As of 4:00 pm on Friday, September 27, 2019, the following persons are declared candidates for the office of Councillor in the 2019 Tofino By-Election to be held Saturday, November 2, 2019:
- Stephen Ashton
- Craig Heber
- Dan Law
- Ronnie Lee
- Omar Soliman
- Cathy Thicke
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Elyse Goatcher-Bergmann
Chief Election Officer
Local Government Act, section 97(1)
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19 comments:
First, voters must remember that both Mr. Ashton and Ms Thicke have served on council previously. This makes them, at least partially, responsible for the current state of affairs in Tofino. Nuff said.
That narrows the field down to four.
Re 11:27 AM That is such a such a stupid comment. Neither were on Council at the same time and were just one voice in a 7 person Council. It worries me that that people like you are allowed to vote.
Currently Omar has been living all summer in his motorhome at Cox Bay first on Maltby Road and now in the new parking lot on Maltby Road. For some reason bylaw has not removed him .
Are we all allowed to now set up our homes on district property?
I respect all the motorhome and van campers who find a place to call home wether it be crab apple or somewhere else.
Yes its hard to find places to park legally.
I can not understand why he has been allowed to live at Cox Bay all summer and to this day.
Dear 6:40 PM. Ok, let's go with your way of looking at things. But tell us this, please. If the former and current members of Tofino's municipal government aren't responsible for the current state of affairs that Tofino finds itself in...... then who is responsible?
I got here in 1992. At that time, there was a housing shortage in Tofino. At that time, there wasn't enough water to supply the needs of the town. At that time, there were calls for something to be done about the sewage situation. At that time, the kids still didn't have sidewalks to walk on going to school.
Today, 27 years later, the town still faces the same challenges it faced then.
Seems to me that Tofino has seen council after council after council, running in circles, chasing their tails, and accomplishing nothing, for various reasons.
It worries me, that people like you, might ever be allowed to re-elect any of them back into council chambers.
Ashton and Thicke both contributed to make Tofino the great town it is today. Either one will work hand in hand with Tofino’s greatest Mayor ever to keep Tofino progressing forward in a sustainable way that identifies the needs of all stakeholders in the community. Vote to keep Tofino on the right track.
Just phone bylaw and tell them about illegal parking. They don't seem too ambitious about initiating any action. Have you asked them to deal with it?
For what it is worth. 6:40 You attack 11:27 for something they haven't said. 11:27 did not say they served together but that they both served "previously". Also 11:27 did not say they were solely responsible but that they were "partially" responsible. I guess you would have to examine the specifics of various issues and votes and consider what " the current state of affairs might refer to.
In any event just calm down. You have a few weeks left to sharpen your reading skills before attempting the ballot yourself. I am hoping one of the other candidates proves themselves worthy or it is a sorry lot indeed.
9:26 Your remarks sound like a grab bag of political newspeak. They say something about everything and mean nothing about anything. What other clichéd rhetoric can you pull from the bag?
I wonder if you are speaking sarcastically? Yes, that makes more sense.
Good comment. Keep up the humour, I love it.
9:26 With that mess of bafflegab, "voting to keep Tofino on the right track". Surely you are wanting to keep Tofino on the "left" track.
"Ashton and Thicke both contributed to make Tofino the great town it is today. Either one will work hand in hand with Tofino’s greatest Mayor ever to keep Tofino progressing forward in a sustainable way that identifies the needs of all stakeholders in the community. Vote to keep Tofino on the right track"........... This is what happens to you if you drink too much Kool-Aid. Hey Kids, Just Say NO!
Can you imagine what it would be like if you actually lived in a strange, other worldly type of dimension where your mind told you that this type of drivel was fact, and you then had to try to exist in the real world, based on these ideas.
No the financial problems we face now are not blameable on any particular council although the ones who siphoned off parking in lieu of funds into general revenue was certainly reprehensible. Rather it was them doing the best that they could with the information that they had presented to them by staff. We have not had the best of staff at different times who have failed the community. They were doing their jobs but perhaps not to the extent that could have kept us out of this taxation mess. Staff should be able to present persuasive arguments for or against proposals and to think though the long term consequences of decisions council makes. Unfortunately those arguments were not made when we were offered the drug money of RMI funds. Now we have the hangover of maintaining all those RMI gifts. Council was not convinced by staff that it was not going to be free money.
