Category: 2011 Municipal Election Campaign

Thank you!

Well, the race is done. 7th, up from 9th last time. I am content, but saddened I didn’t get elected. I want to thank everybody who voted for me, donated, volunteered, or otherwise supported me. It just isn’t possible without all of you. I am humbled by all the support I did receive.

But as I said to Michelle Kirby a few days before the election, win or lose, the sun will rise Sunday morning (Today is a little cloudy, however) and we will go back to work doing the great things we both do in the community. I am very happy that she is now lucky enough to be able to do that work at the council table, and I will continue to do good works with the Community Association, the Community Initiatives Committee with active transportation, with Rotary, and others.

Yours,

Corey

Notes from the second All Candidates meeting

The Community Association of Oak Bay and the North Henderson Resi9dents Association jointly hosted the second and final all candidates meeting here in Oak Bay. Again, I took notes but I know I missed a few questions:

  • Oak bay lodge
  • Bowker creek
  • 4 story limit
  • Amalgamation
  • Oak Bay lodge delay
  • Source of campaign funds, specifically developers
  • Secondary suites
  • Communication
  • Secondary suites committee
  • Role of council
  • Coordination of municipalities
  • Oak Bay lodge parking
  • Deer

 

Advance polling tomorrow and next Wednesday

Oak Bay is holding its advance polling tomorrow (November 9th) and next Wednesday, November 16th, at Oak Bay Municipal Hall, 2167 Oak Bay Avenue. Both days the polls run from 8pm to 8pm. Unlike in some past years, you don’t need a reason to vote in the advance poll.

Below is some information if you are not registered: (The list comes from the 2009 Provincial Election)

RESIDENT ELECTORS WHO ARE NOT ON VOTERS LIST
In order for a person who has not previously registered as a resident elector to register
as an elector at the time of voting, it will be necessary for that person to produce at
least 2 documents that provide evidence of their identity and place of residence, at
least one of which must contain the applicant’s signature, or provide 2 documents that
provide evidence of their identify, at least one of which must contain the applicant’s
signature, and make a solemn declaration as to their place of residence within the
meaning of Section 52 of the Local Government Act.

NON-RESIDENT PROPERTY ELECTORS WHO ARE NOT ON VOTERS LIST
Persons wishing to register as a non-resident property elector on advance voting day
may apply to do so by producing at least 2 documents that provide evidence of their
identity, at least one of which must contain the applicant’s signature. Special
conditions apply to the registration of a non-resident property elector. Please contact
the Chief Election Officer for further information in this regard at 250-598-3311.

One All Candidates done, one to come

Well, one all candidates is done. Speaking last was the distinct advantage of getting to listen to everybody else, but you do get to stew in your own nervousness for over 20 minutes while everybody else talks. Jason Ross of ModernDemocracy.ca was there again with his video cameras, which was excellent, so those you following at home can see. I tried collect all the questions I could while they came up, and I think I managed to get most of them:

  • Child care – How are you going to provide more spots?
  • Secondary suites
  • Traffic on the avenue – How are you going to deal with heavy traffic on the avenue and surrounding residential streets
  • Young families – How do you attract more to Oak Bay
  • Affordable housing – How to you provide more
  • Town hall meetings – Why haven’t we had more?
  • Oak bay lodge
  • Smart meters, and health
  • Deer issue – What is Oak Bay and the CRD doing about it?
  • Community engagement young families – How do you engage young families in the community
  • CRD accountability
  • Sewage infrastructure
  • P3’s water/sewage – Do you support keeping water and sewage infrastructure and operation public
  • Composting -When is it coming to the rest of Oak Bay?

Thanks to everybody that came out. If you missed it, we have another opportunity next Tuesday, November 7th, 7-9pm, at Emmanuel Baptist Church. Thanks to the North Henderson Residents Association and the Community Association of Oak Bay for hosting these.

Black Press (Oak Bay News) questionnaire for council candidates

We would like to welcome you to the Oak Bay News’ candidate questionnaire for the 2011 civic election.
The News is offering all council candidates the opportunity to have their views on a variety of issues published in the print editions leading up to the election Nov. 19.
To that end, we are requesting that you answer the questions to the best of your ability, in 50 words or less (we will edit for length if over 50, so please respect the length limit).
1. Name

Corey Burger

2. Age

29

3. Occupation

Social Science Researcher and Event Manager for a variety of companies
and organizations in Victoria

4. Family status

Single

5. Political experience

Candidate, Oak Bay Council, 2008

Member, Oak Bay Community Initiatives Committee (council-appointed)
Volunteer, CRD Pedestrian and Cycling Master Plan Citizens’ Advisory Council
Director (on leave), Community Association of Oak Bay
Public Relations Chair, Rotary Club of Oak Bay

6. How long have you lived   in the municipality?

On and off for most of my life

If you don’t  live here, why are you running in Oak Bay?
n/a
7. What do you feel is the single biggest issue in this election?

Community engagement

8. How do you hope to solve it?

We need to reach people where they already are, by using modern technology, but more importantly going into the community to libraries, coffee shops, community centres, and other similar places. Any engagement also needs to be continuous, not just when a majorissue forces it.

