'Hear, hear!" for the campaign

Great news for my campaign this morning, as the Vancouver Sun's Peter Birnie quotes, in his column today, my entire final response to the Alliance for Arts and Culture's recent questions to candidates.
Better yet, he seems so pleased with my answer that he concludes by writing, "Hear, hear!"
The article is on page D4 of today's paper.
Here's the link to all Coquitlam candidates' answers.
And here's the full text of that final paragraph that Mr. Birnie so admires:

G.K. Chesterton wrote, "There is no such thing on earth as an
uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person." With this in mind, I see the "cultural" sector of our community as one that has the ability to turn an uninterested person into an interested one. This is vital, because an interested person is a better citizen and, ultimately, a better person. To stimulate someone with an engaging work, to open their eyes, to touch their heart--these are essential to human growth. It matters not whether we cry at a play, laugh during a circus, are outraged by an piece of performance art, or experience joy at a music concert; the important thing is that we have been moved--moved emotionally and, perhaps, intellectually. That's education. That's growth. That's being alive. A City Councillor can help direct a few dollars here and there to assist this, of course. But a Councillor's more important role is found in his or her ability to act as a community leader. Councillors can help open doors, facilitate planning, offer moral support, and set an example by attending performances.

Photo of the Evergreen Cultural Centre, from cultureandcommunities.ca

The CUPE issue moves front and centre

Hot on the heels of Jon Ferry's column in today's Province, which is about, in part, the financial and organizational support that CUPE gave to Neal Nicholson in last year's by-election, comes this blockbuster, pictured.
The graphic is of an ad that appeared on page 31 of today's Tri-City News (ironically, right below one of CUPE-endorsed Selina Robinson's ads).
For the record, I had nothing to do with the conception, purchase or placement of the ad. I had heard rumours that Coquitlam businessman William Dick, who is identified as the purchaser of the ad, was contemplating such an action, as he has attended several all-candidates meetings and has been vocal about his opposition to the undue influence of CUPE.
I was pleased to see that Mr. Dick, who two months ago donated to my campaign, had explained the controversy so well and, further, that he had gone so far as to endorse a group of independent candidates, including me, for council.
As readers of this blog and my Facebook page know, I have been writing about this subject for several weeks now in the hopes that the public would take notice. With today's publication of Mr. Ferry's column (which I blogged about earlier) and Mr. Dick's ad, it seems my efforts are finally bearing some fruit.

Slow & expensive to build in Coquitlam

The Vancouver Sun has published an interesting and timely story today about the high costs and lengthy delays that developers often face when doing business in the Lower Mainland.
The City of Coquitlam's record is neither the worst nor the best, but it certainly has a lot of room for improvement.
The story is based on an annual survey conducted by the Vancouver chapter of the National Association of Industrial Office Properties. The group's survey asked each City Hall to identify costs and processing times for a new, two-storey, 100,000-square-foot industrial warehouse distribution building on 5.5 acres, requiring both subdivision and rezoning.
Burnaby was the most affordable, at $170,000, and Richmond was the most expensive, at $1.03 million. Coquitlam came in at $434,000.
As for the processing time, Chilliwack and Abbotsford posted the quickest turnarounds, at 90 days, and Vancouver and New West were slowest at 270 days. At 210 days, Coquitlam wasn't much better.
This is clearly an issue the new council has to deal with. We already know that our high business taxes are hurting business development here. Our slow approvals and high costs must surely make the situation even worse.

Two weeks to go

This is the second time I've run for a seat on Coquitlam city council, the first coming a year-and-a-half ago, when I contested a by-election. The campaigns are similar in many respects--funds have to be raised; signage designed; invaluable volunteers organized (thanks to everyone who's helping!); paperwork completed; ads designed and placed; pamphlets written, printed and circulated. Et cetera.
The big difference is in the number of organizations that want to know your platform or want to know your position on a specific issue. So far, I've responded to detailed questions from the Now, the News and the Vancouver Sun. I've also filled out questionnaires from the arts community, and am in the process of answering a very detailed one from Greater Vancouver homebuilders.
There are a few others I've completed, as well. But I've let the politically charged "Living Wage" query slip by. And, oh yes, I travelled downtown a few weeks ago to tape a two-minute presentation for Shaw TV. It and hundreds of others were airing yesterday.
And then there are the all-candidates meetings. I recall participating in four during the by-election campaign. This time, there are a seven, count 'em, seven for council candidates. Yesterday's, sponsored by the Civic Association of Iranian-Canadians (pictured, courtesy of the association), was the third. We have the final four over the next seven days.
All in all, it's quite the schedule, and makes me evermore appreciative of the higher-level politicians who campaign for months or, in the case of the U.S. presidential race, years on their way to elected office.
And one final thought: It's hard not to come to the conclusion that there's really no excuse for citizens to say they aren't voting because they don't know anything about the candidates. There's more information out there than ever before, in print and especially online.