And it didn't help that grant applications were not made and deadlines were missed by district staff for the sewer project. None of us know the real reasons why they occurred but they are costing us countless millions of dollars now.
One thing for sure, everyone, district staff, the citizens and council needs to get everything working together smoothly to straighten out our taxation mess.
I think Ashton might be the best chance we have of getting the offshore parking situation sorted out and he could work with Stere on that. Nobody is perfect. They are all human.
I don't think you can pass off our current financial woes onto staff. Staff come and go as well as council. There job is to offer legal parameters, advise, and execute. Council must set the course and take responsibility for what happens. Council has the authority and responsibility to govern. They have to be able to stand up to staff when necessary, and even fire staff in extreme circumstances. We don't elect staff, we elect councillors.
Often we are faced with electing people who have little experience. Sometimes they have an agenda on some particular issue but no comprehensive vision or strategy.
Our current tax woes have been building for more than a decade or two. Talk about the frog in warming water, most people didn't see this coming. The town used to be largely composed of homeowner/taxpayer voters. Now many potential voters are not homeowner/taxpayers. They just expect government to do "stuff for them. They are not paying directly. Local government has become unresponsive to taxpayers concerns. You can get elected now by supporting face painting for the kids and a ban on plastic straws. Reminds me of the 60's. They used to say "Peace Love and Granola" Fiscal responsibility and making things work is not only more difficult it is way down the list of priorities and means something entirely different to a new kind of resident, with little "skin in the game". We are in quite a hole and have been given a shovel to solve the problem. Only problem is shovels are for digging holes not escaping from them. Expect more spending from this Council.
@ 9:14 AM, I must disagree with you, in regard to Mr. Ashton. I like the gentleman, I'm sure his intentions come from a good place. But in my opinion, his politics are so far toward the radical left wing sphere of things that it makes him incapable of functioning in normal day to day society, and representing the will of the electorate.
For example. We need housing. I'd expect him to vote against a particular development proposal, solely because there's a nice tree growing where the applicant proposes to build the building. Too radical. Too left wing.
We need to look for common sense, middle of the road, fiscally responsible. In Tofino. Good luck with that, eh. The voters of Tofino don't seem to be able to tell the difference between a candidate seeking to properly manage the business of the taxpayers and a candidate seeking to win a popularity contest.
How can Stephan Ashton even be a candidate in Tofino? He doesn't live here. He lives on Wickinninish Island, a part of the ACRD. He pays no taxes in Tofino, owns no property here, faces no personal repercussions from anything he might do on council. Now he wants to, again, sit on council and spend other people's money? I recall his last sitting: He wanted to spend $20,000 of the taxpayers money to buy that statue that's in the village green. Thankfully, more sane heads prevailed and the taxpayer was spared.
We cannot afford Stephan Ashton.
Time for someone new on council. Thick and Ashton both had their time and neither did particularly well. Let's elect someone new who can have a chance to make a real contribution to the District, someone who is not just looking for a pay cheque.
It should be remembered that both Thicke and Ashton served with Braden Smith.
to 7:49 Is there anyone on the list who is likely to make a "real contribution"?. Seriously. Who on the list has experience, vision, skill, common sense, and enough independence to be their own person.
Too often, newbies get elected and quickly fall into line with the prevailing mindset. Forget the pay cheque part. Well maybe the guy reported to be living in the bus at Cox Bay is interested in the pay cheque.
Omar has single handedly shown how Tofino’s bylaws are enforced on a selective basis. It is okay for those on council to flagrantly violate bylaws but heaven forbid that someone should seek a safe place to sleep. He has my vote !
So...853 you’ve been here how many years? 1982? What the hell have you done? Step up yourself then if you think you know so much.
Dan Law is a solid local candidate with family and roots in this community. In my discussions with him he appears to be; thoughtful' respectful politically neutral. A critical thinker and no adjenda. Perfect candidate in my opinion. Dorthy will be missed she was a very balanced thinker. As for Steven Ashton and Cathy Thicke both were good members of council but we do have 50% 4 year tax increase and that is on the past few councils. Time for a change FYI Gord Johns we on these councils as well. Just saying.
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