We’re a week away from the next civic election. And people on the North Shore aren’t feeling very good about things.
Considering the soaring increase in traffic and the price of a home, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised to find out that 62 per cent who responded to a recent poll said they thought quality of life and affordability had gone down in the last five years.
And only 14 per cent expected it to get better.
Cut to a recent Delbrook all-candidates meeting where all 23 of the candidates for district mayor and council actually turned up.
Everyone got a chance to answer questions about housing affordability and transportation, the number one and two issues identified in the poll.
You have to wonder how it’s going to get better if the contenders can’t even agree on how many housing units are being built.
There was Mike Little, candidate for mayor, flamboyantly brandishing a list, after the fashion of legendary Red-baiter Joe McCarthy, of 9,500 new housing units in the district. That fortified his case that the district is building too much too fast, as the Official Community Plan calls for 10,000 total by 2030. Following Little’s logic, we’re nearly there. And it’s a long way from 2030.
Up stepped incumbent Coun. Mathew Bond, who observed that really, only 1,600 units have so far been built. Various other candidates threw in their own calculations, all falling between the extremes established by candidates Little and Bond.
In an attempt to bring facts to the fight, candidate for mayor Ash Amlani suggested voters consult the district website, where the real number is there for all to see.
Where’s the fun in that?
Seriously, can you see these characters improving the quality of life for their constituents when they can’t even count (or pretend they can’t, for dramatic effect)? How are they going to solve thorny questions of market versus non-market housing, density, pressure on infrastructure, increased traffic, etc.?
Wondering what (else) I had to lose, I followed candidate Amlani’s advice and went looking for the actual number on the DNV website. After wandering through that maze, it’s no wonder there’s confusion. I did find out the number of housing units in the district increased by 980 from 2011 to 2016, but candidate Little would no doubt assure me that number is fake. Or at least out of date.
And while I was at it, I learned the price of a “typical” detached single-family house went from $904,233 to $1,569,242, which speaks to that affordability thing.
Despite this appalling display of innumeracy, it’s time to focus, not freak out. Friends ask me how to deal with this mess, also known as a municipal election, and the bad news is that you have to get to know the candidates. And the best way, in addition to following North Shore News election coverage, is to turn up at one of these all-candidates meetings.
They’re not without their flaws. Of the 23 candidates for district mayor and council, few come with the charisma and strategic bombast of a Mike Little, who’s anything but little. When he speaks, he fills the room, and the other 22 fade into the shadows.
But there were other, quieter things I could only learn at an all-candidates meeting:
I came away impressed by candidate for mayor Ash Amlani, who (as far as I can tell) has absolutely no political or municipal experience, but hides it well under a layer of intelligence and thoughtfulness.
Carleen Thomas of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, running for council. Her resume is chock-full of intergovernmental experience, which seems critical when you’re representing the least senior, but not least important level.
Glen Webb for mayor. Sounds like an intelligent guy. Why would he want to be the mayor of the District of North Vancouver?
Lisa Muri: Ignore her at your peril.
Jordan Back and Mathew Bond. The youth movement. Together, they’re the same age as your venerable correspondent.
Megan Curren: See Lisa Muri, above.
Greg Robins: Grownup in the room, like Glen Webb.
If we ever expect it to get better on the North Shore, we need to make better choices. At the all-candidates meeting, we learn it’s not always the guy with the biggest sign or the biggest grin.
There’s still time to find a meeting near you.
I guarantee you’ll find some surprises, some of them pleasant.
Journalist and communications consultant Paul Sullivan has been a North Vancouver resident since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of Madonna. [email protected]
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