Election results

I know it was only a by-election, but Really???? only 9% of the Coquitlam residents could be bothered to get off their butts over a 2 week period and cast a ballot??  But the other 91% will sure complain when their taxes go up, or when some councillor oversteps their boundaries and demands a discount from their business.  THEN they will complain. 
What is wrong with the population that they think it is okay to not get involved, even in this small democratic process?  Were the polls too hard to get to?  Did you think there were issues? (There are, but they are Coquitlam-type issues such as 'why are the shoppers at Coquitlam Centre chasing a bear in the parking lot').
This is just sad.
PartyX has some good ideas but they aren't working completely because we are still not getting people interested.

PartyX talks about Voter apathy:

Discontent with Democracy

Churchill once said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” The best of the worst may not be good enough, especially when there is a growing level of discontent with traditional political institutions.
It’s hard to have faith that our current models of democracy will be able to respond to the complex global challenges of environmental destruction, war and inequality; progress simply isn’t being made at the speed or efficiency necessary.
These are  the top five areas PartyX sees opportunity for improvement.

1) Voter Disengagement

Rates of public participation are falling in democracies around the world; there is widespread disengagement with the formal political process.

2) Polarization from Limited Options

When decisions are made by majority vote, the unequal distribution of satisfaction creates resistance to outcomes, instability and wasted effort. When there is a limited set of choices in a decision, there’s rarely an opportunity to develop positive compromises.

3) Limited Stakeholder Connectivity

With the infrequency of elections, politicians can too easily become disconnected from the distributed expertise and intelligence of the population they represent.

4) Susceptibility to Lobbyists

The centralization of decision-making power can allow for the disproportionate influence by professional lobbyists acting on behalf of special interests. This can be compounded by election finance rules, which creates reliance between politicians and organized interests.

5) Short-Term Horizon

The voting cycle of representative democracy creates a system that’s too focused on short-term planning; there is no inherent incentive to make long-term decisions that do not have a positive impact on politicians’ ability to get reelected. Meanwhile, new governments often spend a large part of their efforts undoing the work of prior governments that did the same thing.

 well good on you, 9%, for overcoming the above.  And for the rest of you, no griping, you had your chance.

Oh and congrats to Chris Wilson and Bonita Zarillo.  Looking forward to some good management in the Burquitlam area.

Upcoming byelection

The Burquitlam Community Association recently held an all candidate's meeting for the upcoming by-election.  Bits of it are appearing on their website.  The format was interesting.  I didn't get the feeling that everyone was given a fair shake at the questions, first of all.  This was unfortunate as there were some questions I was hoping to hear the answers from specific people and seemingly randomly someone else would be called. 
One question I did wonder about was the question about someone having to be resident in Coquitlam to run.   Apparently the criteria is:

A person is qualified to be nominated, elected, and to hold office as a member of local government if they meet the following criteria:

• Canadian citizen;
• 18 years of age or older on or before general voting day;
• resident of British Columbia for at least 6 months immediately before the day nomination papers are filed; and
• not disqualified by the Local Government Act or any other enactment   from voting in an election in British Columbia or from being nominated for, being elected to, or holding office.
   

 So I guess having someone who doesn't live in Coquitlam is best for Coquitlam?  Well why not?  They can't do worse than someone who marginalizes Burquitlam because they live a half hour away on the eastern edge of the city. 

Burquitlam is a funny area - on the eastern edge of Burnaby and western edge of Coquitlam.  This area has a slightly higher aging population than the rest of Coquitlam.  The area has a higher ethnic content based on language spoken at home, compared to the rest of Coquitlam. Not surprisingly the household income in Burquitlam is less than the rest of Coquitlam.  It is understandable that people in this area are upset about their taxes rising.  But the reality is that as the metro Vancouver area moves here with the access to transit, rents and taxes will increase.  Sadly that means some of the people who have been here for awhile may be driven out.

But it doesn't have to mean that we let people who don't even go through this area on a daily basis make decisions about what is best for us.  Interesting to note that a candidate, when asked how he could possibly justify representing Burquitlam since he had never been to a meeting, side-stepped the question.  Interesting to note that only two candidates and one current Councillor have even been to the Burquitlam Community Association meeting.  Let's leave it at that.

