Tag: whitehorse

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For Sale: one vote (redux)

Since we have a municipal election coming up on October 18th, I thought it might be  good idea to throw out my formula for how to buy my vote again.

So here are some hints for those who want to get voted in. Note that this probably applies for all elections. A political campaign is a job interview of sorts and the electorate’s only way to choose the right person for the job is the platform put forward by the candidate. So, when expressing your platform:

1. If you intend to deal with an issue, explain how you intend to fix it in detail. Everyone loves kittens, rainbows and unicorns, but general campaign promises without details are usually best moved to the field with a backhoe to make next year’s crop grow that much better. If you cannot provide details, it means you know nothing about the subject other than what to call it.  Honestly, we have enough elected representatives who know nothing. We don’t need more.

2. Prove you have an understanding of jurisdictional responsibility. Each level of government has its responsibilities. If you’re running for one, don’t make promises about things that come under another level of government. This only indicates that you have no clue about the position you aspire to, and probably indicates your level of qualification for it.

3. If you promise something, be prepared to vote that way when the time comes. There is no excuse for supporting something you said you would not support or vice versa. The common story is “after studying the issue,…” or words to that effect. If it was a promise made in your campaign, it meant that you already studied the issue, or should have. Changing your mind in this manner means you either knew nothing about your stand on the issue, or you simply meant to lie your way into office. Unfortunately, we have too many of those cases, too.

4. Have some idea of how financing works. While governments and businesses run through two completely different models and experience in one has no relevance to the other, the general rules of finance are still the same. It’s the same as a household budget, too. You can only spend what comes in. Whether through transfers, taxation or borrowing, this income is the maximum you have to provide vital services. And, unlike a business, you simply can’t close the plant and move to somewhere offering lower operating costs. Explain (in detail, again), how you intend to meet your promises and still afford to provide those services.

By the way,  experience in business means nothing in terms of experience in government and saying otherwise means you don’t have a clue of how governments work and should not be running for elected office. It’s a lot like saying you can fix your car so you are a brain surgeon.

5. Be honest. Admit it when you don’t know something. Take responsibility for those times when your ideas don’t work. Sometimes you’re going to have to make unpopular decisions (some of the decisions previous councils have been decried for are some I heartily approved of). People aren’t going to be happy with everything you do, but will be far more willing to accept it, grudgingly, if you can show you honestly and sincerely feel this is the best choice. The only way to do this is have a long history of being honest and sincere and it doesn’t take much to indicate that these are characteristics you don’t have.

So, there’s my pitch. These aren’t that much in the way of demands for buying my vote. I know it seems a lot, but you’ll probably find that the same price will purchase far more votes than mine…

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Another month, and the end of another summer

Hic est September, to paraphrase my poorly retained high school Latin.

light
Late August light.

In the Yukon, September is fall. Let’s face it, fall starts in August with the change in light, the turning of the leaves, and the descent into cooler, wetter weather.

I grew up on the east coast, where fall was a riot of multicoloured leaves and cool evenings but warm days through into October. I remember walking the Clyburn valley one late October weekend with the temperatures above 28°C.

That extreme a temperature is not going to be found here. By September, we tend to be rainy and cooler. Currently, it’s trying rather hard to rain and 10°C.

This time of year is a reminder that those chores that need good weather are needing to be done soon. Any painting, siding, etc., that you’ve put off should be moved up the to do list rather soon. I will not be going this weekend for Labour Day, since I wouldn’t get a site this late and I have things to do that a long weekend allow me to approach with plenty of time, and according to the forecast, plenty of good weather.

However, I do have a fondness of fall camping. Actually, it’s a fondness for fall lake trout fishing with camping thrown in to season the adventure. It’s rather nice to go a lake close to home and commute this time of year. It’s still relatively light to make early morning drives a lot safer and there are campgrounds within a one-hour commute from home.I have a friend who, along with her husband, doesn’t even start camping until the Thanksgiving Day weekend in October. I’m considering extending my season until the end of October if possible this year, myself. And, with that in mind, I probably won’t miss summer that badly.

So, all things being equal, I’ll probably be out camping the weekend coming after this one. After all, there is wine needing to be consumed around a campfire, marshmallows needing roasting, and fish needing to be caught and fried up. Keep that in mind, since we do like company…

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Hoarfrost

We’ve had a marvellous winter. Our January thaw lasted almost three weeks, with temperatures at or above 0°C throughout. In short, it has not been the traditional Yukon winter, although we haven’t really had a really cold winter in quite a while.

