Choice for Mayor

[shortstopmommy]

I was most impressed by the candidates who said what was clearly on their mind, not a rehearsed speech. That tells me a lot.

Neis has been without a doubt the most interactive member of the current council. I don't think she looked at a paper once when she spoke, she just said what was really on her mind. I sent a letter to Mayor and Council when I first moved here about some concerns I was having and she is the only one who personally spoke to me. I received a PDF copy of the Official Community Plan in response from the Mayor with a generic "thanks for asking" but that was it. No info.

Findlater is a nice guy, but he's never going to stop seeing things through blinders - bureaucratic glasses. It seems the city staff has been making the decisions at the District.

Randall Robinson was excellent. Honest, and clearly believes in his mission, which is first off SAFETY. He was top notch. Got my vote. Fresh perspective, environmental experience and is a family oriented guy.

Ophus answered a question that was not his, regardless of the fact that candidates can only answer the question assigned to him. That was not right. I should have piped up and answered it too so they would be foreced to acknowledge that he broke the rule and have to put a stop to that.

I like Winsby because he voted against the Mission Hill expansion because it will be a huge and negative impact on those residents (I heard that 83% of the 170 residents were against but Findlater, Zanon, Ophus, Milson, Knowles, Milsom voted for it anyway). Rosalind Neis and Bryden Winsby were the only ones who sided with those residents.

Not that I think you need to deny development but for pete's sake REIGN IN YOUR ENGINEERING DEPT. They seem to have the most control in this District and that is NOT GOOD. They are NOT working for YOU. Council is. Or is supposed to be. Tallus Ridge folks can attest. I keep hearing "well they said this was supposed to stay greenspace but they are developing it anyway." How is that allowed? If the realtor who sold the development lied, then the developer and realtor should be charged with fraud. However, there's a trend here...the plan seems to quietly change at some point and the district allows them to developer to lie by rezoning and other ridiculous loopholes.

In no other area would a business get away with this. FRAUD IS ILLEGAL, yet our own municipality allow us to be duped. Food for thought.

[watchingfromthesidelines]

[quote="shortstopmommy"]I was most impressed by the candidates who said what was clearly on their mind, not a rehearsed speech. That tells me a lot.

Neis has been without a doubt the most interactive member of the current council. I don't think she looked at a paper once when she spoke, she just said what was really on her mind. I sent a letter to Mayor and Council when I first moved here about some concerns I was having and she is the only one who personally spoke to me. I received a PDF copy of the Official Community Plan in response from the Mayor with a generic "thanks for asking" but that was it. No info.

Findlater is a nice guy, but he's never going to stop seeing things through blinders - bureaucratic glasses. It seems the city staff has been making the decisions at the District.

Randall Robinson was excellent. Honest, and clearly believes in his mission, which is first off SAFETY. He was top notch. Got my vote. Fresh perspective, environmental experience and is a family oriented guy.

Ophus answered a question that was not his, regardless of the fact that candidates can only answer the question assigned to him. That was not right. I should have piped up and answered it too so they would be foreced to acknowledge that he broke the rule and have to put a stop to that.

..... THE Interesting thing about new people running is that they don't always have to be what they say they are - they can promise the world, provide fresh perspectives, simply because they can say whatever they want and don't have to back it with anything other than what they say they've done in other aspects of their life. Current council may not be exciting, but you know where they stand. Sometimes New that sounds too good, is usually just that, a facade. Just sayin....You can think I'm stirring the pot, but I know of which I speak. Most important thing is to vote (and then not regret it after the fact)

[VoteRandall]

..... THE Interesting thing about new people running is that they don't always have to be what they say they are

Yeah, true statement. Although, following that mentality we'd have the same councillors until the end of time. Keep in mind that all councillors were "newcomers" at some point.

I do think track record outside of civil service is a pretty good indication of what you can expect from people if elected. Action speaks louder than words after all. Google is a good starting point. I encourage everyone to do some online research on all the candidates. You might be surprised.

However as you say that doesn't totally vouch for character. I invite you to come out to the All Candidate Forums and meet all the candidates in person (incumbents and challengers) you might get a better sense of their character.

Remember, at least one newcomer is getting elected to council on November 19th.

