I’ll start this post off with one of the items in the New West Progressives’ platform:
Connecting our citizens to various city programs and services is vital if we are to build a strong sense of community and public engagement. As a team, we commit to facilitating more submissions and feedback to council via social media channels such as YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Over the past month or so I have asked a number of questions about the New West Progressives’ platform (and some additional random questions) by email, Twitter and Facebook. A group I’m affiliated with, Yes in New West, also emailed a question to the New West Progressives city council candidates and invited them to an all-candidates meeting.
Over that time I have received one response from Bryn Ward for my questions, and instead of answering them directly she sent me a link to a podcast interview she’d done. After I listened to it and asked for clarification, for the Temporary Modular Housing question she answered “I am in favour of the project for women at risk however not the location it is in” (which wasn’t the motion to vote on) and her entrance music would be would be “Man in the Mirror“. Ms. Ward was also the only one to reply by email to the YiNW all-candidates invite, although Ellen Vaillancourt also attended.
For a team that’s committing to building public engagement through social media channels, the New West Progressives aren’t doing a good job of building public engagement through social media channels.
For the record, here are the questions I asked:
- Speaking of 311, when it was brought in in Vancouver (thanks in part to Daniel Fontaine) they had to raid other departments to pay for its expensive implementation, like park improvements and street safety measures. Which departments would Daniel Fontaine and the New West Progressives cut?
Child care and seniors services are conspicuously missing from your platform, would you cut those to bring in your expensive 311 service?
- Hi David [Halkett, President of the New West Progressives], would you be able to find out why the NWP council candidates aren’t answering any questions that they’re being asked on social media or by email?
- What can the New West Progressives do about whistle cessation that current council isn’t?
- Why doesn’t Paul McNamara have an email address? Why do questions to his Twitter account and through his website go unanswered?
- How would Paul McNamara have voted for the final motion on Queensborough’s temporary modular housing?
- What is Lisa Falbo’s stance on SOGI 1 2 3?
- What is J.P. Leberg’s stance on SOGI 1 2 3?
- How would Ellen Vaillancourt have voted on the final motion for Queensborough’s temporary modular housing?
- How would Daniel Fontaine have voted on the final motion for Queensborough’s temporary modular housing?
- What are the New West Progressives’ views on New West residents spending too much on housing?
- What red tape would the New West Progressives candidates target for elimination?
- How will the Short Term Rental fee work?
- What are your nomination criteria? Who selects who gets to run? How do they choose?
- The NWP proposes going to the UBCM to push for provincial legislation changes to allow absentee voting, yet your platform proposes cutting UBCM’s effectiveness in half by only meeting every two years. How do you square this circle?
If any of the New West Progressives council candidates read this, feel free to leave your answers below.
Astute readers will note that I didn’t list a question for Danielle Connelly or Cyrus Sy about SOGI 1 2 3. That’s because they answered the question: they both fully support it, and have suggestions on making parents more informed. My utmost thanks to both of them for being responsive to questions!