2023-election-lcc

Local Community Commission candidates respond to questions on collaboration, top issues, transportation, food security and more...

Following are the responses to a questionnaire developed for the candidates standing for election to the new CRD Local Community Commission approved by voters by referendum last fall. These responses will form the basis for a free online All Candidates Forum May 9th, 2023, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm. To register click here. The questionnaire and the upcoming All Candidates Forum are jointly produced by Transition Salt Spring Society, Island Pathways - Cycling Committee and the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust in the interests of ensuring that eligible voters have an opportunity to get to know the candidates for this new governing body on Salt Spring. All candidates were emailed this questionnaire on April 22nd. The deadline for responses was 5 pm, May 2nd. Eleven responses were received by the deadline. Their responses are duplicated here without edits. Candidates who responded to the questionnaire have been invited to participate in an online All Candidates Forum on May 9th. To re…

2023 Local Community Commission Election Candidate Profile - Eric G March

Learn more about Eric G March who is running as a candidate for Commissioner in the 2023 Local Community Commission Election. The 2023 Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission Election is scheduled for Saturday, May 27, 2023. The Capital Regional District will be conducting voting to elect four commissioners to the Local Community Commission (LCC). Learn more about what the LCC is and how it works. About Eric G March I moved to Salt Spring Island from my home in Vancouver in late February 2020, a great time to get out of the city and out of the tourism industry. From my arrival on Salt Spring until April 2022, I worked at Salt Spring Apple Company and Ciderworks, where they must have liked me because they promoted me through several layers of management. However, in April 2022 I decided it was time to seek new shores, so I moved to the north end, and bought a kayak, fishing rod, and crab trap. I spent that summer dipping my toes back into the tourism industry work…

Opinion: Getting Salt Spring’s new Local Community Commission off to a strong start

Salt Spring residents will have a new experience on May 27: electing four commissioners to service on our Local Community Commissioner. There are two big questions you might want to consider as you think about how (or even if) you are going to vote. Why Does It Matter? Even if you voted last October to create the LCC, you might be wondering how much it really matters who we elect. I often hear cynical Salt Springers say that things really don’t change no matter what we do. I’d like to suggest that it does matter and that things really can change. We just haven’t had the tools to bring about positive change until now. Our community has seen plenty of debate over how we should govern ourselves, but a lot less action to actually improve things. Enter the LCC. It isn’t going to be a super-charged fix-all for our community, but it is going to give us tools to respond better to the challenges we face. Whether you’re mostly concerned about the lack of affordable housing…

2023 Local Community Commission Election Candidate Profile - Kylie Coates

Learn more about Kylie Coates who is running as a candidate for Commissioner, in the 2023 Local Community Commission Election. The 2023 Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission Election is scheduled for Saturday, May 27, 2023. The Capital Regional District will be conducting voting to elect four commissioners to the Local Community Commission (LCC). Learn more about what the LCC is and how it works. About Kylie Coates I am a 4th generation islander, born and raised on Salt Spring. After graduating from GISS in 2000, I have held many jobs. I have worked in the electrical trade, as well as having worked in security. I have traveled extensively around the world, and am always happy to return home to Salt Spring. Since my return from work and travel in 2010, I found it necessary to remain on the island in order to help my father with his business, as well as assisting with my aging grandparents. Since that time, my priorities and responsibilities have shifted , and I …

2023 Local Community Commission Election Candidate Profile - Gayle Baker

Learn more about Gayle Baker who is running as a candidate for Commissioner, in the 2023 Local Community Commission Election. The 2023 Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission Election is scheduled for Saturday, May 27, 2023. The Capital Regional District will be conducting voting to elect four commissioners to the Local Community Commission (LCC). Learn more about what the LCC is and how it works. About Gayle Baker I spent my career in community colleges navigating bureaucratic hurdles to deliver community workforce training needs. I got pretty good at this as evidenced by successfully developing over 50 programs as Dean at Santa Barbara City College. Partnering to improve services and systems by removing barriers is what I do best. What brought you to the island? Our sailboat! We arrived one summer weekend in 2000 and fell in love with the vibrancy and welcoming spirit of Salt Spring. A few months later, a Salt Spring couple moored their boat next to us in…

2023 Local Community Commission Election Candidate Profile - Brian Webster

Learn more about Brian Webster who is running as a candidate for Commissioner, in the 2023 Local Community Commission Election. The 2023 Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission Election is scheduled for Saturday, May 27, 2023. The Capital Regional District will be conducting voting to elect four commissioners to the Local Community Commission (LCC). Learn more about what the LCC is and how it works. About Brian Webster I've lived on B.C.'s south coast for almost my entire life. Educated as a geographer, I have always been fascinated by patterns of human activity on the landscape. I have been equally interested in public affairs, so spent 25 years self-employed in Victoria as a writer/editor and communications consultant. This included eight years of consulting work for B.C.'s now-defunct Office of the Auditor General for Local Government, where I learned about the many challenges facing local governments across our province. I came to Salt Spring in 2011 as a res…

Salt Spring Island voted in favour of a Local Community Commission but what is it and how does it work?

On October 15, 2022, qualified electors in the Salt Spring Island Electoral Area voted in favour of the CRD Board adopting Bylaw 4507, authorizing the establishment of the Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission (LCC). The LCC is a regional district commission with delegated authority over specified local services and is comprised of elected, rather than appointed, members. The purpose of this LCC is to broaden elected oversight and administration of certain Salt Spring Island local services, to ensure decision-making regarding these services is more locally transparent and reflective of the broader public interest. The LCC will consolidate governance of several local services currently overseen by individual commissions. What level of authority is delegated to the LCC? The creation of an LCC, with an elected membership, is the highest form of delegated commission in an electoral area under the Local Government Act. While the LCC will have a wide scope of authority …