Municipal Election All-Candidates Forum

Neither of which offset the number of hours most of our new councillors and mayor will work, if they’re putting the time in that they should be.

I think the people running are doing it for the right reasons, but I guess we know what mrgonzo is after if he ever runs.

I agree with you eccentric, but they need to be at the table making the decisions. The best dialogue happens face to face, not via teleconference call. I can think of one example that is still in the public’s thoughts as we go into another election. Ms. Huddlestone was elected to the School District and spent months on teleconferencing from Terrace. This was at a time when the board was in consultation with the public on school closures.

Why should boards/councils tolerate an absenteeism member? If you are going to run for a position, then you darn well better attend the meetings and any other committees you are appointed to!

[quote=“Council Watch”]I agree with you eccentric, but they need to be at the table making the decisions. The best dialogue happens face to face, not via teleconference call. I can think of one example that is still in the public’s thoughts as we go into another election. Ms. Huddlestone was elected to the School District and spent months on teleconferencing from Terrace. This was at a time when the board was in consultation with the public on school closures.

Why should boards/councils tolerate an absenteeism member? If you are going to run for a position, then you darn well better attend the meetings and any other committees you are appointed to![/quote]

Thank you for driving my point home clearly. Obviously, I was trying to be too clever for my own good. If you can’t be there consistently, don’t run. Let somebody that is willing and able to put in facetime do the job instead.

[quote=“MiG”]Hi Lee,

Thanks for recording and uploading the videos. This is awesome. Would you mind if we chopped them up and uploaded them on skeena.org as well? We’ll give you (and Jen’s campaign) full credit, of course.[/quote]

votejenrice.com/all-candidates-video-recordings

No problem Mig - you can copy and paste all the content on that page if you wish, timeline and all. I’ve just put up video #4 online and #5 is uploading at the moment and I will send you the link once its finished asap.

Thank you for mentioning the credit, it took me awhile to do that timeline :wink:

votejenrice.com/all-candidates-video-recordings

Thanks :smile:

Lee

Well the Vancouver Sun isn’t going out of its way to cover the boonies, here’s there Prince Rupert page for the election, lamer than lame.

vancouversun.com/news/munici … ml?mid=106

I agree not much in the way of information in the Sun but looking around town and the amount who have put their name forward , there does not seem to be much action on the front . Ms. Rice had a few followers in front of the Court House earlier today braving the rain . I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Kirk yesterday and he was very down to earth , no promises (which I like ) he just hopes if he gets a seat to work as a team to be up front and deal with issues . It seems like some are just too sure of the outcome so now they sit back.

My oh my, it’s surprising how successfully Mussallem has put Ms Bedard on the defensive with his rather unseemly campaign of personal attacks against other candidates. Recall his “Election Alert” last week, reporting that he’s the only resident property owner and taxpayer on the ballot, bar none apparently.

Ms Bedard counters in The Northern View with an ad entitled “NONSENSE!”, stating among other things:

“Yes, I am a renter in Prince Rupert and pay $30,000 in property taxes for Hecate Strait’s location”

I would have thought the Hecate Strait society paid its own taxes. Or maybe Hecate Strait really isn’t an organization, it’s Kathy all by herself. Further information might assist …

“Yes, Ron and I have lived in Prince Rupert and we would do so again, but …”

But what? The taxes are too high? The sight of unemployed youths huddled together spitting on the sidewalks is just too much to bear compared to life in bucolic Port Ed? Empty storefronts are too depressing? Train whistles would keep them awake at night? Or maybe she just doesn’t like the place that much, as in “nice place to visit, but …” Perhaps she’ll get back to us on that one.

She then reassures us that Diane Watts, mayor of Surrey, the fastest growing city in the province, lives in Cloverdale [which is actually part of Surrey, according to View reporter Alan Hale in an article about a recent mayoralty forum].

For good measure and to further remind us that her residence should not be an issue or concern she adds that the mayor of Toronto doesn’t live there either. “It doesn’t stop him from serving the City!”

