Just like that, Stew Young’s experience is gone
Re: “Langford’s new rookie mayor, ready to roll up his sleeves and learn the job,” Oct. 17.
I don’t know Langford mayor-elect Scott Goodmanson and I’m sure you don’t either, which is the basis of my question: In what world could this happen?
Former mayor Stew Young spent 30 years building, from the ground up, a very successful and prosperous city called Langford. Leading a civic administration like he has is like leading a very large corporation, that usually has a “person in waiting,” let’s call it, two or three vice-presidents that have been involved in building this thriving operation.
But now the CEO is gone, instantly, and gone with him is all the experience, contacts, friendships and strategy that went into his 30 years of leadership.
I know that an organization like the one Young has led is filled with civil servants that lead several departments, and let’s assume they are competent and life will go on.
There is a group in Langford that wanted growth and commercial success stopped and they believed that by defeating Young they would achieve that, so today I assume they are happy and gloating.
I can assure you, the majority of the citizens of Langford are not happy, because the vast majority of them did not vote — and this is what you get!
Business is very tough to get today and Young knew how to hustle and go out and get it. That’s over.
And to those of you who did not like Young’s method of operating — what’s yours? Your community will be watching to see what you can do to build a better Langford.
Jim Laing
Saanich
Young stopped listening, and the tortoise won
No one can deny what Mayor Stew Young and council have done for Langford in the past 30 years — they also won’t let you forget that either. Really it was starting to sound like a broken record. We are all fully aware what Langford once was and where it is now.
Young lost touch with the community. During the past two-plus years, residents regularly expressed their concerns with the pace of development in the city. Young did not hold back on his contempt for anyone who disagreed with him. Frankly, it became embarrassing to watch how disrespectful he was to staff, fellow councillors and residents.
So, when the residents started realizing that their concerns were falling on deaf ears, five people stepped up and formed Langford Now. They showed the residents what they were so desperately craving — respect.
The election reminds me very much of the story of the hare and the tortoise. The hare lost the race only because he was overconfident, careless and lax. If he had not taken things for granted, there’s no way the tortoise could have beaten him.
Had Young at any point in the past two years put the community first and listened to them, then I believe he would still be mayor.
But he was too stuck on the past. You can’t ask people to move here and then be shocked when they come with their own opinions.
Colin Meyer
Langford
Respect Langford Now, as grassroots as it gets
The legacy of Stew Young will be written in the future. His vision for Langford in 2030, 2040 and beyond is an unknown to residents, however. What we keep and what we discard of his past will decide his legacy.
Never again will a Langford council take residents for granted. Never again will a mayor tell residents to move if they don’t like the way he runs Langford.
Those who don’t live in Langford cannot fully understand the chaos and disrespect that residents have had to deal with.
The media didn’t care and the province didn’t care. Residents were the only ones seeing a disaster in the making.
The slate that won started as grassroots as it gets. Langford Now had no money and no organization. They managed to solve these problems and elect all of their candidates in two and half years, during a pandemic.
They are smart and capable people who had nothing to gain except a voice.
Just for that they should be given credit, and respect.
Jeff Magee
Langford
Margaret Thatcher showed us the path
Re: “Another reminder of the need to merge,” letter, Oct. 18.
The writer is correct to lament the number of municipalities, and their overheads.
We need real change in our local government, and the premier should step up and force the issue.
One of our greatest failings is our need to procrastinate. Why do we have to talk a subject to death before we act?
When Margaret Thatcher saw the waste of so many county councils in small English council areas, she put a red line through the list, and saw the benefit of amalgamation. The result was a far more streamlined, less bureaucratic system that improved the lives of many.
David Smiley
Victoria
Just leave Victoria’s roads until builders are done
May I suggest that the City of Victoria not spend millions of dollars paving the streets until the city’s seemingly endless construction is either finished or paused for some time.
All the heavy trucks and construction equipment would simply create new potholes. Repair, certainly, for the sake of our teeth and tailbones, but paving now would simply waste millions of taxpayer dollars.
Joy Robinson
Victoria
She can vote here, but has to pay the spec tax
My mother-in-law was born in Canada and has a Canadian passport. She worked hard in the nursing profession for more than 30 years and is now a retired widow.
With her savings she purchased a modest apartment in Victoria and a modest apartment in the United States so she can spend time with her children and grandchildren who live in different cities.
She also has American citizenship, and because of this is being charged the foreign buyer’s tax on her Victoria apartment as if she does not live here, yet in the mail she was just invited to vote in Victoria’s civic election.
How does this make sense?
C. Scott Stofer
Victoria
Letter from Fraser Lake: Start cleaning the mess
As someone born in Alberta but raised in north-central B.C., I read Les Leyne’s column about thinking of moving to Alberta with trepidation.
I would love to move back, but successive resource-abusing governments of all political stripes have run B.C.’s rural resource sector into the ground.
