I have been following the upcoming Victoria civic elections with interest — reading the pamphlets deposited daily in my mailbox, following media reports and even attending a few all-candidates’ meetings.
But I am flummoxed. There are 29 candidates for city councillor, 10 for mayor and almost all of them focused on the same issues: more affordable housing, more open decision-making at city hall, better transportation systems, among other obvious needs. While some candidates are putting forward innovative suggestions to address these issues, an underlying question remains.
Who among these fine people has Victoria’s back? By this I mean, who values this city as the jewel it is and is willing to defend it, risking condemnation and future electoral success to ensure that it remains so and gets even better?
From my home in James Bay, I hear the horses clop down the street pulling carriages of curious tourists and listen to the drivers’ chatter about our wonders. These visitors come by the thousands every year.
In 2017, a Condé Nast readers survey ranked Victoria as the second best small city on Earth (outside the U.S.) in front of Florence, Bruges, Lucerne, Salzburg and even Quebec City. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives ranked it as the best place in Canada to be a woman, also in 2017. This year, B.C. Business ranked it seventh of 36 in a list of the best places in B.C. to work. And the accolades go on.
What makes Victoria great is that it is a people-sized place, in a spectacular geographical setting with its roots clearly visible in its remarkable architecture and vibrant culture, with a buzz of a tourist town without its tackiness, walkable and distinct neighbourhoods in easy reach of the centre, a steady economic base growing in diversity, easy access to open spaces within and beyond the city, and wrapped up with a sense of distinction, isolated as it is by ocean on the south end of an island. Not to mention a temperate climate.
In the 60 years I have lived here, much has changed and lots for the better. Like any city, Victoria is a work in progress, with much more to be done. In addition, it must respond with creativity and urgency to the forces well beyond the city that nonetheless influence its everyday life. But I am wary about the future, given the past few years of unremitting, banal development and surprise projects. We risk becoming any town rather than our town.
Yes, we need to address a housing crisis that is affecting all of us. But who among the candidates will ensure that we address the problem while preserving the best of our city? Not by planting forests of outsized buildings downtown, largely unaffordable and unsuitable for those who need homes. Who will insist that each time we compromise density, we will receive fair resources for significant public amenities, including green space, a feature of all great cities?
Who understands that great neighbourhoods make great cities and that their inhabitants must not be bamboozled and their landmarks bulldozed? Who is able to inspire others about our city, including citizens, council colleagues, business, adjoining municipalities and other levels of government, so we act together to address issues? And so we learn to rise above parochialism and care about the health of the region overall.
I can think of past and some present politicians like this who might or might not share my political stripes, but who I always know will stand up and be counted rather than compromise the city they love. They do this as a matter of course and don’t need reminding by a landslide of letters and angry voices. They earn my trust with their industry, guts and vision.
Who among the 29 candidates for councillor and 10 candidates for mayor qualifies on this crucial criterion? I’m reading their pamphlets, reviewing their past performance and listening to their promises with this overall question in mind. That’s how I’ll be voting.
Marilyn Callahan lives in Victoria.