Upcoming election

Interesting story in the Tri-City News which shows all the upcoming candidates for the October by-election.

And the candidates are....

By Janis Warren - The Tri-City News
Published: September 20, 2013 5:00 PM
Updated: September 20, 2013 5:15 PM

Eleven Coquitlam residents — and one person from Port Moody — have filed their nomination papers to run in the Oct. 26 byelection.

The byelection is being held to replace Linda Reimer and Selina Robinson, who were elected as MLAs in May.

The contenders are:

• Michael Bell
• Ben Craig
• Ben BH Kim
• Andy Lacuna
• Barrie Lynch
• Doug Macdonell
• Kevin Startin
• Teri Towner
• Chris Wilson
• Vincent Wu
• Kurt Zaporozan
• Bonita Zarrillo

Read The Tri-City News' print edition on Wednesday for a brief introduction to the candidates.

But the best part is in the electronic version you can click on each person's name and read all their information that they had to file.  And this tells us who lives where and their union or other organization affiliates.  I see some people list all the public shares in which they are invested, which seems to me to be a big "so what".  If they can't direct IBM why do we care if they have 5 shares of it?   Looking forward to meeting *all* these people at the All Candidate's meeting in Burquitlam.  Let's see where they stand on local issues.

September in Burquitlam

A few days away brings a lot of change.  The intersection of Smith and Clarke is either one lane or shut down completely most days.  It is best, for now, to detour onto Como Lake.

Where the DQ once stood is now a post.

and the posts are going up quickly.

 In front of M&M you get a good shot of where the station will be with the new posts that will support it.

 And if you walk across the street you can see the grade of the train going into the ground. 

At this point, Burquitlam is still marginalized.  Largely ignored by both Coquitlam and Burnaby, it can occasionally be difficult to get services in this area.  But a new sidewalk is coming on North Road where none exists.  Of course it is hugely political.  Coquitlam residents pushed for it, but the City of Coquitlam said it was too expensive for the Coquitlam side, so they want to put it on the Burnaby side.  It should go without saying that Burnaby has said "well sure, but why should we do the upkeep".  Give me a break - is it so impossible for these people to cooperate?  Maybe it's time for Vancouver to swallow these small communities and give them a good kick in the pants much like Toronto has done.  While they bicker, it is the individual homeowners (who pay their taxes that they always forget) who lose.

With that in mind, Coquitlam is having a by-election.  October 26, 2013 we will vote in a couple of new councillors.  Wouldn't it be great if they were the type of people who put people first, and politics and power second?  Of the candidates, the only one I've seen out there is Bonita Zarillo.  Are we already marginalized before they even get voted in?

ONA President to run for council

Yoinked from the Burquitlam Community Association website - which has pulled it down??

From the Now News:
http://www.thenownews.com/craig-to-run-for-council-1.619650

Oakdale Neighbourhood Association president Ben Craig has officially confirmed his intention to run in the Coquitlam byelection next month. - See more at: http://www.thenownews.com/craig-to-run-for-council-1.619650#sthash.Aeo3db0D.dpuf

"I'll run on a platform that supports communities, our small businesses and the taxpayer," Craig said in an email to the Tri-Cities NOW. "With the cost of government going straight up in our city, I believe a taxpayer-focused councillor is desperately needed. I've been a financial advisor for 15 years. I understand the value of a dollar and the need to stick to budgets." - See more at: http://www.thenownews.com/craig-to-run-for-council-1.619650#sthash.Aeo3db0D.dpuf

"Burquitlam will transform in the next few years," he said.
"With Evergreen Line construction underway and thousands of new residents coming to our area, it's more important than ever to have a strong voice for our region."
- See more at: http://www.thenownews.com/craig-to-run-for-council-1.619650#sthash.Aeo3db0D.dpuf

We truly wish him good luck as Burquitlam desperately needs more vocal representation on Council.

You can find Ben on Twitter @bencraig

On Facebook, like Ben Craig for Council

And On Linked In.

Upcoming by-election

Yes October 26 will see the residents of Burquitlam, along with the rest of Coquitlam, go to the polls to vote for a couple of new council members.