Yes, and being an out of towner also hasn’t stopped mayor Rob Ford from swearing at a 911 dispatcher and doing his damnest to close local branch libraries. I’m not sure that he’s the most inspiring role model for any of our local leaders, truth be told.

Piece of advice Kathy. Frame the issues in your own terms. Don’t let the incumbent honcho frame them for you.

[quote=“BTravenn”]My oh my, it’s surprising how successfully Mussallem has put Ms Bedard on the defensive with his rather unseemly campaign of personal attacks against other candidates. Recall his “Election Alert” last week, reporting that he’s the only resident property owner and taxpayer on the ballot, bar none apparently.

Ms Bedard counters in The Northern View with an ad entitled “NONSENSE!”, stating among other things:

“Yes, I am a renter in Prince Rupert and pay $30,000 in property taxes for Hecate Strait’s location”

I would have thought the Hecate Strait society paid its own taxes. Or maybe Hecate Strait really isn’t an organization, it’s Kathy all by herself. Further information might assist …

“Yes, Ron and I have lived in Prince Rupert and we would do so again, but …”

But what? The taxes are too high? The sight of unemployed youths huddled together spitting on the sidewalks is just too much to bear compared to life in bucolic Port Ed? Empty storefronts are too depressing? Train whistles would keep them awake at night? Or maybe she just doesn’t like the place that much, as in “nice place to visit, but …” Perhaps she’ll get back to us on that one.

She then reassures us that Diane Watts, mayor of Surrey, the fastest growing city in the province, lives in Cloverdale [which is actually part of Surrey, according to View reporter Alan Hale in an article about a recent mayoralty forum].

For good measure and to further remind us that her residence should not be an issue or concern she adds that the mayor of Toronto doesn’t live there either. “It doesn’t stop him from serving the City!”

Yes, and being an out of towner also hasn’t stopped mayor Rob Ford from swearing at a 911 dispatcher and doing his damnest to close local branch libraries. I’m not sure that he’s the most inspiring role model for any of our local leaders, truth be told.

Piece of advice Kathy. Frame the issues in your own terms. Don’t let the incumbent honcho frame them for you.[/quote]

LOL, well you pretty well hit the nail on the head there, that was a total waste of advertising.

What I’d really like to see, but suspect I won’t, is that the candidates tell us what they would do for the city, how they would change the current situation (incumbents of course are at a disadvantage as they kind of have been part of the mess).

I have yet to see one candidate really outline how they would make a difference, what they would change, would be nice to know.

Interesting developments in other parts of the province

vancouversun.com/news/munici … story.html

[quote=“Smurfette”]

What I’d really like to see, but suspect I won’t, is that the candidates tell us what they would do for the city, how they would change the current situation (incumbents of course are at a disadvantage as they kind of have been part of the mess).

I have yet to see one candidate really outline how they would make a difference, what they would change, would be nice to know.[/quote]

The candidates do indeed seem a bit reluctant to tell the electors what exactly they would do or change if elected.

Councillor Ashley has kept transparency and accountability on the agenda, closed session meetings being a particular matter of concern. She has pushed that issue since the beginning of her first term, thus incurring displays of machismo and other bombast by our head honcho mayor on occasion. But she has stuck to the issue and seems to have a grasp of the complexities that does not come across from other candidates.

I’m not sure that the other incumbents have much credibility on the issue, having contributed to the problem for the last three years. Councillor Thorkelson has talked about a more open budget process, which would be welcome, but that doesn’t entirely square with her strident defence on skeena.org of past practice around closed meetings. Using authority under the Community Charter to close meeting after meeting to discuss the annual municipal report strains credibility after a while.

Disclosure of the inner workings of the peoples’ telecom has come up for discussion. The councillors seem to have been greatly reassured by a report by Citywest that all is well.

Citywest’s presentation makes for rather cheery reading, although on closer inspection the telecom acknowledges that it has been pretty much wiped out of the cell phone market, but may make another foray with more competitive technology next year. We also learn that they lost about 300 landline customers in Rupert last year, and are now below 8,000. That seems consistent with national trends as customers increasingly rely on cellular and abandon copper wire technology. The rest of the report requires decryption.

