Jason Rock - Council Candidate

[leroibrown]

I agree with a lot of your ideas Jason, however when you said in your second comment the council pays very little, you lost my vote. I disagree as council members get paid very well for the little effort they have to commit to.

Over $30 k per year is a lot more than many residents in Kelowna make and actually have to support their families with. Perhaps it is not a lot to you. Maybe you are a millionaire or something, or come from a family with money, but many people in tis city struggle to get by on far less than $30k per annum.

We have enough self serving millionaires on our current council They must be replaced with individuals who know what it is like to work hard for little pay. Remember it was Sharon Shepherd who was trying to attract companies to come here because they could get away with paying out little in wages. She might has well have said she would import workers from Mexico for them if they could not find enough locals to work. How does importing Mexican workers help our economy? They send their money back to Mexico to help the economy there.

I'm surprised at her for that. She should not be re-elected. Her husband being a doctor pretty much insures that she is a very wealthy woman. She doesn't care about the common folk that represent the larger number of voters. She obviously looks at them, us, as peasants, as it seems you do as well. I was going to vote for you but after futher review of your remarks I’ve scratched you off of my list. You lost my vote for that remark about $30 k being very little.

It's time to get the millionaires out of our council chambers and replace them with people who understand what a struggle it is for folks to live in such a high cost of living city while getting paid peanuts, far less than $30k per year.

I do agree that crime is up as I ,as well as my brother, have had our vehicles stolen and attempted to be stolen this year. There is likely less reported crime and police are not catching as many criminals which does not at all indicate that crime is down. Mr. McKinnon is another 'Tell them what they want to hear' type person. I have never agreed with this fellows statements.

He says that there are less calls for the police. They never sent anyone out when my car was broken into, and theft of it was attempted. Why would I even call next time? To be more frustrated. When I did call I was also treated very rudely on the phone. Another reason why I would never call them again.

Remember Jason $30 k per year is a good wage to some of us commoners.

[jason_rock]

leroibrown,

I am sorry to hear that a comment (that I do not remember posting or can even find) about the Kelowna Councillor salary has swayed you. I have written over 500 answers to questions in the last week alone and I am sure I have been misinterpreted in some, including this one. Just to clarify what my position is regarding the salary; if you are running for the money, then your intentions are not right. If you are running for the future of this city - then good. The actual amount is about 26K and you have to pay all your civic related expenses (almost 9,000.00) and if/when I am elected, I will have nothing left over as I will be spending my salary on community group membership fees, travel to advocate for affordable housing funding to the federal and provincial governments, cost for running the election (signs, travel, advertising, etc.). After this election, and three years in office if/when I am elected, I figure according to my budget, I will have spent over 100K. That is what I mean about a councillor's salary not being a lot of money. I never had any intent of living off my councillor salary - It is only a tool to make the changes Kelowna needs.

I can not think of another job in the world that you have to pay thousands out of your personal pocket to get.

I wish the city would publish how much each Councillor spent of their 9,000.00 that is supposed to be used for civic duty? That would tell you how many are just pocketing the 9,000.00 of tax free money. See the below link from the city website about the 9,000.00 tax free salary:

http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/Page53.aspx

Jason Rock
http://www.jason-rock.com

[grammafreddy]

Hello, Jason

You will not be getting my vote on election day. Unfortunately, you appear to be of the mindset that government should legislate human behaviour and your support for the implementation of a levy for plastic shopping bags has cost you my vote.

Seems trivial enough - but if you tell me I have to pay extra to get my purchases home, then I am not supporting you.

Council's job is not to dictate and punish but to encourage and educate. It may be an incentive to you - but to me it is a money grab.

I don't support the flavour-of-the-month greenhouse issues.

Incidently, I DO use fabric bags, but I object to being told to and penalized if I don't. Sometimes I have too many purchases, and sometimes what I buy will not fit in my bags ... then what??? You think the City has the right to make me pay extra to get my purchases home? I think not.

[Hombre]

Council's job is not to dictate and punish but to encourage and educate. It may be an incentive to you - but to me it is a money grab.

I think the 99.9% of the population who isn't stubbornly contrarian sees it as an incentive.

I won't be supporting Jason for other reasons, but I support this initiative.

[grammafreddy]

Council's job is not to dictate and punish but to encourage and educate. It may be an incentive to you - but to me it is a money grab.

I think the 99.9% of the population who isn't stubbornly contrarian sees it as an incentive.

I won't be supporting Jason for other reasons, but I support this initiative.

Fine, then. Next time I have something that does not fit in my fabric bags, I will call you and/or Jason to come pay for my plastic bag.

It's the piddly little nickel and dime-ing that gets my goat. A nickle here, a dollar there ... all perfectly justifiable depending on how much you buy into the propaganda. It's a fine line, I guess between being a sheep on a string or a lamb to the slaughter. These days I am feeling a whole lot like the lamb - and the politician pulling on the sheep's string is headed straight for the slaughter house.

