Can New West municipal candidates follow simple rules?

The New Westminster Record published New West municipal candidate profiles recently, and in them the candidates had to answer a handful of questions. While they weren’t nearly as good as my questions, they did come with one simple rule:

Answers were limited to 50 words unless otherwise specified.

Pretty simple rule, right? Let’s see who was able to follow that simple rule! Candidates get a ✅ for succeeding and a ❌ for failing. Even if you miss one question, you fail! It’s a simple test, you should be able to do it!

Mayoral Candidates

✅ Jimmie Bell

✅ Nikki Binns

✅ Jonathan Cote

❌ Harm Woldring (2/5)

Council Candidates

✅ Chinu Das

❌ Daniel Fontaine (4/5)

✅ Troy Hunter

✅ Mike Ireland

✅ Patrick Johnstone

✅ Jaimie McEvoy

✅ Paul McNamara

✅ Nadine Nakagawa

❌ Benny Ogden (4/5)

✅ Chuck Puchmayr

✅ Angela Sealy

✅ Mary Trentadue

✅ Ellen Vaillancourt

❌ Bryn Ward (4/5)

School Trustee Candidates

✅ Steve Tsonev

❌ Maya Russell (4/5)

❌ Mary Lalji (4/5)

❌ J.P. LeBerg (4/5)

✅ Gurveen Dhaliwal

✅ Dee Beattie

❌ Doug Woodward (2/5)

❌ Danielle Connelly (3/5)

✅ Anita Ansari

❌ Lisa Falbo (2/5)

✅ Cyrus Sy

❌ Alejandro Diaz (3/5)

❌ Mark Gifford (3/5)

Hard-Hitting Conclusions

School Trustee candidates, almost all of you need to go back to school and learn how to follow rules. I mean seriously, only five of you could follow simple directions? That’s not even enough to form a full school board! It’s really depressing to see so many of you fail such a simple set of directions, and I’m not being sarcastic here. Seriously, attention to detail is a key skill that you all should have when you’re trying to get elected to run an $80 million organization. If you can’t be bothered to use a simple word count webpage then why should we trust you to understand the details of complex policies you’ll be coming up with to further the education of our children? That’s a serious question and I invite any of you with a ❌ next to your name to leave a comment below. And this time you don’t have a word limit.

I was originally planning on doing a breakdown between Team Cote and the New West Progressives and the independents but honestly, after seeing the terrible results from the School Trustee candidates I don’t have the willpower. Oh, alright, maybe I do, here we go.

Team Cote: 12/14

New West Progressives: 3/8

Independents: 6/11 (three haven’t answered, let’s pray to God that they read this post and figure out how to follow rules)

Mary Trentadue answered my questions!

Mary Trentadue is running for New Westminster City Council, and she answered my questions!

1. There are two types of people in the world: people who like simple pop-culture “what type of cheese are you” quizzes that they can then share on Facebook, and people who don’t. Sadly, I don’t have a quiz for you but this is close enough: are you an order muppet or a chaos muppet? Which muppet are you?

Mary: I’m sure I’m an order muppet but likely a chaos muppet….when I’m not an order muppet 🙂

2. When was the last time you visited City Hall? What changes would you propose to make City Hall more welcoming? When was the last time you attended a City Council meeting? What changes would you propose to make City Council meetings more welcoming? Sorry, I guess that was kind of four questions.

I visit City Hall a few times a week – Council meetings, committee meetings and one-on-one meetings with residents. I don’t find it particularly welcoming and know that most people feel uncomfortable coming and speaking to Council. We could do more to help the public understand the process when they arrive and also change some procedures that are old fashioned and not easily-understood.

3. Buy Low Foods recently shut its store in Uptown, leaving a hole in the market for grocery stores. What will you do to ensure that there is proper competition among grocery stores and a Save-On Foods opens in that location, restoring the competitive marketplace that the Competition Bureau foisted upon us in 2014?

The City is somewhat restricted in dictating to landlords whom they rent their spaces to. BUT, we can do much more to make sure New Westminster is a favoured location for local and regional businesses. Increasing the business profile of New West has been included in our Economic Development Strategy.