Councillor Ashley has talked about greater disclosure of Citywest information and a cost-benefit analysis. One would hope that stewards of public funds would scrutinize the investment portfolio and seek some independent advice on occasion.

Taxation has come up for discussion with all candidates reassuring us that they will avoid tax increases. The rate of inflation has been suggested as a benchmark and greater use of referenda has been talked about. A low tax platform has some obvious appeal, but also begs a question or two about how the candidates propose to deal with the city’s massive infrastructure deficit of worn out water lines, roads and so on. It’s kind of the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone gingerly dances around.

If the RCMP sends the council an invoice for the replacement cost of a new police station, or if some critical services like water lines start to fail, what happens then? If the candidates are all going to hold the line on taxes and they are not going to consider selling off some assets, when the other shoe drops on some of these major cost items, the question that comes to mind for the candidates to answer is whatcha gunno do?

Unlike candidates running for MLA or MP, municipal candidates usually do not have a large party machinery behind them with all the different policy proposals that a large team can muster. That makes it difficult for municipal candidates to make surefire promises.

Having said that, candidates can say what they would like to accomplish on council. What I have heard from various individuals and what I hope a seven member team can accomplish is the following.

  1. a resolution to the ongoing dispute over Watson Island or failing that a reasonably transparent explanation of what is going on that is preventing that resolution
  2. a budget process that has public input and one that includes no tax increase above the level of inflation without a referendum
  3. a clear plan for the improvement of our infrastructure (I realize that 2 and 3 are almost contradictory but that makes a transparent process even more important)
  4. a resolve on the part of council to fight upper level governments for more money to help us with #3.
  5. a willingness on the part of council to work with other members/groups in the city (service groups, organizations, the school board, provincial ministries etc) to share expertise, facilities and maybe even money for the common good of the town. I am referring to health issues or recreation issues or youth issues etc.
  6. some kind of plan that will result in businesses feeling that Prince Rupert is a place to invest. I am not talking about pulp mill size businesses. There are lots of opportunities for small/intermediate businesses to do well here which would add jobs and increase our tax base.
  7. some kind of plan that will ensure that the amenities that we have (despite our declining tax base) continue to give us pleasure (Lester Centre, library, pool etc)

I am going from memory of what I have heard candidates say. I am sure there have been other ideas out there.

The key to all of that is a willingness on the part of a future council to work towards those goals, not just pay them lip service. I have 3-4 candidates that I feel are up to that job at least up to where I feel they deserve my vote. I know I don’t agree with everybody. Others probably think their 3-4 candidates are up to the job.

But our responsibility doesn’t end when we cast our ballot on Nov 19.

One of the things that I appreciate about living in a small town (after growing up in Vancouver) is the closeness we have to our elected officials. I am not unique here, but with the current council members I am familiar with all of them that we at least nod hello when we pass on the street. Several of the newcomers, and at least two will be elected, fall in the same category. Some I know better, but none of them, at least to me, are unapproachable.

So my promise, and I hope others make the same promise: whenever I feel that something is not being done that I think should be done regarding city business, when I see council members on the street, I will stop and have a polite chat rather than just nod hello.

A question for the Mayoralty and Councillor candidates:

If infrastructure is such a huge back-issue now, how is the City going to handle an influx of new business expansion when new opportunities present themselves that require cash or in-kind contributions, such as: Tsimshian Access Project; demand for new housing/accommodation and services; harbour development on the Peninsula side of the harbour? Short-, medium- and long-term plans?

Jim Dopson

I agree with this totally…especially about area’s for new housing.

Right now you pretty much have Edward Street subdivision or sparse lots up on Parker/Eagle…outside of that, there is very few favourable areas in the city to build a new house…anyone currently living here looking to build, instead of buying some of the overpriced, old, run down houses, is sort of in a “handcuffed” position at the moment.

[quote=“bthedog”]I agree with this totally…especially about area’s for new housing.