Not buying it - and I am not supporting the slaughter houses much these days, either.

[Hombre]

Council's job is not to dictate and punish but to encourage and educate. It may be an incentive to you - but to me it is a money grab.

I think the 99.9% of the population who isn't stubbornly contrarian sees it as an incentive.

I won't be supporting Jason for other reasons, but I support this initiative.

Fine, then. Next time I have something that does not fit in my fabric bags, I will call you and/or Jason to come pay for my plastic bag.

It's the piddly little nickel and dime-ing that gets my goat. A nickle here, a dollar there ... all perfectly justifiable depending on how much you buy into the propaganda. It's a fine line, I guess between being a sheep on a string or a lamb to the slaughter. These days I am feeling a whole lot like the lamb - and the politician pulling on the sheep's string is headed straight for the slaughter house.

Not buying it - and I am not supporting the slaughter houses much these days, either.

Man, people are stubborn. Plan ahead and pack an extra bag. Maybe the experience of paying the "fine" would prompt you to alter your behaviour in the future. There's your incentive.

[jason_rock]

Hello Hombre and thank you for your statements.

Just to put this issue in perspective. You and I are actually subsidizing users of plastic bags. Every time we save the store money on bag, the store increases their revenue and uses it to buy more bags. The real goal here in my mind is to rid the use of plastic bags, hopefully have retailers convert to paper like many have done or even better, use reusable bags. The question you are reading is from the Castanet survey which was asking our personal opinion. I could have given a wishy-washy answer about my position on the issue but the goal is to convey that I have opinions that are real. I would not know all the issues until I have a chance to talk to the public. This is an item that I would put up on the city website that would use non-binding polling on issues like this (this concept is on my homepage at http://www.jason-rock.com). My role as a Councillor is to lead and listen to ideas from the public, bring them to a public forum such as my proposed, city run, polling and forum website, and have a healthy debate from all the stakeholders. I do not have an ego and am never afraid to admit if my ideas or proposals are inadequate. However we must not forget, my role as councillor is to serve the public in a citizen centered, open and transparent manner.

Regards
Jason Rock
http://www.jason-rock.com

[3 B's]

I believe you should choose who you vote for by determining which candidates have a similar vision for Kelowna and what their deliverables are in order to meet the vision. Here are my deliverables:

Support CD-21 with a max of 14 stories if possible
Push out crime and drugs
Support organizations that support people who want to help themselves
Complete civic transparency
Green-space requirements for all developments
Attract highly skilled and good paying businesses
No high density development in low density neighbourhoods
Create a "Citizens Input" web-site with polling capabilities
Revitalize our two "Downtowns"; Rutland and City Centre
Reduce property taxes by eliminating wasteful spending
More sports and recreation parks for everyone including our pets
Cycling paths as a requirement when any new road is built
Affordable Single Parent Housing (our children need a voice now)
Relocation of all nuisance wildlife
Begin lobbying the Provincial and Federal government for a second crossing
Zero tolerance noise pollution crackdown (autos, motorcycles, boats)

In order to preserve our city's beautiful greenspace, parks, orchards, and farms, urban sprawl must be curtailed. In order to improve the downtown's image and make it a vibrant community again where one can safely Live, Work, and Play, downtown density needs to be increased while increasing park space. In order to achieve this, the CD-21 Zone needs to be passed. However if there is a way to amend the current proposal without starting over, I would like to see the maximum building height at 14 stories. If this requirement truly will not allow the rezoning to be passed, then I would accept the proposed building heights.

More details at http://www.jason-rock.com

Thanks.

Thanks for your detailed platform Jason. I agree with ALL of it except passing the CD-21 Zone. Unless there is "specified restriction" to the 14 stories that you suggest, it will NOT happen. That is naive. These out of control developers and our present developer loving council will never restrict anything. I would recommend a vote for you if you will amend and take a much firmer stand on that zoning proposal. It's a monster already in the works to happen. We NEED councillors and a Mayor who are adamantly opposed to this monstrosity. I don't hardly recognize the city I moved to 39 years ago. If it isn't stopped now, it won't be, and this once unique city that has already been pillaged beyond belief will be lost forever. Give that point a thought friend. The development, chaotic as it has been for the last three years has me in total turmoil.

[Hombre]

The disconnect between generations on the downtown development is interesting. I'd say 90% people under 30 that I've spoken for are in favour...

[mechanic_virus]

Please list 5 of your top priorities, and how you would deal with each issue if it were completely up to you.

