麻豆传媒映画mayor-elect Kennedy Stewart visits Glacier Media offices two days after the election. (Photo by Dan Toulgoet)
In four years from now, more than 400,000 eligible voters will get a chance to give Vancouver鈥檚 new mayor, Kennedy Stewart, a definitive performance review at the ballot box.
鈥淐鈥檓on,鈥� said the voter, 鈥済ive the guy a break鈥攈e just got elected!鈥�
Point taken.
鈥淎nd he may not seek a second term!鈥�
But let鈥檚 say he does.
To help voters make an informed decision in 2022, I thought it would be helpful to have a handy checklist of the promises Stewart made in the campaign to track his progress, or lack of it over the next four years.
I鈥檝e gone through my notes, his platform and the many emails I received from his campaign team dating back to May when Stewart announced he was running for mayor as an independent candidate.
Some of his promises require other levels of government to get on board, some鈥攍ike the need for a renters鈥� advocate鈥攚ere initiated under the previous Vision 麻豆传媒映画administration of Gregor Robertson.
There鈥檚 also the fact Stewart is an independent mayor, without a majority to help him implement all his plans, some of which鈥�85,000 homes over 10 years!鈥攈ave an expiry date in 2028.
Anyway, here鈥檚 what I鈥檝e come up with, knowing full well I'm likely missing a few promises he made during the campaign.
Here we go...
In his first 100 days in office, which began Nov. 5, Stewart promises:
- To hire more staff and make changes to clear a backlog of building permits, with a focus on rental housing projects.
- Hire a renters鈥� advocate to work with council and ensure renters have access to legal advice and advocacy they need to fight unfair evictions and rent increases.
- Set up an emergency task force in the Downtown Eastside, with the primary goal of tackling the opioid crisis and saving lives.
- Launch a review of city policies, particularly those related to taxes and permits, that impact small business.
- Require elected officials to proactively disclose assets and prohibit them from working outside city hall, if these activities are likely to conflict with their public duties.
- Prohibit officials and 鈥渒ey staff members鈥� from accepting government contracts or lobbying for 12 months after leaving their positions.
- Create a lobbyist registry, which would require lobbyists to declare details of their activities in an online registry. Levy fines for non-compliance. Make the information available to the public.
His other promises:
- Build 85,000 homes over the next 10 years, with 25,000 of those non-profit 鈥渁ffordable鈥� rental homes (so that鈥檚 2,500 this year) for households making $80,000 or less.
- Fast-track 25,000 new purpose-built market rental homes and laneway homes over the next 10 years. To help achieve that goal, create a 鈥減urpose-built rental housing office鈥� to provide a single point of contact and 鈥渋ncreased certainty鈥� for developers.
- Issue a report within first year that outlines how to make life more affordable for renters, including reviewing current policies and examining new measures such as freezing rents and adjusting rules governing short-term rentals
- Triple the empty homes tax.
- Expropriate 鈥渢roubled鈥� single-room-occupancy hotels.
- Negotiate a new 麻豆传媒映画Agreement.
- On Kinder Morgan鈥檚 Trans Mountain pipeline: 鈥淚f elected mayor, I will use every resource at my discretion to stop the federal government from building this new pipeline, including taking them all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.鈥�
- Require all elected officials and civic political parties to be subject to existing provincial regulations governing campaign finance between elections, including annual disclosure of donations.
- Require all civic election candidates and third-party advertisers to provide 鈥渞egular disclosures鈥� of donations between Jan. 1 and election day, during an election year.
- If city residents vote in the November provincial referendum to change to a proportional representation system, then future civic elections will be conducted using pro rep.
- If pro rep is rejected, then future elections will be conducted using 鈥渘eighbourhood constituencies鈥� (wards) similar to those used at the federal and provincial level.
- Launch an online petition system from the mayor鈥檚 office.
- Fully fund and implement the city鈥檚 women鈥檚 equity strategy.
- All drug policy options will be open for consideration, including initiating a safe and accessible supply of drugs 鈥渇or those at high risk in the current illegal and dangerous market.鈥� Expand safe consumption sites.
- Build 100,000 sq. feet of 鈥渁ffordable studio space鈥� over the next decade 鈥渂y integrating arts spaces into more public buildings and affordable housing developments and creating new purpose-built spaces.鈥�
- Expand funding for small and medium-sized community-based art organizations and change the granting process to include individuals and groups of artists, and informal collectives.
- Review how the 麻豆传媒映画Police Department charges for event security and help reduce costs for community events.
- Expand small-scale businesses, including corner stores, small cafes and laneway-based businesses. Laneway businesses would be live/work and protected from 鈥渢he volatility of triple-net leases and property tax costs.鈥�
- Create an affordable start-up hub, purpose-built for new tech start-ups to remove barriers and reduce costs.
- Work to secure federal, provincial and UBC funding to extend SkyTrain along Broadway corridor to the university.
- Work to expand the city鈥檚 bus network, including more night service. Investigate way to reduce fees for seniors, people living with a disability and those on low incomes. Support 鈥淎ll on Board鈥� campaign to make all transit free to children and youth.
- Work with community groups in Chinatown to revitalize the historic district with a focus on promoting its culture to locals and tourists.
- And finally...call Courier reporter Mike Howell the day before next election to go over checklist.
So there you go, voters鈥攕omething else to paste on your fridge.
