes, creating the account took close enough to 2 minutes. But answering all of these questions did not. "Does he not think the people who ask him questions on this forum deserve an answer?" Well, you must seem to think so. Let me add, that maybe they do. "If" the person they are asking the question to is active on the forum and completely aware that questions are being asked of him. Might I point out that members who have been active for sometime seem to post with some manner of decorum. While some (not all) who have recently joined, say the last 2 - 3 weeks, seem to just shoot off with both barrels.

I will try to view this thread once a day. I type one key at a time and I don't ever "blog" or post. This is not my medium. Still, no guarantees, but I hope to find the time to answer any intelligent questions.

Ps, If you email me at [email protected] you will get an answer. Even better, if you call me on the number from my website you will get a conversation.

Thanks everyone

John Marshall

[Bsuds]

Thank You John for coming on here and answering those questions.
I, for one liked your response and style. I have not totally made up my mind yet as to whom I am voting for, but that helped.

[MarshallJ]

Bsuds,

Thank you for your kind words.

John Marshall
2008 Kelowna City Council Candidate
[email protected]