Right now you pretty much have Edward Street subdivision or sparse lots up on Parker/Eagle…outside of that, there is very few favourable areas in the city to build a new house…anyone currently living here looking to build, instead of buy some of the overpriced, old, run down houses, is kinda of in “handcuffed” position at the moment.[/quote]

This is getting slightly off topic but before there are any more subdivisions developed I’d like to see some of the vacant lots and derelict houses/properties used to build new homes. There are building lots in town and developing what we already have may make some if these residential areas that were once desirable to live in attractive once again. Just a thought.

It’s good that the candidates are talking about taking issues to the people, but a lot depends on whether council members are also willing to act as leaders.

The current mayor’s avoidance of referenda and preference for alternative approval processes that are really non-decisions, is concerning. He has not done much to address the infrastructure deficit. The council seems to have been frozen (or asleep?) at the wheel, incapable of making difficult decisions that they are willing to take to the people. There hasn’t been much leadership.

Meanwhile they’ve increased taxes, mostly it seems to give pay increases to civic employees. There is a comment on skeena.org that when taxes have been increased by 4.5% salaries and wages have been increased accordingly. If true, that should be cause for grave concern. That approach does not encourage the local civil service to look for cost savings and efficiencies.

Councillors who think that everything should be left to the electors, as if the council is just a passive player that does what the electors want and otherwise does nothing, really do not deserve our support.

I would have much more confidence in candidates who, if elected, would not only take tax increases to the people at a referendum, but who would also argue for those increases because they have a plan, they have exhausted efforts to secure federal-provincial funding (which is often cost shared locally), and they believe the expenditures are required. As leaders they should make a case to the electors.

That approach has been lacking here over the last three years. Major infrastructure issues have been deferred or avoided, although the mayor ran on a platform of addressing those concerns (he talked about selling off surplus assets to help pay for the cost). In the end, taxes have been increased without much to show for it in terms of better infrastructure and facilities, and without input from the public.

[quote=“Crazy Train”]

[quote=“bthedog”]I agree with this totally…especially about area’s for new housing.

Right now you pretty much have Edward Street subdivision or sparse lots up on Parker/Eagle…outside of that, there is very few favourable areas in the city to build a new house…anyone currently living here looking to build, instead of buy some of the overpriced, old, run down houses, is kinda of in “handcuffed” position at the moment.[/quote]

This is getting slightly off topic but before there are any more subdivisions developed I’d like to see some of the vacant lots and derelict houses/properties used to build new homes. There are building lots in town and developing what we already have may make some if these residential areas that were once desirable to live in attractive once again. Just a thought.[/quote]

Well please tell me where these vacant GOOD lots are besides the ones I mentioned above.

As for the derelict homes, WHY should anyone looking to drop over 250K for as house even CONSIDER these homes…you can build a brand spanking new home for 350K and have it look and be the way you want it , rather than buying a derelict house for 250K and spending tens of thousands more to update a house built in the 60s or 70s.

[quote=“bthedog”]

Well please tell me where these vacant GOOD lots are besides the ones I mentioned above.

As for the derelict homes, WHY should anyone looking to drop over 250K for as house even CONSIDER these homes…you can build a brand spanking new home for 350K and have it look and be the way you want it , rather than buying a derelict house for 250K and spending tens of thousands more to update a house built in the 60s or 70s.[/quote]

There are building lots on 11th East, 6th East, India, Alfred St., Graham, 7th East, Crestview, 8th East and those on Edward St and Eagle as you mentioned. There may be more but I’m going by memory and these are what’s coming to mind. Perhaps some of the old war time houses that are beyond repair can be torn down and rebuilt. There are options which could clean the town up rather than just creating new subdivisions. Maybe it’s not as easy as that but like I said, it’s just a thought.

[quote=“MrGonzo2006”]A question for the Mayoralty and Councillor candidates:

If infrastructure is such a huge back-issue now, how is the City going to handle an influx of new business expansion when new opportunities present themselves that require cash or in-kind contributions, such as: Tsimshian Access Project; demand for new housing/accommodation and services; harbour development on the Peninsula side of the harbour? Short-, medium- and long-term plans?[/quote]

I’m mainly interested in what is being prepared for new businesses to locate here and build, with utilities being in place and provided by the City, such as water, sewer, land, etc.