4. New Westminster has a number of advisory committees, task forces, and working groups. Upon being elected, which one would you like to chair the most and why? No need to restrict yourself to an existing one either, if you feel strongly that a new one needs to be formed (that you’d obviously chair) feel free to answer that!

I would like to stay on the Arts Commission as I’m really committed to seeing the Arts Strategy completed. I am also really interested in some form of a Tenants Advisory Committee or task force as earlier suggested by Patrick Johnstone. We should also be discussing the best way to form a Women’s Advisory Committee. Having just advocating for two new committees I would really like for the City of have an in-depth look at how many committees we currently have and how to make them more efficient and effective.

5. What is your favourite neighbourhood, and why is it Brow of the Hill?

HA – sorry while I do love the eclectic nature of the Brow – my heart belongs to the Moody Park neighbourhood. Being able to walk to City amenities, enjoy the parks, hang out with friends at the playground and enjoy the dog park makes this an amazing neighbourhood for my family.

6. The process leading up to and including the public hearing for the temporary modular housing in Queensborough was… challenging, to say the least. This question is only for the non-incumbent candidates: on the final motion to amend the OCP and rezone the property to allow the temporary modular housing, how would you have voted? Please note that you may describe why you would have voted a particular way, but you must say whether you would have voted in favour of or against the motion on the table.

Yes, I voted to support this project.

7. Who would be on your sasquatch hunting team?

Sasquatch?? I suppose I’d take my son – that would be his thing!

8. How do you propose engaging with renters, new immigrants, and youth?

We need to work harder to go and meet our community where they are instead of expecting them to come to us. There seems to be a lot of barriers for people feeling included and having a good understanding of the barriers would be a good place to start.

9. With absolutely no apologies to Chris Campbell, what would your entrance music be? Please note that if you dare pick We Built This City by Starship you are hereby banned from ever running for public office ever again.

My entrance music changes day to day and hour by hour. These days it’s Respect by Aretha Franklin.

Thank you Mary!

Michael Ireland answered my questions!

Michael Ireland is running for New Westminster City Council, and he answered my questions!

1. There are two types of people in the world: people who like simple pop-culture “what type of cheese are you” quizzes that they can then share on Facebook, and people who don’t. Sadly, I don’t have a quiz for you but this is close enough: are you an order muppet or a chaos muppet? Which muppet are you?

Michael: I have organized chaos in business and personal life. A man willing to go out on the town with out a plan but, set out in my business life lists and order. There are times that my home may be a little cluttered and then days it is in perfect order. I have holidays in strange places and will run through forests where I don’t know a path but, I also plan trips around Ironman races and plan six months of training around them. There is one part of this question that’s not grey. I have never been a muppet. Nobody speaks for me, creates my dialogue or has their hand up my back controlling my movements.

2. When was the last time you visited City Hall? What changes would you propose to make City Hall more welcoming? When was the last time you attended a City Council meeting? What changes would you propose to make City Council meetings more welcoming? Sorry, I guess that was kind of four questions.

I was at City Hall last week. Changes should be to modern lighting, access, and preservation of the gorgeous Art Deco building that exists there. I attend City Council meetings all over the country regularly as the business I am and position I hold has me doing so.

3. Buy Low Foods recently shut its store in Uptown, leaving a hole in the market for grocery stores. What will you do to ensure that there is proper competition among grocery stores and a Save-On Foods opens in that location, restoring the competitive marketplace that the Competition Bureau foisted upon us in 2014?

That is a tough question as businesses that don’t survive should not be supported by your tax dollars. Knowing that the area needs a local store I would think CIty could offer some form of incentive to have regular “mobile market” days throughout the entire year and to engage in dialogue with new retailers that the community may be interested in.

4. New Westminster has a number of advisory committees, task forces, and working groups. Upon being elected, which one would you like to chair the most and why? No need to restrict yourself to an existing one either, if you feel strongly that a new one needs to be formed (that you’d obviously chair) feel free to answer that!

I’d like to be involved in Infrastructure planning and negotiations with Moti/Translink/Boundary Cities/Metro Vancouver. Also, I would include myself in arts council work, health care access and advocacy and the sports planning commission.

