Electing nice people without knowledge or conviction doesn’t make for a good city council

I have had a look at the campaign statements and websites of my opponents for the position of city councillor and I am very disappointed by what I have seen. Although many of them are good people who are active in the community, most seem to be very weak on the issues and reluctant to take firm positions. Apart from the frequent spouting of simplistic “grow up, not out” slogans, they have no real vision. Almost all candidates support densification, but they seem to have no idea of how dense our urban centres should be. Should we build to a density of 20 units per acre, 50, 100, or 200? Should our maximum FAR (floor space to land area ratio) be 3.0, 5.0 or 9.0? Are higher densities always better or is there an optimal density after which further increases become counterproductive? I don’t think that most of my opponents have much knowledge of these matters. I doubt that most of them even know what FAR stands for, although that is a term that city planners frequently use when they bring development proposals before city council and that councillors have to be familiar with.  I think that voters should have a good look at the knowledge that these candidates will be bringing to the position as we may end up with a city council comprised of very nice people who don’t know a heck of a lot.

Tags: Kelowna, Kelowna 2008 civic election