Good afternoon,

I was advised of your post to this forum late last evening and feel compelled to respond. Firstly I wish to state that I have been a resident of Prince Rupert for over 40 years, having been born and raised here and then returning to the city in 1986 when I got married. I come from a long line of relatives who have made Prince Rupert their home for many many years and am proud to say that I am a “Rupertite”. What seems to be at issue is the community misperception of my residency and I wish to inform the community that I am home and gainfully employed in our city of Prince Rupert and have been for over the past year, working at the Prince Rupert Campus of Northwest Community College. In addition, I have been employed with Northern Health since 2007 and worked at the Prince Rupert Health Unit for several years and then due to the end of a project I was working on, was reduced to 4 hours a week. As a widowed parent of a young teenager, it was difficult to think about looking outside of the community for employment, and as the economy in our region was slow at the time, I was fortunate to be able to make a short-term commitment for employment in Terrace commuting back and forth between my home and Terrace on a weekly basis. I never left Prince Rupert permanently, my son remained in the city to go to highschool and I went to work for the week in another community and came home to take care of my home and family on the weekends. My house is here in Prince Rupert which I maintain and pay taxes on and my permanent address is Prince Rupert. I don’t know about you, but I am not able to pay a mortgage, and look after the needs of my family on four hours a week of employment and therefore made the heartwrenching decision to make the weekly commute back and forth.

My commitment as a board member on the Board of Education is unwavering as I continued to participate in meetings via teleconference and other electronic means and would participate in person when the weather and roads permitted during the winter months. You are welcome to look at my participation record for board meetings and for committee work and will see that I remained committed and dedicated to the students and to the community of Prince Rupert. What is particularly disturbing to me however is how rumours and misunderstandings are circulated within our city without anyone contacting me directly for an explanation of what has been going on. When I found out I was going to commute between the two communities I immediately researched the School Act for any policies on trustees residing outside of the area and there is nothing there. I also contacted the BC School Trustees Association and spoke with the Executive Director about working in another community and responsibilities as a trustee. I was assured that this was okay. Obviously my commitment to the community weighed heavily on my mind and I was prepared to resign from the board even though I had not left the community permanently. I spoke with both the Superintendent and Board Chair and was asked to think about remaining on the board.While this was not an ideal situation, I would make the best of this and continue to be as actively involved as I could. I kept in regular contact with the Superintendent, Secretary-Treasurer, Board Chair and other district staff while I was out of the community, never waivering from my commitment as your trustee. I attended committee meetings outside of the community as your board representative to the BC Public School Employers Association and brought forward board concerns to the provincial trustee representative council on bargaining issues, etc. I also participated on other board committees that I was assigned to and was in regular contact with committee chairs, etc. Please know that I was doing what I could while outside of the community and continued to spend hours of time representing Prince Rupert, our School District and our community of learners.

For the past year I have been employed with Northwest Community College in Prince Rupert working directly with the Dean of Student Development and Instruction. Putting on my trustee hat for a moment, this position has been tremendously rewarding both personally and professionally. Being a trustee who is responsible alongside our board for our public education system k-12, it was particularly enlightening to me to see firsthand the transition of our highschool graduates attending the college system. This has been a very valuable opportunity for me and which I am extremely honoured to have been part of. If you think of a well-rounded trustee, I think of my involvement in the district as a parent who participated in the Parent Advisory Councils, then District PAC, representative at the provincial level working alongside all of our education partners on the board of the BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils, then nationally on the board of the Canadian Home and School Federation, which is the national voice of parents.I also participated as a parent representative on a number of district committees prior to my election to the board of education. I represented the District PAC at the ABC Budget Meetings; Partners in Education; District Improvement Team meetings, and others. This background in my opinion is invaluable, allowing me to have an intimate understanding of the working of education leaders across our nation and having the opportunity to impact changes our education system. I continue to promote the good work of our school district and am very proud of our students and their achievements as I am of our teachers who have taken on the leadership program and others who have invested their time and energy to make our education system in Prince Rupert the very best it can be. I am proud to say that I have a few relatives in the community who have had long careers in our district as educators, Mr. Wick and Mrs. Ballinger ( my maiden name by the way is Ballinger, if you are looking for a connection…)