[watchingfromthesidelines]

Google is a good starting point. I encourage everyone to do some online research on all the candidates. You might be surprised.However as you say that doesn't totally vouch for character. I invite you to come out to the All Candidate Forums and meet all the candidates in person (incumbents

VOTERANDALL - absolutely Google is a good starting point, and as every candidate should know, when they run for public office, they need to hold themselves to a higher standard then any ordinary citizen....so, if you knew a candidate was running that had a less than stellar credit history and his son recently declared bankruptcy rather than pay his bills,,would you vote for that person and could you reassure the citizens of West Kelowna, why they should be trusted with managing a multi-million dollar budget? I've done a lot of research on many of the candidates and firmly believe that how one manages their personal lives, not just in recent months, but throughout the years is a good indication of how they will represent the people publically.

[shortstopmommy]

I agree totally: keeping the same Council will indeed net the same result. The problem is that as a resident who sees neighbhorhood identity and civic trust at stake all over the place, I WANT CHANGE.

By constantly allowing quiet rezoning and to defer to changes to a development's original plans is exactly what we should be working to stop. There should be some kind of rule that keeps developers from constantly presenting a plan that is attractive to buyers, getting the homes sold, revamping against the original selling features and getting it approved with the loophole of rezoning down the road. Here is what is happening all over the place. Put yourself in this scenario:

So you buy a house, your largest and most important investment, based on all the possible information you can acquire (which won't be the entire story, because we all know that the developer is going to keep future changes close to the chest). Within a few years you are told that the view and/or security and/or traffic and/or access and/or character is going to take a totally different direction than what you were sold, what YOU BOUGHT AND PAID FOR.
Now you want out, because this is not the place you thought it was, and is therefore no longer the best place for you and your family. Now you can't sell because you'll lose too much on price (because there's less value in a home that stares at other homes instead of natural landscape, shares the road with way more traffic, and the competition from your fellow neighbors trying to get out has driven your price down). People will always shy away from buying a home that is adjacent to proposed development. So you either are forced to live with the headache caused by their lie or else you pay dearly to get away. Either way you lose, and your own city will do nothing to help you.

I know, I lived it firsthand. It's an indescribably frustrating and discouraging experience.

We can talk all we want about not trusting the Provincial govt in regards to funding for health, education, etc, but I don't feel particularly trusting of our municipal level govt. at this point. They accuse the province of not caring enough, but often the municipality falls short in that respect before they are even out of the gate. Examine the Tallus Ridge, Glenrosa and Mission Hill issues, study them and talk to the people. I know of only one Council member who actually got out there, door to door and spoke directly to residents. I won't say who it was because it's easy information to obtain. This should give you an idea of who actually cares at the District.
I know, I lived it.

[Fancy]

Mission Hill development has been in the works for years. Lots of open houses.

[shortstopmommy]

For sure...though it didn't make a difference.

What I meant by mentioning Mission Hill was to point out who is actually out there talking to the people. Not in the formal forum format (lot of f's there) but one to one.

[parachute]

What I meant by mentioning Mission Hill was to point out who is actually out there talking to the people.

Who is it? Or is that a secret?

[Bestside]

What I meant by mentioning Mission Hill was to point out who is actually out there talking to the people.

Who is it? Or is that a secret?

Was it Neis? She voted against ... I think due to traffic concerns.

[shortstopmommy]

Bestside, I sent you a message...I am really intrigued by something you said and want to know more

In regards to the "secret" person, I don't mean to sound cloak and dagger, lol. I just want people to realize what I know, without me telling them. If they can find the info in newspaper than it carries a lot more weight than just me piping up on Castanet. And yes, it was Neis. I can only go by what I know, and I know she gets out there and actually knocks on doors asking about how people feel. It was just mentioned in the paper again the other day.

The system for keeping the public informed is out of touch. Due dilligence is being allowed to be used far too loosely. There's a new mayor in Calgary who has an incredible policy regarding transparency and openness in his office and I dig that. Of course it takes all sorts of strengths to lead a community, and for me I know what it's like to be an ignored voice. The fact that someone in top spot actually gives a hoot what I think is very attractive to me, personally. You have a team in place within the district to do planning, building, working, accounting, etc. But Engineering, Finance, Planning, their job is not to listen to the people, so if a Candidate for council or Mayor is adept at listening to and genuinely caring for the residential wants then I'm all for it. That may not be the most important issue for some people, but for me it's non-negotiable.

[mexi cali]

First let me say that it's good to finally see some sharing of thoughts regarding this election which to me seems to be sitting way back on most peoples back burner. There has been little discussion neighbor to neighbor and unless it's just me, the coverage in the local media seems less than 3 years ago too.