The advantage of the warm weather has been that it hasn’t been quite as dry as usual. My sinuses and hide are both quite grateful over that, by the way. And, another advantage has been that when the temperature eventually did drop south of freezing, we get a nice freezing fog and hoarfrost.

I like the way that frost and sunlight interact, so went out on the front step while the sun was starting to drop and grabbed a few pictures. After all, it’s nice to have an excuse to play with the new camera…

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St. Patrick’s Day

You would think that being of Irish descent, although Northern Irish Protestant descent, you’d get St. Patrick’s Day as a bit of a holiday.

However, being a musician who plays mostly Celtic music, the possibility of a holiday is a bit out of reach. I’m popping over to the Airport Chalet Hotel tomorrow night, the United Church Sunday afternoon, and playing in the lobby to open for Maeve Mackinnon at the Yukon Arts Centre Sunday night.

Holiday? That ain’t happening…

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For sale: one vote

We have an election coming up, namely, the municipal election for the city of Whitehorse. Voting day is October 18th. Elected will be a mayor and six councilors. There is no incumbent running for the mayor’s position and four incumbents running for council seats.

This means I have less than two weeks to figure out who gets my vote (actually, multiple votes as you check off one vote for mayor and up to six for council. There are 5 mayoralty candidates and 22 running for council). In the 21 years I’ve lived here, I’ve voted for a possible mayor every time but have yet to actually cast six  council votes in any election.

Checking out the list of candidates this time around, I don’t see much hopes of finding six to vote for again. It was only shortly before the deadline for nominations that I could see a choice for mayor that didn’t include “none of the above.”

So here are some hints for those who want to get voted in. Note that this probably applies for all elections. A political campaign is a job interview of sorts and the electorate’s only way to choose the right person for the job is the platform put forward by the candidate. So, when expressing your platform:

1. If you intend to deal with an issue, explain how you intend to fix it in detail. Everyone loves kittens, rainbows and unicorns, but general campaign promises without details are usually best moved to the field with a backhoe to make next year’s crop grow that much better. If you cannot provide details, it means you know nothing about the subject other than what to call it.  Honestly, we have enough elected representatives who know nothing. We don’t need more.

2. Prove you have an understanding of jurisdictional responsibility. Each level of government has its responsibilities. If you’re running for one, don’t make promises about things that come under another level of government. This only indicates that you have no clue about the position you aspire to, and probably indicates your level of qualification for it.

3. If you promise something, be prepared to vote that way when the time comes. There is no excuse for supporting something you said you would not support or vice versa. The common story is “after studying the issue,…” or words to that effect. If it was a promise made in your campaign, it meant that you already studied the issue, or should have. Changing your mind in this manner means you either knew nothing about your stand on the issue, or you simply meant to lie your way into office. Unfortunately, we have too many of those cases, too.

4. Have some idea of how financing works. While governments and businesses run through two completely different models and experience in one has no relevance to the other, the general rules of finance are still the same. You can only spend what comes in. Whether through transfers, taxation or borrowing, this income is the maximum you have to provide vital services. And, unlike a business, you simply can’t close the plant and move to somewhere offering lower operating costs. Explain (in detail, again), how you intend to meet your promises and still afford to provide those services.

5. Be honest. Admit it when you don’t know something. Take responsibility for those times when your ideas don’t work. Sometimes you’re going to have to make unpopular decisions (some of the decisions the current council have been decried for are some I heartily approved of). People aren’t going to be happy with everything you do, but will be far more willing to accept it, grudgingly, if you can show you honestly and sincerely feel this is the best choice. The only way to do this is have a long history of being honest and sincere and it doesn’t take much to indicate that these are characteristics you don’t have.

So, there’s my pitch. These aren’t that much in the way of demands for buying my vote. I know it seems a lot, but you’ll probably find that the same price will purchase far more votes than mine…

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Why Porter Creek D?

Once again, the question of developing the Porter Creek D subdivision has emerged, with the City of Whitehorse, who allocated more than $400,000 for the pre-design of the subdivision in December, despite the objections of a sizeable number of citizens. This week, the city announced that a facilitator will be brought in as part of the planning process.

