It was standing room only for the first of two All Candidates’ Meetings held at Monterey Centre last night. It was a terrific turn-out which I hope points to an equally terrific voter turn-out on November 19th.
Questions from the audience were thoughtful, well expressed and everyone was respectful and patient. While it seemed that the format was a bit challenging for both audience and candidates, with so many running and only a two-hour time slot, there was a need for process and I believe that the facilitator did a good job of keeping us on task.
Questions focused on such topics as:
- urban deer
- Oak Bay Lodge
- heritage
- sewage
- housing and secondary suites
- diversity and inclusion
- community health
- tax revenues used to address infrastructure
- role of Oak Bay in the CRD process
- request for a Mayors’ debate
- protecting Oak Bay character and single family dwellings
The evening seemed to fly by and before I knew it, it was 9:00. I want to thank everyone who approached me after the meeting to express their support and to give me some pointers on presentation. I appreciated it very much.
One important point that I failed to mention — I LIVE IN OAK BAY! I do not live in North Saanich and am just finishing up my Council term there.
Please don’t forget to attend the second All Candidates’ Meeting on Tuesday, November 8 at 7:00 PM at Emmanuel Baptist Church, corner of Cedar Hill X Rd. and Henderson.
Thanks again for attending last night!