5. What is your favourite neighbourhood, and why is it Brow of the Hill?

The Quay. It allows me to be near the water, a path to either side of the town and access to downtown.

6. The process leading up to and including the public hearing for the temporary modular housing in Queensborough was… challenging, to say the least. This question is only for the non-incumbent candidates: on the final motion to amend the OCP and rezone the property to allow the temporary modular housing, how would you have voted? Please note that you may describe why you would have voted a particular way, but you must say whether you would have voted in favour of or against the motion on the table.

I would have supported the housing and the development of programs to aid in women getting a step in the right direction. Without the support of community my own family wouldn’t be here today. My grandmother was left with her four young children on the street in the late fifties after my grandfather took off. She turned to the Salvation Army who helped her initially and then she raised the four working until she was 65. She was my hero as, each one went to University and on on to promote unity and communal engagement. While I lived in Los Angeles for many years I regularly supported and was engaged in homeless shelters for women and children.

7. Who would be on your sasquatch hunting team?

I don’t hunt but, I’d go for a trail run with my photographer friend Brooklin and he’d miraculously have a camera with him and end up with a shot of the Sasquatch!

8. How do you propose engaging with renters, new immigrants, and youth?

Well each of those groups are very different and need a different approach. New immigrants need access to services and similar immigrants who have resided here longer and have successes. This would be a provincial and federal group that would also lend to their initial needs. Renters are in many forms now. There are ones that want high end tmeporary places while they’re here for work, ones that are in between and then life time renters. Each has completely different needs and there’s no single solution. Knowing that space is at a premium I would ensure that there are no empty units like in Downtown Vancouver where real estate speculators from overseas never occupy the unit they buy.

9. With absolutely no apologies to Chris Campbell, what would your entrance music be? Please note that if you dare pick We Built This City by Starship you are hereby banned from ever running for public office ever again.

Lately my music stream has been pretty varied some nights Alexa plays Mo-town and some nights Soft Hawaiian music so, a single song that I love to turn up, Supertramp’s “Cannonball”, as I love the Brass instruments in it.

Thank you Michael!

Patrick Johnstone answered my questions!

Patrick Johnstone is running for New Westminster City Council, and he answered my questions!

1. There are two types of people in the world: people who like simple pop-culture “what type of cheese are you” quizzes that they can then share on Facebook, and people who don’t. Sadly, I don’t have a quiz for you but this is close enough: are you an order muppet or a chaos muppet? Which muppet are you?

Patrick: I used to think I was an order muppet, then I met Antigone, which convinced me I am the chaos muppet, until I got elected to Council, when I was re-convinced that I am an order muppet, though the answer to this question may indicate otherwise.

2. When was the last time you visited City Hall? What changes would you propose to make City Hall more welcoming? When was the last time you attended a City Council meeting? What changes would you propose to make City Council meetings more welcoming? Sorry, I guess that was kind of four questions.

Today. (Editor’s note: Patrick sent me the answers on September 21 and this post is being published on September 22.)

I think it is welcoming, though we have some accessibility issues that only an expensive major renovation will fix.

Last Monday.

I have several ideas in my Engaged City platform about shifting how public engagement and Public Hearings work, but I think Council needs to be more diverse, we need to work more on speaking in plain language in both council and in our official communications. And freezies. (That was 4 questions).

3. Buy Low Foods recently shut its store in Uptown, leaving a hole in the market for grocery stores. What will you do to ensure that there is proper competition among grocery stores and a Save-On Foods opens in that location, restoring the competitive marketplace that the Competition Bureau foisted upon us in 2014?

There will be no rest until every building in New Westminster contains a Save on Foods. Yes, including your house. Resistance is futile.

4. New Westminster has a number of advisory committees, task forces, and working groups. Upon being elected, which one would you like to chair the most and why? No need to restrict yourself to an existing one either, if you feel strongly that a new one needs to be formed (that you’d obviously chair) feel free to answer that!

ACTBiPed. We are making progress on active transportation policy, but we need to keep pushing to get more of our budget directed towards modernizing our transportation network. Building infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users (and emergent technologies like electric scooters) need to be a top priority for the City.