What emerges from this entire issue is that, while a wide range of groups and individuals are opposed to this development, its only main proponents are the city itself, the Yukon Real Estate Association, and the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce. In view of this somewhat lopsided number opposing the project, one must ask the question “Why Porter Creek D?”

One of the common proposals put forward in support of this project is the lack of housing in the Whitehorse area. However, this will neither alleviate the immediate needs for housing or the substantially more pressing need for attainable housing. There is nothing in the project that calls for anything other than the status quo in lot pricing, particularly in light of the Yukon Territorial Government policy of pricing lots based on market prices, rather than the actual costs of development. This policy puts the government in a position of arguing that to change would potentially reduce the value of existing lots. At the same time, there has been a wholesale failure to publicly discuss the profits earned on their sale at a higher price. Further, the process of planning, infrastructure development, and sale takes considerable time. An example can be seen in the development of Whistle Bend Subdivision, whose main planning meetings took place in 2006 and will sell its first lots some time this fall.

A point to consider is the population of Whitehorse. When I arrived in Whitehorse in 1991, the population was just under 18,000. In March, the population was estimated to be just over 27,000 (however, just over 2,000 of those actually live outside the city limits). In short, the population has risen by about 7,000 people in the past 21 years. There were also periods where the population fell during this time, as well. Our economy has been “boom or bust” since the founding of the territory and populations have risen and fallen with periods of economy activity and recession.

Yes, we are currently in a boom. However, there is no guarantee this will continue and a view to the economy of Europe facing disaster in the near future indicates that the boom may end abruptly. Will the population of the city hold its numbers? That is something that we must wait and see.

The second aspect of population growth that should be considered is the scope of the Whistle Bend subdivision being brought online this fall. The intention is that the subdivision will house some 8,000 people. This would be an increase in housing that would allow for matching and exceeding the city’s population growth over the past 20 years. In short, given the idea of 20 year growth, the new subdivision well into the development process should provide adequate housing for our needs.

We must also consider the fact that the Whitehorse housing market is also softening a bit, a trend matching those observed nationally, but whether this is an ongoing trend or short term remains to be seen.

It costs a great deal of money to plan and build a subdivision. Why are we spending this when the need does not match historical growth? If sales fall flat, and the population does not increase any faster than it has, there will be quite a few lots available without a market to support it. These will need expensive water, sewer, road and other services regardless whether the new subdivision is actually required. And, even if the population does not increase, infrastructure maintenance costs will.

I don’t mind a bit of pre-planning. In fact, I strongly support being prepared. However, it seems to me that the city, once again, is throwing money away on something that is flash rather than substance, and rather than determining whether or not it is a reasonable requirement. Remember that when you vote for a new mayor and council this October, since several of the candidates for both offices have been strong supporters of this development.

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Excuse me?

Two weeks ago, I had a somewhat bizarre incident where a city truck jumped the line waiting at the car wash. I complained to the city and it was passed on to the City Manager. I finally got a response the other day and I’ve been shaking my head ever since. It contained the following:

“We have dealt with the  issue and now consider it closed.”

Wait a second. Doesn’t  the person who complained determine if a matter is dealt with acceptably? It seems to me that I finally understand why a city employee can conduct himself in an arrogant and superior manner. After all, if the city manager is above the mere mortals who pay his salary, why can’t the remainder of the staff be that way…

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One of those “What?” moments

After work, I headed downtown to do a few errands and had one of those moments I’m reluctant to describe. This occurred in the parking lot of the car wash on Industrial Road.

When I arrived, I was the only one in line to get in. All of the bays were in use so I would get in reasonably quickly. Another vehicle pulled in behind me shortly after. It was a City of Whitehorse truck. Now, since it was a nice day, I was standing outside waiting my turn. Right after pulling behind me, he starts to try to get around. I figured he wasn’t willing to wait and wanted to pull out around the building and leave. The passenger asked if I would pull ahead a bit, so I got back into the truck and moved it forward so he could get around me.

Imagine my surprise when he doesn’t leave. Instead, he jumps ahead of me in line. I guess he was in even more of a hurry than I thought. I was so flabbergasted that I didn’t think of getting the license number until it was too late. After a few minutes, and just as I was walking up to say something, they pull out, around the building and leave. I figure that waiting is something only us mere mortals are expected to do.

I did send an e-mail to council to complain. I’m not sure what will come out of the e-mail, so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see…