Welcome to my Election 2008 weblog!

Over the past 15 years in my career as a realtor, the nature of my business has been to bring people together, to negotiate, to manage give-and-take situations, and to listen for what really matters.  I started attending council meetings early this year, and have spent the past few months out on the streets, gathering feedback from residents about what really matters to them.

To be a trusted and effective public representative, I believe that there must be accessible two-way communication.  This blog will allow you to tell me what matters most to you, will give me the opportunity to answer your questions, and will outline my stands on issues that impact Nanaimo residents on a daily basis.

I hope this dialogue will give you a better idea of who I am, and how I will serve you as a councillor.

Where, When, and How to vote on Saturday

It can take some time to find election info on the city website.

Here are a few direct links.

1.  Voting Locations

click here to go to a city map with locations.

2.  Times

For most locations, it’s 8AM to 8PM.  Nanaimo Hostpital is 10Am to 4PM, and Protection Fire Hall is 10AM to 6PM.

Advance polling is on November 12.

Click here for more details on where and when to vote.

3.  Not sure if you can Vote?  Or what you need to bring with you?

Click here for more details on who qualifies and the ID required to vote.

If you need a ride to the poll, I’ll be happy to arrange.  Before election day, call 250.741.0426  or e-mail pat@patsquire.com.  On Election Day, call my cell phone number:  751.9271.

South End Votes

The South End Community Association asked candidates 4 questions on their on-line forum, South End Votes.

Over a 10 day period, they published each question, with answers from all candidates under that question.

Here are the questions and the responses I posted:

Q1. The South End is changing.  Would you briefly comment on your understanding of the changes here?

The South End has suffered historically due to zoning changes that saw the area as a place for light industrial and related businesses; its future as a residential neighbourhood was discounted.  However, it’s become an attractive neighbourhood for young families, heritage buffs, and people who want to live near downtown.  Along with industrial buildings are long-term absentee landlords, who don’t need to upgrade their properties to fill them in this rental market.

Recent strategies related to the Cavan/lower Victoria area only moved the problems to the South End. The local residents, in grassroots initiatives working with the city, VIHA, the police, and the CMHA are taking back the neighbourhood in an inclusive and constructive manner.  Deverill Park is becoming a community hub, through local/potluck events, park playground refits, and sports teams using the playing fields.  Beyond the park, the community association has launched its Art Bin project, a newsletter/blog, and regular community events.  I understand a Neighbourhood Plan should be undertaken soon.

Q2. It seems that when the new Island Highway was completed, Nicol Street’s shift from highway to city street was overlooked in the process. We still have cars racing down an underutilized road with few safe crosswalks and no traffic calming measures. Motels that were vibrant decades ago have resorted to housing low-income and transient tenants to keep cash coming in, magnifying the area’s social problems. Further up Nicol, most stores are either struggling or empty, partially due to the lack of parking access or community development.  The province is in charge of highways, the city in charge of streets. What is Nicol Street classified as? If elected, what actions would you recommend to the city to transform Nicol Street from an outdated highway to a vibrant urban corridor?

Nicol Street is a joint jurisdiction with the province responsible from curb to curb, and the city beyond that.  From the intersection by the old firehall to Nicol and South Street – a distance of 1.7 km – there are only 2 crosswalks in an area of the city with a very high concentration of pedestrians and cyclists. This is still primarily a residential area and nowhere else in Nanaimo does this situation occur.  More crosswalks and beautification of blocked-off side streets would be a starter; the dual jurisdiction does not pose an easy solution.

Q3. Most Nanaimo residents understand that both homelessness and affordable housing are critical issues here in Nanaimo.  If you could only support 3 initiatives to deal with these problems, what would they be?

1.  Adhere to the city’s policy of not converting rentals to condos; a recent major example is the attempt to stratify Seacrest Apts.

2.  Apply the will and ability to implement “Nanaimo’s Response to Homelessness”  (tabled July 08) using Toronto’s homelessness plan as a benchmark.

3.  Fast track the ability to legalize rooming houses – for both existing and new construction.

Q4. Over the past term, a motion was filed to build a Multiplex on the wharf lands in the South End, but it was not clear about who would pay for it.  How necessary is a Multiplex?  Who should pay for it…should it be a public or a private enterprise?

