I lived in View Royal for a bit and still live very close by, it also is where I do a lot of my basic grocery shopping. Here is why I would vote for Damian Kowalewich, Nathan Daisley and Adam Flint.
What all three share: a passion for View Royal, hard-working people that by nature go the extra mile, and open to new ideas.
Damian Kowalewich was elected to View Royal council in a by-election a year ago. From what I have seen he has been a very good councillor. The qualities I like about him are that he is smart, hardworking and sees the bigger picture. I see him as someone on the council that will push View Royal to be a lot more than what it has been. Too often the View Royal council has just sort of gone along without a strong voice at the table expressing a real vision.
What is his biggest weakness? In my opinion, View Royal is not the political stage that will make the best use of his skills because it is such a small municipality. This is a guy who could be a good mayor for Saanich or Victoria or be an effective MLA or MP.
Nathan Daisley is an interesting choice for View Royal council not because he is young but because he brings some perspectives that no one has ever had on View Royal council.
Nathan is only 20 so one can not ignore that he is a young person but he grew up in View Royal he can see what is lacking for the youth. As an example, he understands the problems of transit on a very personal level. No one else can speak of View Royal as their hometown.
Nathan would be, as far as I can tell, the first person elected to the council that is not a homeowner and is not from a family that owns their own home. Local government is overly dominated by people that are homeowners. In View Royal, the majority of people do not have their name on any land title. I believe it is beneficial for every municipality to have at least one non-homeowner on the council and Nathan can be that person in View Royal.
Nathan is smart, personable and never tries to pretend he is something he is not.
In my view, his biggest weakness is that as a young person his life is changing a lot and these changes may take him away from View Royal in less than four years.
Adam Flint is the consummate community person. He is the sort of guy that knows everyone. Having a coffee with him is a hard thing to do because so many people know him and say hi.
I did not back him the by-election last year because only one person could be elected and I thought Nathan or Damian would a better choice for the single seat at that time. With four people to be elected he is a good choice.
He is the sort of approachable person that will give people in View Royal a very personal connection to council It is a rare person that can really to that but it is what you should expect from Adam
Adam's strong sense of community brings with it an ability to see how developments and the OCP will benefit (or not) the community. In 8 to 12 years this man will most likely be the mayor of View Royal. He is the sort of person that is well suited to being a mayor and could go down as Mr View Royal over time.
I do not see many serious downsides to Adam but I worry he may not speak up loudly enough for what matters to him and I say that because I still do not get a strong sense of what his vision is for View Royal.
If you live in View Royal, please consider these three candidates on October 20th.
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