5. What is your favourite neighbourhood, and why is it Brow of the Hill?

Because I live in the Brow. I love being a 5 minute walk to everywhere (shopping, SkyTrain, City Hall), and I love the variety of housing and my diverse neighbours!

6. The process leading up to and including the public hearing for the temporary modular housing in Queensborough was… challenging, to say the least. This question is only for the non-incumbent candidates: on the final motion to amend the OCP and rezone the property to allow the temporary modular housing, how would you have voted? Please note that you may describe why you would have voted a particular way, but you must say whether you would have voted in favour of or against the motion on the table.

I voted for it.

7. Who would be on your sasquatch hunting team?

Steve Austin, Raoul Duke, and Carl Sagan. And Peter Sagan.

8. How do you propose engaging with renters, new immigrants, and youth?

By creating space and opportunities for them to engage, by meeting them on their own turf, and by seeking out and eliminating the barriers to their participation in civic affairs. For example, I think we need a Renters Association in the City on the same model as Residents’ Associations.

9. With absolutely no apologies to Chris Campbell, what would your entrance music be? Please note that if you dare pick We Built This City by Starship you are hereby banned from ever running for public office ever again.

The National Anthem by Radiohead. I’m back to being a chaos muppet I think.

Thank you Patrick!

Chinu Das answered my questions!

Chinu Das is running for New Westminster City Council, and she answered my questions!

1. There are two types of people in the world: people who like simple pop-culture “what type of cheese are you” quizzes that they can then share on Facebook, and people who don’t. Sadly, I don’t have a quiz for you but this is close enough: are you an order muppet or a chaos muppet? Which muppet are you?

Chinu: Neither. In order to create order you start with chaos. They are two sides of the same coin.

2. When was the last time you visited City Hall? What changes would you propose to make City Hall more welcoming? When was the last time you attended a City Council meeting? What changes would you propose to make City Council meetings more welcoming? Sorry, I guess that was kind of four questions.

Today, Sept 20 for the Senior’s Advisory committee meeting.
Sept 4 for Community and Social Issues Advisory committee.

A study was done by Welcoming and Inclusive New Westminster committee that identified welcoming signage, comfortable seating areas and being greeted at all civic facilities.

June 18th, I think. Attended the session on Cannabis legislation.

Staff, Mayor and Council members  can meet and greet people for a short time so that they feel welcomed.

3. Buy Low Foods recently shut its store in Uptown, leaving a hole in the market for grocery stores. What will you do to ensure that there is proper competition among grocery stores and a Save-On Foods opens in that location, restoring the competitive marketplace that the Competition Bureau foisted upon us in 2014?

Alert the media?

4. New Westminster has a number of advisory committees, task forces, and working groups. Upon being elected, which one would you like to chair the most and why? No need to restrict yourself to an existing one either, if you feel strongly that a new one needs to be formed (that you’d obviously chair) feel free to answer that!

Multicultural Advisory, Community and Social issues Advisory because those are my interests. Would love to see a committee on neighbourhood social connectedness.

5. What is your favourite neighbourhood, and why is it Brow of the Hill?

Because it is the little hood that could!

6. The process leading up to and including the public hearing for the temporary modular housing in Queensborough was… challenging, to say the least. This question is only for the non-incumbent candidates: on the final motion to amend the OCP and rezone the property to allow the temporary modular housing, how would you have voted? Please note that you may describe why you would have voted a particular way, but you must say whether you would have voted in favour of or against the motion on the table.

I would have voted in favour of the motion on the table : to amend the OCP and rezone the property.

7. Who would be on your sasquatch hunting team?

My youngest son. He is a great storyteller and can spin a sasquatch yarn easily.

8. How do you propose engaging with renters, new immigrants, and youth?

This needs outreach work, connecting one on one and building trust and respect. Once trust is established, encourage them to participate in city events and use their voice on city committees.

9. With absolutely no apologies to Chris Campbell, what would your entrance music be? Please note that if you dare pick We Built This City by Starship you are hereby banned from ever running for public office ever again.

What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.

Thank you Chinu!