[jason_rock]

Thank-you for your questions. My first five priorities are:

1. Constituent Satisfaction
What is Constituent Satisfaction?
In my own company, we are an ISO 9001:2000 registered. This simply means we have a quality system in place and measure customer satisfaction continuously to ensure what we are doing meets their needs. I believe this is what our own city hall needs to initiate in order to ensure it is meeting the needs of our citizens. Right now, I do not know how our elected officials know they are doing a good job by other than getting re-elected. In my opinion, to wait 3 years to voice my opinion is a little too long to let my Mayor and/or Council know how they are doing. A lot of damage could be done in a few years, especially when our elected officials refuse to use a referendum on key issues.

What I propose is every touch-point with the city has a record number and a satisfaction rating associated with it. For instance, when you view a city of Kelowna webpage on taxation, I should be able rate its usefulness. When I take out a building permit, I can rate the effectiveness of the entire process and how well it serves me. Or if I call the city about my water bill, at the end of the call, I can get an automated operator to ask me to rate the call. Automatically, all these values should be added up in realtime and displayed on the city website to show everyone how well our city works for us. This would not add any burden to the city or user of the city services as it is totally automated and voluntary on the client’s behalf. I know this will work as it is how I manage my own company as the Director of Quality Assurance.

2. Economic Development
Kelowna is promoting itself as the cheapest labour. We need to promote Kelowna as the city that has the infrastructure, talent, schools and resources to sustain high-tech industries such as health-sciences, software and hardware development, and green technologies to name a few.

3. Fire and Police
Both departments are grossly understaffed and is compromising their safety and the safety of the citizens. With all this new development, we need to fix this otherwise, people are going to get hurt. Imaging a high-rise fire when our trucks are only half staffed. That is what is happening now. Just ask a fireman on the front line.

4. Public Safety
As cities get larger, the crime rate goes up. We will have to work closely with the community with the goal to have the lowest crime rate in Canada. Besides the obvious, the benefits of a low crime rate are that it’s easier to market and attract new businesses and it helps attract more tourism dollars to the city. Since the Provincial and Federal governments will not keep criminals in jail, let alone convict them, we will have to use our policing resources and adopt a “make Kelowna an annoying place to do crime” strategy whereas we still bring the habitual criminals in and book them which will inconvenience them for a few hours. One mistake, bring them right back in. Eventually, the criminals will leave and move to other communities. I know this is not a perfect solution, but until the Provincial and Federal governments get tough on crime, it is the only power the city has.

5. Densification of the Downtown
The trees, orchards, lakes, and mountains are only a handful of reasons why Kelowna is a beautiful place to live and a desired destination for the tourism industry. Quickly, we are seeing orchards and wetlands being replaced by high density dwellings. We need to protect these diamonds so all of Kelowna is not just another Harvey Avenue. By densification of the downtown, we will be able to stop urban sprawl, create more units that will lower rental prices, increase the tax base while lowering property taxes, and the funds will be available for the social programs that are needed.

Obviously the following issues are going to be addressed in parallel:
Support organizations that support people who want to help themselves
Green-space requirements for all developments
No high density development in low density neighbourhoods
Reduce property taxes by eliminating wasteful spending
(ie: Simpson Covenant legal fees)
More sports and recreation parks for everyone including our pets
Cycling paths as a requirement when any new road is built
Affordable Single Parent Housing (our children need a voice now)
Relocation of all nuisance wildlife
Begin lobbying the Provincial and Federal government for a second crossing
Zero tolerance noise pollution crackdown (autos, motorcycles, boats)
Transit

If you have any other comments or questions, please ask.

Thanks for your time.

Regards
Jason Rock
for Kelowna City Council

[mechanic_virus]

Thank you, Jason.

[Homeownertoo]

I recently moved back to Kelowna after an absence of 19 years. Granted the city has grown in that time, and I have not been personally affected by crime here (yet). But my impression, garnered from the media, in which I have worked my entire life for what it's worth, is that crime is up dramatically since I left. When I moved here originally in 1981, I was impressed with the city's low crime rate during a period when I worked as a crime-beat reporter. It was already rising by the end of that decade, I recall, and today there is no comparison with my early years here. I also notice how much it seems to be on the minds of residents nowadays, a definite departure from the past.

[jason_rock]

Homeownertoo

Thank-you for your comments. I am not sure how long you have been back for but I hope you are one of the lucky ones to not be victimized.

I feel that I have the only solution to the habitual criminal problem is that we must enact a plan now without waiting for other levels of government or funding. By simply arresting people whom the police catch in the act of crime (theft, vandalism, threats, for example), we at least get them off the streets for a few hours. If they are caught again, we need to arrest them again eventhough we know the courts will let them go. Eventually, the habitual crimial will go to a more "soft on crime" city. Until the province and feds fix our courts and correctional system, there is nothing else we can do to rid the city of habitual criminals.

Regards
Jason Rock
www.jason-rock.com

[nellietheelephant]

Hey Jason

Your signs are getting really annoying.
Eight in a row - in several places - is just pollution - and worse even than graffiti.
It is not achieving the positive effect that you seek!

Nellie