Accountable Governance
I believe that elected directors must actively do their homework — reading and understanding the documents they vote on — rather than simply rubber-stamping whatever staff recommends, as that abdication of responsibility is a failure to earn the compensation they receive.
I argue that true accountability requires genuine public consultation at every stage of major decisions, including referenda when necessary, rather than relying on questionnaires and assumed consent to justify top-down governance.
I insist that citizens must actively demand — not merely request — that directors consult them on significant changes, and be prepared to replace those who refuse to listen, because directors are ultimately servants of the public who own the valley, not its rulers.
Fiscal Responsibility
I believe that when directors raise property taxes by 10, 15, or 20% every year, they owe residents a clear explanation of how those numbers are arrived at and cannot simply proceed without a mandate from the people.
I think that any major capital project or significant expenditure requires going back to the public — even if referenda cost money — because that is the only way to govern responsibly and truly know the will of the people.
I am frustrated that directors who are paid $51,000 a year are not doing their jobs when they rely on staff to explain the very documents they are voting on, rather than taking responsibility for fully understanding what they are approving.
Public Engagement
I believe that holding meetings in the middle of a working day is fundamentally unfair to working class residents who must sacrifice income and time from their families to have their voices heard, and that evening or Saturday meetings would make democracy accessible to everyone.
I am tired of directors relying on questionnaires and assuming that silence means consent — real public engagement means actively consulting residents at every stage, not checking a box and proceeding with whatever they had already planned to do.
I think that we as citizens have been partly at fault for allowing this culture to develop, but from now on we must be active and demand — not just ask — that directors consult us on major changes, or we replace them with people who actually live and work in this valley.
Bylaw Reform
I believe that bylaws like the TUP, which restrict how people rent their properties, are economy killers that harm tourism and make it harder for ordinary people to make a living in this valley — and they need to go.
I am deeply concerned that cookie-cutter bylaws covering everything from chicken keeping to fence heights to water restrictions were imposed without meaningfully consulting the people they affect, and the only responsible path forward is to scrap them and start again with genuine public input at every stage.
I think the entire culture of the CVRD has been to assume authority and regulate first and consult never, and what we need are directors who actually live and work here and will fight to replace harmful bylaws with rules that reflect what residents truly want and need.
Community Character
I came to this valley because of the freedom it represented, and I am deeply troubled that the relentless wave of regulations on housing, short-term rentals, and everyday life is systematically eroding the way of life that drew people here in the first place.
I want to make clear that this is a working class valley — not a playground for the wealthy who fly in on float planes and stay at fancy B&Bs — and every policy we make should reflect and protect that identity, not make it harder for ordinary people to live and work here.
I believe that if we allow tourism to be strangled by restrictive rental rules and over-regulation, we will hollow out the very economic and social fabric that makes this community worth fighting for, and we owe it to ourselves to demand better before it is too late.
Essential Infrastructure
The Cowichan Valley is growing, and our basic infrastructure is failing to keep pace — nowhere is this clearer than Cowichan Bay, where treated sewage effluent has been discharged into the Cowichan River for decades, contributing to a shellfish harvesting moratorium that has robbed this community of a vital resource and a way of life.
A $95 million outfall relocation project that would move the discharge into deeper bay waters — and potentially lift that moratorium — sits stalled, waiting on provincial and federal funding that our directors should be fighting tooth and nail to secure.
I believe that protecting our waterways, our shellfish beds, and our working waterfront is not optional, and that any director who is not actively advocating for this funding is failing the people and the environment of this valley.