Anyhow, you're talking about it now and that's good.

I will be voting for Rosalind just as I would have 3 years ago had she run for mayor. She could have spared me the stress of the campaign had her life situation allowed her to but nevertheless, it was what it was.

I have no interest in attacking any of the candidates, be they incumbent or newcomer. They all deserve a level of respect simply because they have stood up and offered themselves as servants to the community. It's not easy but it is definitely educational as I am sure some are finding out day by day.

I spoke of change 3 years ago, something I felt we all needed but I think in reality, it was too soon in the life of our municipality to talk about change. We needed a sense of direction and purpose and we needed experience to achieve this. The Mayor and council of that day were likely the best choices at that time.

Their work over this past term has set the wheels in motion for the future. Not every choice they made nor every decision arrived at will be remembered as stellar but that is the life of a politician. You can't be all things to all people.

We as citizens all want what we want and I think that if every one of us was allowed to submit in writing a "wish" list, after they were all sifted through, there would be many similarities and if you made up a priority list out of these submissions, the community at large would be well represented.

I believe that we will see some change this time around. I think we have too. We may be in motion but we're not setting any world records for speed.

I also believe that in order to get things done, we need fearless representatives who will seek out the priority list and then will fight to see it become real. we don't need bureaucrats, party liners or "yes" people. we need actuators.

I don't see that in several of our current team and as I said, I will vote for Rosalind. Not because she is the opponent but because I believe she is the best suited to get things done.

Love to Gord also. after that, I have not made up my mind.

Peter Haslock

[occasional thoughts]

As I've indicated elsewhere in here, I'm undecided, but leaning to Neis.

Having said that, I haven't seen hide nor hair of her (or anyone else) during the campaign so far. If I remember correctly, three years she topped the councillor poll without spending more than buck or two, something she was rather proud of at the time. I thought it was commendable in a purist sense, but utterly unrealistic. This year I see she has decided to use the standard little road signs. Does that make her a hypocrite, a typical politician? Or someone who can see the errors of her former ways? I need a statement from her that takes me from Point A to Point B on that.

But what Rosalind really owes us is a clear statement on how she can be mayor this time for the next three years, in terms of career and family, when she couldn't be that person a mere three years ago. Has she retired? Won a lottery? Got an inheritance? The mayor is supposedly a full-time position. Will she be working midnight shifts chock-a-block with meeting her demands as mayor?

That all said, I have a much deeper concern. Do those unknown (to me anyway) multitudes running for council hide a Pro-Westbank slate? Who's digging this out. Who's asking these questions? Having been forcibly retired from the news media (tyvm Jon Manchester), it is not me. Sorry.

[Urbane]

OT, it seems to me that the DWK election coverage has been less prolific than in the recent past but I'm not sure why. I see no particular evidence of a "Westbank" slate though since the two candidates for mayor both were in favour of joining Kelowna and most of those running for Council are incumbents. Gordon Ficke is (I believe) president of the Historic Westbank Association but other than him I see no one else running from that group. Am I missing someone? It's a much quieter campaign than I had expected but maybe we need a breather after the governance and naming issues. Perhaps the world is just unfolding as it should. Just a thought. BTW, I'm sorry that you're not still a part of the news media because your writing was first class.

[occasional thoughts]

Other than to note that being "Join Kelowna" in 2007 didn't preclude a lot of people from being "Name it Westbank" in 2008, I'm relieved to read your thoughts, that there is no renaming slate hidden in the names of the candidates I don't recognize who are running for councillor.

I am amused, or maybe bemused is the better word, at the number of newcomers who are running for change, or a fresh outlook, on council. The district and the council are only four years old, people. Are they stale that fast?? I'm not saying they''re not, but the self-professed "change" label seems so trite. I guess I should jump in on another post/thread if I'm going to dwell on the councillor race, though, eh.

Neis and Findlater. Findlater and Neis. Findlater is rock-solid stable, Neis can be a bit flaky. Findlater is conventional, Neis is not hidebound. Findlater was a bureaucrat, Neis was an entrepreneur turned nurse (also, strictly speaking, a bureaucrat of sorts). I wonder where this election is going. I'm betting that turnout won't be superlative.

[parachute]

Comparing Findlater to a "rock" is not bad. But perhaps a "ton of bricks" would better describe how people with whom he disagrees feel ..... but no .... that is not a good comparison either since he has the ability to be subtle or else get his friends to do that for him.