9. What do you think council has done well this term?

Starting the process of updating the Official Community Plan.
Commissioning and passing the Active Transportation Plan. Holding a
town hall earlier this year, albeit at the demand of residents.

10. What would do you do on council to improve it?

I would work first by putting community engagement first as we work on updating the Official Community Plan, the Active Transportation Plan, and other large projects . Keep a similar community focus when working with regional partners on the CRD sewage treatment plan and BC Transit’s 25 Year plan.

UVic Students’ Society Municipal Candidate Survey

Dear Candidate,

On behalf of the over 17,000 undergraduate students at the University of Victoria, we are sending you this survey comprised of questions that are hot-button municipal issues on our campus. We invite you to fill out this survey and return it to us by Sunday October 30th at the latest. We will disseminate the information provided to students and youth in Greater Victoria. Thank you for your participation and assistance engaging students with municipal issues! Feel free to attach your answers on a separate page. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,
Dylan Sherlock

Director of Finance and Operations
University of Victoria Students’ Society

What will you do to increase affordable housing for students in your municipality?
To help provide more housing for students and seniors, I would legalize secondary suites and laneway houses. Also, I would work with other municipalities and seniors levels of government to get funding restored to help build new apartment buildings and student residences at UVIc and Camosun.

What are your priorities for public transit, and how do students fit into these priorities?
I want to see the Victoria Regional Rapid Transit project, LRT out to the West Shore, under construction within the next three years. I would work with BC Transit to speed buses up using stop reduction and signal prioritization on their busy routes, especially those into UVic. I would also work with UVic and the provincial government to get a new transit exchange built at UVic, as the current exchange is at capacity. Both of these will help students travel faster and easier to campus.

What are the solutions to congestion and lack of capacity in the public transportation system?
Part of the solution is moving the buses faster, through signal prioritzation, but there are other steps that can be taken. Those
include adding more buses on busy routes and building a new transit exchange at UVic. All of these require the provincial or federal
government to step up to the plate and provide some capital funding. However, if it comes as a request of the region as a whole, it is much more likely to succeed.

How do students fit into local community development measures?
Students are a vital part of a vibrant Oak Bay, and a vibrant Greater Victoria. We need to talk more with students when it comes to the new Oak Bay Official Community Plan and the Active Transportation Plan.

What will you do to improve the sustainability of the operations of the municipality?
Oak Bay has already been working on making our recreation centre more sustainable, but we need to extend that work into our other
municipally-owned buildings, such as the town hall. I would also continue to acquire, where possible, hybrid and electric vehicles for the municipal fleet.

What is your position on bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure?
I am strongly in favour of more bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure. I was a member of the Citizen’s Advisory Council for the CRD’s Pedestrian and Cycling Master Plan, plus I am a member of the Municipality of Oak Bay’s Community Initiatives Committee, which is tasking with improving active transportation in Oak Bay. We recently passed an Active Transportation Plan, and I  committed to getting much as possible of the Active Transportation Plan and the PCMP built in the next three years.

How do you see recreation services for students in the municipalities improving?
We need to continue the region-wide recreation pass, as it has been a great success. We also need to keep offering student rates at our recreation centres. One place where students could play a key role is with inter-generational relationship building from UVic and Camosun to Monterey Centre, which caters primarily to the older population.

How will you increase student voter turnout in municipal elections? Are you willing to commit to campus poll stations by 2014?
To start, the municipal councillors need to be on campus more, both as candidates and as elected councillors, through teaching and other experiential learning programs. I strongly support campus polling stations in 2014 and would start work immediately to hopefully make that happen.

How will you better include youth in decision making process of the municipality?
We need to go out and do more community engagement, both using newer technologies, but also going into the places where people already are, which includes both UVic and Camosun campuses. Also, I would support getting more students engaged with the municipality as part of their studies with more experiential learning.

What is your position on open data initiatives?
I believe that  open data is very important, as it allows citizens to get more engaged in government, and gives them a better picture of how their world operates. However, open data must be done to allow the greatest possible reuse of the data, so must not place undue
restrictions on commercial activity or require onerous reporting.

What is your position on harm reduction services?
I strongly support harm reduction services, and given the recent Supreme Court ruling, would welcome safe consumption sites within
Greater Victoria. But we must remember all four pillars, and continue to fund outreach, detox, and housing for addicts wishing to move on with their lives.

What is your strategy for dealing with homelessness and the lack of subsidized housing? What is your position on outdoor camping?
I support dealing with the homelessness problem by dealing with the housing problem. More rental housing stock, available to all income levels, is the only way to truly end the housing crisis. I am torn with regards to outdoor camping in public parks in urban areas, because while I support the right to be housed, I am concerned about the long term ecological effects of camping if it spreads into sensitive ecosystems such as our Garry Oak Meadows.

How will you increase food security in the region?
We need to stop removing so much agricultural land from the Agricultural Land Reserve, and actually respect our urban containment
boundaries. True food security cannot happen without these steps. Within Oak Bay, I support finding more space for allotment gardens.