My little 960-square-foot three-bedroom cabin in Fraser Lake is not worth much. I cannot afford to relocate anywhere.
Alberta is cheaper than Vancouver or Victoria, but not that much cheaper.
In the late 1970s I lived in Vancouver. A house on the east side of Main Street was in the $30,000 range, on the west side houses were going for $40,000.
My sister had a new home built at Fraser Lake in 1975. The land and building cost $30,000.
Well, I thought I could move back up country, buy a home, and when retirement age rolled around this year, I would be able to sell my house, move to Vancouver and buy a condo. Was I ever wrong.
I cannot afford the condo fees, let alone the property tax or the $1 million that it takes to buy a 500-square-foot one-bedroom condo.
Alberta has abused resource revenues, but nowhere near as bad as what governments have done to rural B.C. in the past 50 years.
Looking forward to the new mayor in Vancouver. Someone needs to start cleaning up the mess in B.C., and that has to start in B.C.’s biggest city.
Wayne Martineau
Fraser Lake
Not much efficiency in our health care
As a recently retired GP, I have gone from health-care provider to consumer, and am appalled at the inefficiency that has been exposed to me more now that I need the service more.
In olden times, like 20 years ago, offices and clinics ordered flu shots, took delivery, and banged them into arms, just about that fast. There was no layer of bureaucrats who thought they knew a better way, doctors just got on with the job.
Now we have pharmacists who can do the job too, so it should be simpler. But no, thanks again to the army of highly paid clipboard carriers providing an unnecessary middle layer and complex (for the elderly) electronic methods of registration.
The story of the 92-year-old forced to be driven 30 miles rather than crossing the road is typical.
It may be apocryphal, but I’ve heard there is a sign in the Health Ministry that says: “We don’t need common sense. We have rules.”
Mike Marshall, former MD
Nanoose Bay
Transparency needed to solve health care
Re: “All parties must work to solve crisis in health care,” editorial, Oct. 15.
The excellent editorial clearly outlines the advanced state of decay that exists in our health-care system and addresses two essential parts of a solution, those being government, at all levels and regardless of political stripes, and the medical community as a whole.
It echoes a letter I wrote to Premier John Horgan in April, with one exception. It fails to mention a vital third component, that being the public.
I believe a top-to-bottom transparent review is required, by an independent entity, empowered to look at the two areas you have mentioned but to also include widespread public consultation to hear what the people expect, and are prepared to pay for, from our health-care system, leading to a set of principles against which the decisions of government and the medical community can be routinely measured.
It is clear we cannot trust the closed-door processes that have led us to this point. We must demand transparency and accountability. We must save our health-care system.
Larry Biccum
Parksville
Security checks are taking far too long
Re: “Defence chief calls on Canadians to rally behind military personnel crisis,” Oct. 16.
One notable impediment to recruiting more personnel to the Canadian Armed Forces that I am aware of is the requirement for those who apply and are acceptable to the CAF are then required to be cleared by the RCMP to ensure the new recruit is not a security risk to the country.
That process is taking 12 to 18 months, by which time many potential recruits who have just graduated high school have moved on to jobs, trades training, community colleges or universities.
If the CAF hired them right away, with a proviso that if they didn’t pass their security check, they would be released, that would go a long way to alleviating the problem.
As long as the newly enrolled members of the CAF are not exposed to classified information, they can receive their basic training, and in almost all cases there will not be any problems with the security check.
After all, how many high school graduates are a threat to their country?
Patrick Hunt, president
Submarine Association of Canada, West
Victoria
That heavy work was much appreciated
Males seem to be getting a bad rap in a lot of news headlines lately. As the mother of two wonderful sons and grandmother of a five-year-old grandson, I think it’s time they were celebrated again.
I was watching about six city workers fixing an underground leak on our street today and it was very heavy work. Thank goodness for their strength, professionalism and the great way they co-ordinated with each other to get the job done.
Way to go guys!
Anne Forbes
Victoria
Horgan has ignored opinions for years
I loathe Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the far right she represents, but I have to say Premier John Horgan saying opinions don’t matter gave me quite a laugh. He’s been making it clear for years that the opinions of British Columbians don’t matter to the NDP once they’ve been elected.
His opinion of voters’ opinions hasn’t been in doubt for a long time.
Nancy Muggoch
Denman Island
Danielle Smith’s remarks are embarrassing
As a former Albertan, the new Alberta premier, who by the way speaks from outside of the legislature, is off to a questionable start.
Her remarks, among other things, show how badly divided Alberta has become. Her predecessor, Jason Kenney, declared that the summer of 2021 was Alberta’s best summer, ever.
The current premier has declared that Alberta’s unvaccinated folk during COVID-19 endured the worst discrimination that she has seen “in her lifetime.” Those poor people had the “best” and the “worst” all in one single summer.
Robert Townsend
Saanich
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