Rob lives in Esquimalt and he wrote this article in today’s TC, profiling our community.
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Rob Shaw, Times Colonist
Published: Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Population (2006): 16,840
Median household income (2005): $47,653
Area: 7.04 square kilometres
Average house price: $509,833
Median house price: $506,000
Prominent landmarks: Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt
Esquimalt council’s ill-fated attempt to close the Archie Browning Sports Centre more than a year ago has snowballed into one of the main issues in the town’s municipal election on Nov. 15.
It’s not necessarily the arena itself that remains controversial, having been granted at least a five-year reprieve by the outgoing council.
Rather, candidates say it’s the lingering sense of distrust toward the politicians who tried to push through its demise suddenly, with little public consultation.
Fourteen candidates are vying for six council seats. Two are vying for mayor. At least six candidates are affiliated with community groups pledging to save Archie Browning, and many say their decision to run for office was sparked last spring when council suddenly voted, at a count of 5-1, to close the arena because staff reports said it was losing money and needed expensive repairs.
Hundreds of residents crammed subsequent meetings and heckled council until it reversed course and agreed to spend more than $150,000 in repairs to keep the facility open.
Barb Desjardins was the only councillor to vote against closing the arena. She’s running for mayor. “Council changed its decision but that created a lot of distrust,” she said.
Her lone vote to save Archie Browning shows she’s in touch with what the community wants while other politicians have to be told through backlash, said Desjardins, a 52-year-old physiotherapist who lives on a floathouse at the Westbay Marine Village. She points to other examples of leadership: Pushing the Victoria Police Board to better communicate with Esquimalt council for its budget, and first raising the idea of putting a sewage treatment plant at MacLaughlin Point (an old oil tank site) rather than Macaulay Point (near a park).
“I often play a leadership role and to me it’s just a natural progression,” Desjardins said of the mayor’s job.
Incumbent Mayor Chris Clement admits he made a mistake on the arena issue and said he now agrees with keeping it open at least five years. Beyond that, the 59-year-old consulting ecologist said he’s not sure what the future holds for the facility.
“The arena comes up occasionally,” said Clement, while door knocking in the Rockheights neighbourhood last week. “[Desjardins] assumes it’s going to be a big galvanizing issue, but it’s not.”
Clement is also in favour of McLaughlin Point rather than Macaulay for sewage, but said the idea was actually first raised at the Capital Regional District sewage committee he has served on the past three years.
The election is largely about leadership, said Clement, who served a term on council in 1988 before serving two terms as mayor from 1990 to 1996, and a third from 2005 to 2008. With only two incumbent councillors running for office, the six-seat council could be full of new politicians that need the guidance of an experienced mayor, he said.
“The comments I get mainly are, ‘You are doing a good job, we’re going to support you.'”
The subdued mayoral battle between Desjardins and Clement is nothing like the rancorous, bitter, fight between Darwin Robinson, Ruth Layne and Clement in 2005.
Clement said he respects Desjardins but her campaign platform is vague. Desjardins said she respects Clement but the community wants a mayor it can trust.
Meanwhile, the changing political landscape on Esquimalt council is perhaps reflective of the town’s demographic shift.
The community is close to Victoria but has lower-priced homes than that city. As a result, young families have increasingly moved there, eschewing its reputation as Victoria’s poor, gritty, crime-riddled, working-class military neighbour. The town is projecting a 25 per cent population increase within the next 20 years.
That population shift has led to a conflicted vision for the future between new and old residents. There is no clear consensus on such things as plans to revitalize Esquimalt’s village core and whether the community should accept highrise buildings that exceed the 10-storey limit in the official community plan.
Both Clement and Desjardins agree on the need to review the OCP with the community. They say the key to propping up Esquimalt’s stagnant business sector is to increase density and attract more residents. That could also prevent residential taxes from continuing to rise as the community wrestles with future budgets, they say.
Both Clement and Desjardins say they are finding support on the doorstep of Esquimalt’s taxpayers. But it has been historically hard to predict how Esquimalt’s 17,000 residents will vote. Half are renters who are often unsure if they are even eligible to vote (they can), and the large military community at CFB Esquimalt is often transitory and not always engaged in local politics.
Still, in the last election, approximately 32.5 per cent of residents turned out to vote — a slightly better turnout than in many of the other capital region municipalities.
rfshaw@tc.canwest.com
ESQUIMALT
These are the candidates up for election on Nov. 15:
Mayor:
Chris Clement
Barbara Desjardins
Councillor:
There are six council seats available.
Jeremy Baker
Meagan Brame
Randall Garrison
Alison Gaul
Brian Gray
Sylvia Hammond
Lynda Hundleby
Lori King
Don Linge
Bruce McIldoon
Bob McKie
Thomas Morino
Norman Swan
Christopher Zegger-Murphy
The Times Colonist is profiling election campaigns in the region’s 13 municipalities.
If you miss one, go to http://www.timescolonist.com to catch up. Look under “Editor’s Picks.”
Friday, Oct. 31: Sooke
Saturday: Oak Bay
Yesterday: North Saanich and Metchosin
Today: Esquimalt
Tomorrow: Sidney and Colwood
Thursday: Central Saanich
Friday: View Royal and Highlands
Saturday: Victoria
Sunday: Langford
Monday, Nov. 10: Saanich
More biographical information on the candidates, including details on their experience, community involvement and goals, will be available on our website later this week as part of our online election coverage.
Go to http://www.timescolonist.com and click on “Election Notebook” under Blogtoria. If you have something for the notebook, e-mail us at election@tc.canwest.com.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008