From the Tri-City News
In an early Tuesday morning vote at a meeting that started Monday evening — and with no debate on the topic — city council formally set the byelection date and appointed deputy city clerk Kerri Lore as the chief election officer and Lauren Hewson, the manager of information, privacy and administrative services, as deputy chief election officer, effective Aug. 12.

 So far one person that we know of has put their name forward. 
But where is the representation for Burquitlam?  We badly need someone in our corner as evidenced by the Foster "Fiasco".

Watch for local All Candidate's meetings and let's get in there and ask some tough questions.

Is something missing from this picture?

Interesting to note that Intracorp Developments Ltd got approval for a 206 unit development in the Foster Ave area.  This is in the 514-554 Foster Ave, but no word on where those  people go.  The Burquitlam Community Garden will, however, be expanded.  Is that the "gimme"?  No word on increased parks, community programs, schools.  Oh wait, we have transit.  That must make it all better.  There is a public hearing set for July 22 for the rezoning application.

Received an email from the BCA strongly opposing this.  But there has been little from other members of that area.  It will be interesting to see if this gets pushed through as is, or if Intracorp will at least offer some community concessions to placate the neighbourhood.

Mayor's inaugaral remarks

Our esteemed mayor was re-welcomed back to City Hall this week and made mention of our little neighbourhood:

"Three years ago, this speech spoke of the relationships we needed to develop, the
dialogue we needed to have, and the commitments we needed to build in order to
see the Evergreen Line come to fruition. Well, that has been achieved. We now
finally have a funding model in place, and we have the Evergreen Line project team
working with our own staff here at City Hall on getting a shovel in the ground
within months, on this long-awaited project. This transit line has been planned for
more than 20 years, and it’s exciting to see the project finally move forward, with
completion scheduled for 2015 – just prior to this city’s 125th Birthday.
Decades from now I am certain that the approval of Evergreen’s funding will be
earmarked as a pivotal moment in the city’s history. There is no question that the
Evergreen Line will help in the transformation of large areas of Coquitlam into
sustainable and desirable residential and commercial hubs. It will attract
investment, and truly Coquitlam to the region."

and more specifically, Mr. Mayor said:

"Last week was the first Open House in the process of developing the Maillardville
Neighbourhood Plan...... We’ll be doing the same in Burquitlam, and in other corners of our city; this Council believes strongly in Public consultation, and in ensuring that we engage
residents in the important decisions we must make. We want neighbourhoods that are affordable, welcoming, and inclusive. We want neighbourhoods that support public transit, and public transit that supports neighbourhoods. And we want a community that supports the families, young people and seniors that live here. "

The Mayor had a few more things to say, about the growth of the area, working on an additional Evergreen Line station, our place in the world economy. I hope Coquitlam proves to be as progressive as it sounds.

Development Permit Area Guidelines

Came across the Burquitlam Neighbourhood Plan (doc 689384.v1) in my noodling through things. I noticed that I'm encompassed in this plan, which was drawn up in September 2008. Guess I should have looked at all of this first.

The Objectives state:

a. To recognize the role of the Transit Village in accommodating compact, mixed-use transit-oriented developments near the Burquitlam transit station.
b. To recognize the Burquitlam Neighbourhood as a visible "gateway" to Coquitlam, and a major community activity centre.
c. To ensure a sound relationship between different land uses in the Development Permit Area, and the adjacent residential areas.
d. To ensure that all transportation modes is maintained in this area of relatively high density movement.
e. To encourage a good working and living environment that for residents and employees in the area.
f. To protect the potential for a future rapid transit alignment and station along Clarke Road.

Hey - what? we're a Gateway? They want to ensure that traffic moves through the soon to be high density area? I hope they read their own documents before the skytrain is finished. Traffic is already a mess here, I can hardly imagine how much worse it will get.

Zoning Amendment

At the October 24, 2011 council meeting a final reading for the development of "The Easton", a 72 unit 4 storey building at 615 Smith Ave, was read. One of the car co-ops, car2go, attended and presented in conjunction with this reading. It appears the fourth and final reading occurred and the permit was issued. So look out Smith Avenue - more densification on the way.