Maya Tse-Cotton
Website: www.mayatsecotton.com
Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?
No
Do you live in the municipality where you are running, and if so, for how long? If not, what is your connection to that community?
Yes, since 2016. (North Saanich)
What is your occupation, and for how long?
Technology Analyst/Strategist/Author – Over 30 years
Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.
Working on behalf of the McTavish neighbourhood – For almost two years, I have been advocating non-stop to give an objective voice to the needs of the McTavish neighbourhood.
Board Member – Island Women in Science and Technology – Recently joined the board and will be leading strategic planning for 2023.
Board Member – Young Entrepreneurs’ Society of Victoria – YES was a local non-profit with a mandate to support local entrepreneurs and fundraise for local charities.
Advisor and Mentor – MarsDD (Mars Discovery District) Toronto. Volunteered at this Innovation District that has become the premier center for innovation and entrepreneurship in Canada.
Why are you running? What’s your motivation?
I am writing a book on “Knowledge Hacking Wicked Problems” about filling the localization gap with modern solutions to solve the big challenges of our times.
1) Contribute strategic decision-making at a local level. The Official Community Plan challenged council to address several wicked problems at once (housing, climate change, agriculture) while retaining our rural character.
2) Innovate on the peninsula. I am proposing to advance a collaborative innovation strategy among three municipalities.
3) Fill the innovation and adaptation gap nationally. Canada is a G7 nation, yet it lags other nations on the world stage in visible local implementation.
What are your top three issues?
My campaign slogan is “Fair, Informed and Forward-looking”
1) Help North Saanich make fair, informed, and forward-looking decisions as they finalize and implement the Official Community Plan (OCP).
2) Add value to our community.
• North Saanich has a miniscule capital budget, yet the current draft of the OCP is ambitious. I will bring business acumen to financial feasibility.
• There are many kinds of value. I will bring corporate development skills to creatively bring value to our community and to the peninsula.
3) Help heal the divide in our community through levelling-up collaboration and transparent engagement on council.
What’s your vision for your community in 25 years?
Municipalities plan for 30+ years. We are planning not just for us, but for future generations. What should North Saanich look like in thirty years? The peninsula can be Canada’s best example of what innovative, healthy, liveable and climate-change resilient rural communities can look like.
The peninsula of Vancouver Island is one of the most strategic locations in Canada. It is a gateway that millions of people pass through on the way to Victoria, the seat of the provincial power. It is also home to some of the most beautiful natural assets in our country. This should not be squandered. What would have happened if planners in Paris had not preserved its’ historic center for future generations? The opportunity at moment in time is crucial.
What’s one “big idea” you have for your community?
How do we solve multiple wicked problems at once? I am committing to founding the “The Peninsula Innovation and Adaptation Gateway Strategy”.
This is a collaborative initiative that convenes multiple stakeholders together to source the latest in small-scale agriculture and climate adaptation innovations (green architecture, active transportation networks etc.) and localizes them here with the added economic benefits of small-scale tourism.
This is ambitious to those who think we should not reach beyond our current status as a rural bedroom community, but competing land uses for housing and even, re-industrialization as de-globalizing gains speed, will continue to look at this gateway community for the strategic location that it is. The opportunity to build a community for all Canadians should not be lost to the future.