While the board has made some very difficult decisions over the course of their term, school closures has been a real difficult option for our community. While this board has closed schools and has cleaned up alot of other outstanding issues in the district, the school closures were a topic that with previous boards there was reluctancy to do anything about as there was great hope in our community rebounding from the economic strife it had encountered over the previous years with our mill closure, and other resources dwindling in our region. It is always good to remain hopeful that one day we will rebound and I am ever so optomistic about that, having seen Prince Rupert at its best and seeing Prince Rupert undergoing some growing pains over the past number of years. Unfortunately due to some technology issues at a couple of the schools during the school closure presentations, and through no fault of my own, I wasn’t able to connect to the links to participate in a few of the community meetings. I did however communicate thoughts and concerns with our board chair and superintendent at that time. So I hope that I have addressed some of the concerns that you have expressed in your recent posts about my involvement and commitment on your board of education.

One thing that is unwavering is the commitment of your board of education to deliver a great education to all of our learners, that they all so deserve. We are all here for the right reasons and I hope you will know that I have put my name forward for re-election for all the right reasons: to work with our teachers to work out a collective agreement that will be agreeable to all parties; to work with our support staff to ensure that they are included in professional development opportunites, and that their collective agreement is bargained in good faith as well; to work with our administrators in our schools and parents to make our education system it can be for all of students to excel and to be proud of the community in which they come from.

My only wish is that community members would have come to me directly and asked me what was going on and not have to address community misperceptions about my participation and motivation to the board of education in this type of venue. My intentions are pure and my willingness to continue to work with all of our education partners with respect and dignity in our discussions about education is paramount and I remain committed to our students and to our community in which we live. I am proud to be from this community and my address remains as Prince Rupert, a city in which I live and work and love to call home.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your post.

Sincerely,

Terri-Lynne

[quote=“terrihuddlestone”]Good afternoon,

I was advised of your post to this forum late last evening and feel compelled to respond. … What seems to be at issue is the community misperception of my residency and I wish to inform the community that I am home and gainfully employed in our city of Prince Rupert and have been for over the past year, working at the Prince Rupert Campus of Northwest Community College…

My commitment as a board member on the Board of Education is unwavering as I continued to participate in meetings via teleconference and other electronic means and would participate in person when the weather and roads permitted during the winter months. You are welcome to look at my participation record for board meetings and for committee work and will see that I remained committed and dedicated to the students and to the community of Prince Rupert. …
[/quote]

As it turns out a couple of days ago I reviewed the Board meeting minutes for the last school year. I note that you have attended every board meeting. Here are the attendance records for the incumbent trustees:

Huddlestone 11/11 (100%)
Kuntz 11/11 (100%)
Last 10/11 (91%)
Weins 10/11 (91%)
Sanchez 9/11 (82%)
Beil 9/11 (82%)
Alexcee 7/11 (64%)

[quote=“Council Watch”]I agree with you eccentric, but they need to be at the table making the decisions. The best dialogue happens face to face, not via teleconference call. I can think of one example that is still in the public’s thoughts as we go into another election. Ms. Huddlestone was elected to the School District and spent months on teleconferencing from Terrace. This was at a time when the board was in consultation with the public on school closures.

Why should boards/councils tolerate an absenteeism member? If you are going to run for a position, then you darn well better attend the meetings and any other committees you are appointed to![/quote]

Two thoughts, Council Watcher. First, you definitely don’t win the fact checker of the month award.

Second, welcome to the electronic age. Municipal councils and school boards provide for electronic participation. Societies and corporations increasingly provide for such participation. Courts increasingly receive evidence by electronic means. The notion that a person can only participate by being physically present seems a bit out-moded.

Attendance in one form or another is of course important. My thought on reviewing the record is that it may be time for Trustee Alexcee to retire or be retired. Missing over a third of the meetings is rather poor.

Sorry Leonard, but sometimes things have to be said, particularly when another trustee, who as it turns out has a perfect attendance record, has been unfairly maligned.