Over the past few months, I’ve talked to hundreds of people on the street, and only 2 even mentioned a Multiplex as a point of interest.  There was a lot more concern about the lack of hotel or retail tenants in the new convention centre.

A multiplex is a facility of interest, but not a necessity.  Nanaimo’s role would be in facilitating zoning and licensing.  Development costs would have to be private.

All Candidates Meeting

Someone asked me if I could post my opening and closing comments from the All Candidates Meeting on Monday night.  Here goes:

Opening:

The old axiom  “the whole is equal to the sum of its parts” could benefit by reading the SUM and QUALITY of its parts.

BECAUSE:

IF we find ourselves walking past someone sleeping on the street

IF economic development is pursued with disregard for healthy sustainability

IF we ignore our citizens’ basic expectations of equal treatment and approachable and transparent leadership

IF we fail to respect and protect our heritage

IF any of these elements falls short….so does the WHOLE.

The important aspect of economic prosperity including our ability to develop such fine facilities as where we are tonight cannot be the main elements alone by which we measure out success.

The social well-being of all your citizens, the health of our environment and sustainability of our community are equally important.

As a councilor, I will offer my perspective, my business skills, and track record of getting things done so we don’t fall short.

I’m Pat Squire and I look forward to your support on November 15.

——

Closing:

I want to thank all of you for attending this evening and wish all my fellow candidates the best.

In the weeks and months leading up to tonight, many here have met me in numerous locations across this city.  I went there to talk with you and discover the issues you see as important to Nanaimo.

To me, I find it more desirable to ask someone what they need than dictate what they get.

What emerged in those conversations was not as the paper would have us believe a desire for something like a multiplex but issues much closer to home:  issues such as:

Homelessness

Transparency on city council

Transit, and

the healthy sustainability of our city.

Even moreso:

The need to be heard

A desire for strong, connected neighbourhoods, having a voice in community decision making

In addition there was a consistent acknowledgement that a change of council was due!

Your opportunity is now, and I am here to be part of it.

So through our rich diversity and common needs, let’s build our community together.

I’m Pat Squire.  Good night.

Women in Leadership…?

I received this question from Mary Ann G.:

Hi Pat: I read in your election platform that you would promote women in leadership positions. While I agree (as long as they are competent and it’s not tokenism) and I applaud you for both recognizing and recommending this, I wonder how you would go about making this happen, if elected?

In the top level of city staff, there are 15 key positions.  Only one, Terry Hartley, is a woman, in Human Resources, an area often led by women. That works out to a 6.6% ratio, far below average in both industry and government.

I’m still searching for numbers in the levels below.

Yes, I agree that any initiative like this must be based totally on competency and not on tokenism to achieve some formula.  However, in my experience, there are a plethora of competent women in Nanaimo…why not at City Hall?

The first step to any change is awareness, and the best role I can take is as an advocate.  An effort like this will require education and promotion, and will have greater impact if implemented by someone with authority within the system.  It will take persistence and determination.  Fortunately, I’ve got both.

Most of the women I have worked with in my career have displayed the attributes that I am hearing many voters asking for more of:  collaboration, consensus, community, commitment, connection.  I didn’t intend that to be an alliteration…it just came out that way.

Homelessness and Affordable Housing

Despite the fact that it didn’t seem to be an important issue in the federal election, homelessness is perhaps the most critical issue we are facing today.  This week’s decision in Victoria to allow tenting in parks is a bleak reminder that the homeless need to go somewhere, and that all the money we are spending to give police the never-ending job of “moving them on” might be used in a more positive way.

The problem is that we have no place to put them.  Cities that have been achieving the greatest success i.e.  Portland, New York, Toronto have found that getting people into a home of their own is often the first step on the road to recovery.

The problem with building new housing is that when/where there are up to a dozen stakeholders that need to come together, everything tends to move slowly. The other issue is where the money comes from, and just to simplify, Nanaimo’s current plan is to provide land and planning/management (smart move),  the province to contribute the funds to build, and VIHA to provide the support services to run these homes.  Where’s the Federal government here?

