I have never been in politics or ran for a seat for any office (other than high school where I was acclaimed), but I honestly feel that I have practical experience and I would provide a good value for a city or town.
I live in the city of Victoria, BC which is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada’s Pacific coast.
The city has a population of about 80,017 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 344,615, the 15th most populous Canadian metro region.
We are not a big city by any stretch of the imagination but our city council pretends that we are.
To keep the property tax increase to only 3.25% in 2014, the City needs to find savings in the range of $5,000,000 over the next few years.
Now, I own 2 properties in the city of Victoria so any tax increase hits me twice!
One thing I love about this city is the walkability. My wife and I can take our daughter on her stroller for hours and see great neighbourhoods and interesting landscapes (water views to a bustling street market to floathomes to a water break).
As a frequent walker I see so many dilapidated buildings and run down lots filled with rubbish or old vehicles. I have seen cars with grass growing out of the hood next to a house worth over $800,000 dollars. It is incredible the divide in our city. Many families are house-rich and have houses that are falling apart.
What our city should do is actively create and enforce a by-law that forces homeowners and developers to adhere to a standard of cleanliness and care or face massive fines.
This would improve the building situation (make more buildings liveable and keep more local contractors busy), and make this beautiful city with some of the most impressive access to natural resources (water surrounding the city and views of mountains and hills even better.
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