This week, Iain de Jong from the City of Toronto shared some of the techniques that his team has used to get 1,200 people off the streets over the past 3 years.  Basically, the city and agencies decided to tap into the existing rental market by providing targeted landlords with a business case and incentive for renting units to homeless people.  I know, I know what you’re saying here, but the tenant is NOT the tenant himself, but rather the agency, which monitors and manages the suite and the person (my understanding.)  This appeals to landlords…if you had a choice between dealing with low-income tenants that tend to have a short shelf life or a  government-funded master tenant offering you 100% payment and management for a number of your suites, which door would YOU pick?

One of the most interesting  parts of the program is that the new tenants pick both WHERE they live in the city  and WHAT goes into their new apartment (a concept that would really work here, given the high amount of cast-offs we seem to generate in Nanaimo.  This part of the program could help NRC find better premises and avoid the waterlogged furniture that ends up in the dump.)

The Toronto program, which has about a 85% success rate (people staying in their apartments for over 1 year), goes against the traditional idea that all services must be located in one area.  Out of the 15% who have moved, many chose to move AWAY from their dealers, or a former neighbourhood that no longer suits them.  This is considerably different than Vancouver, whose housing societies often keep residents segregated from the rest of the world, and can’t boast of the same success rate in moving people out of addiction and into new lives.

The City intends to adopt both strategies…a bold move.  Whether it works or not will depend upon the details.  And one of the key details will be how it will be marketed.  Businesspeople ie.e landlords and social agencies tend to talk totally different languages….I’ve worked extensively with both.   Effective translation will be critical.

A week of loss

This week we lost 2 of the city’s greatest champions:  Margaret Strongitharm and Gino Sedola.

Margaret’s gifts were many, but the one she is most remembered for is the Port Theatre.  Gino was largely responsible for the reconfiguration of the downtown harbourfront into the parks and walkways that make it so attractive today.

It’s rare to find that kind of public servant today…and I use the word “servant” here deliberately…someone who is dedicated to their community and mindful of the responsibility that comes with such a role.

And that’s why this week’s loss is doubly sad.

Links to Nanaimo Daily News articles about:

Margaret Strongitharm

Gino Sedola

“[Nanaimo] should hold neighbourhoods as the vital building blocks of the city”

According to the October 7 issue of the Nanaimo News Bulletin, about 60% of Nanaimo’s residents live in an area that has a neighbourhood or group association.  Karen Hovestad, chair of the Nanaimo Neighbourhood Network estimates that there are about 20 neighbourhood groups in the city, ranging from informal/unstructured up to non-profit societies.

Many groups tend to form as a response to a particular issue, and then they disband, according to Ms. Hovestad.  In those situations, a neighbourhood is taking a reactive mode.

And yet, perhaps the best way to impact your neighbourhood and the issues in it is to gather the power of the residents and take a proactive role in what happens in your community.  An organized neighbourhood can develop its own community plan, giving it an opportunity to express its vision for development, create gathering places, provide input into future developments and infrastructure, and provide residents with a broader awareness of and connection to their neighbours. It’s pretentious to think that City Hall is going to come up with all the ideas.

Strong community groups, such as the Departure Bay Residents Association, the Neighbours of Nob Hill, and the South End Community Association have managed to develop parks, catch the ear of city staff and council, and initiate neighbourhood-based activities and projects reflective of local needs and creativity.  They have learned that relationships need to be developed and nurtured over time, not on an issue-by-issue basis.

The Neighbourhood Network’s mandates include informal mentoring for start-up and young groups, sharing best practices, and increasing the voice of neighbourhoods in local government…the power in numbers concept.

The new OCP (Official Community Plan), in its vision statement reads “[Nanaimo] should hold neighbourhoods as the vital building blocks of the city. ” To this end the OCP wants three local area residents appointed by the residents’ associations to represent the neighbourhoods at PNAC meetings.

However, Karen discovered a ‘revised terms of reference’ motion by council that would circumvent the selection process, leaving neighbourhood groups out in the cold in having a voice in future community development.

This is the kind of situation that often ends up in the press after it happens, and it’s too late to do anything about it.  Karen was fortunately quick enough to make a presentation to council on September 29 to alter this motion.  It’s a significant decision because it says a lot about the recognition of neighbourhoods…and their residents…as active members in designing Nanaimo’s future.