My Portfolio

Go Victoria

Worked with staff, council and the community to develop Go Victoria, a future-focused mobility strategy to reduce emissions and help make healthy, sustainable, and accessible transportation choices easy – through simple, practical, and affordable solutions. Go Victoria prepares the city for the future to proactively address and welcome the significant advancements occurring in the mobility space in cities. Go Victoria will help ensure low-carbon prosperity in Victoria for decades to come.

Regional Housing First Program

In 2016, was a key driving force behind securing a total of $120 million in funding from the regional, provincial and federal governments to build up to 2000 units of affordable housing including up to 400 homes that rent at $375 per month (BC’s income assistance shelter rate). In the fall of 2022 almost all the funding has been deployed to create close to the number of target homes, including a projected 373 homes with rents of $375.

Housing on City-owned Land

Recognizing City-owned land was under-utilized as part of the solution for the housing crisis, worked with staff, School District 61, council, and community partners to better leverage city-owned land for housing. These partnerships resulted in 376 units of affordable housing under construction on City-owned land. Participated in the purchase of an additional piece of land in the downtown core to build an additional 220 units of housing with a 30,000 square foot community centre on the ground floor.

Missing Middle Housing

Supported and championed the development of the City’s Missing Middle Housing Initiative. This initiative would make it possible to build townhomes and houseplexes on all lots currently zoned single-family and duplex. This would make it as easy to build the kind of housing attainable to working people and young families as it currently is to build a single family home, which at the time of writing averages $1.3 million and is out of reach. Recognizing that this initiative was going to fail a month before the next municipal election after an eleven-hour public hearing with the community split right down the middle (along generational lines), I recommended that the initiative be forwarded to the next council for their consideration in the first quarter of their term.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Supported the efforts of my colleagues on council, community members, and staff to create an Accessibility Framework, a Transgender, Non-Binary and Two-Spirit + Inclusion Action Plan, an Equity Framework, and a Childcare Action Plan. Supported the creation of an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office. In moments when community members lived in fear because of a mosque shooting, or a gay night club shooting, or local death threats to a youth drag show, acted quickly to bring people together in a public show of solidarity on the front steps of City Hall and shared my own lived experience openly.

Welcoming City

Worked with members of the community on a Welcoming City Task Force to develop a Welcoming City Strategy and Action Plan to make Victoria more welcoming and less racist for those from around the world choosing to make Victoria home, as well as those who have been here for some time who would like to feel a stronger sense of belonging and welcome. Over the year of community engagement and plan development, a sense of community and connection was built among the Task Force members such that once the Strategy and Action plan were adopted by Council, the members of the Task Force volunteered to become an Implementation Committee to support City staff in the implementation of the actions.

Victoria 3.0

Led the development of Victoria 3.0 Recovery, Reinvention, Resilience 2020-2041 a long-term plan to create inclusive, low-carbon prosperity. I had led the creation of the City’s previous economic action plan – Making Victoria: Unleashing Potential – after being elected in 2014. By 2019, the goals in that plan had been largely achieved and it was time for a new plan to get Victoria ready for the future. For Victoria 3.0, I started by pulling a small unofficial steering committee together that continued to drive the process throughout. Unlike Making Victoria which was locally focused, the development process for Victoria 3.0 began by us asking the question, “Who does Victoria want to be in an increasingly global world to make sure that we are well positioned?”

Drawing on the Brookings Institute’s 10 Traits of Globally Fluent Metro Areas, hosted topic and sector specific workshops in the fall of 2019 to learn from business leaders and entrepreneurs about their ambitions in the coming two decades. Incorporated their inputs, wrote the plan, and presented it back to the community for further input in January of 2020 at a public launch event.

Before Council could adopt the plan (revised based on community input) the pandemic hit. Our small group came back to the table to revise the plan accordingly, starting with supporting businesses through the pandemic and onto recovery while still maintaining the bold moves and big ambition. Council adopted Victoria 3.0 in May 2020.

In June 2020, Western Investor wrote:

“On May 30 the City of Victoria, and regional partners, released Victoria 3.0, an ambitious blueprint for sustained post-pandemic recovery. Its mandate reads: “Victoria is a future-ready, globally fluent influencer and innovator. We will use our status as a small powerhouse to create a strong and resilient economy that meets our needs now and anticipates the future … We are betting this is more than posturing: Victoria is for real and should be a leading light out of the pandemic darkness.”

COAST

The Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies, COAST, is a key deliverable of Victoria 3.0. Secured funding for business case. Assisted with public engagement and business case development. Helped develop mission and vision. Raised the profile of COAST with provincial and federal governments. Sat as an advisory board member to help secure start-up funding and move from planning to implementation. The vision is that COAST is Pacific Canada’s hub for the sustainable blue economy. COAST’s mission is to drive inclusive prosperity in British Columbia’s sustainable blue economy through entrepreneurship, innovation and expansive partnerships. Success means that by 2030, Pacific Canada will be known worldwide for leadership in the blue economy, with high-growth, globally-oriented companies that anticipate and solve problems, create high-value jobs and leave the ocean and planet in better condition than when we began.

Sewage Treatment

After 30 years of debate and discussion, as chair of the Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee at the Capital Regional District, worked with my colleagues, staff, the community, the provincial government, and officials in Washington State to break ground on a sewage treatment plant for our region. The $785 million project was completed on time and with just a slight budget increase due to material cost escalation. Worked with the provincial and federal governments to keep funding for the project in place despite years of delay. Helped with damage control through briefings of officials on both sides of the border as the non-treatment of Victoria sewage became a potential source of a tourism boycott from Washington State. After breaking ground on the project, led a delegation to Seattle to hold a retirement party for Mr. Floatie – who had become a local fixture advocating for sewage treatment – in partnership with the US Consul General in Vancouver and the Canadian Consul General in Seattle.

Pedestrian Priority Government Street

After decades of debate, COVID created an opportunity to pilot a pedestrian priority Government Street in downtown Victoria. Opened the streets to pedestrians only from noon to 10pm. Provided opportunities for pubs and restaurants to create patios. Installed street furniture and planters. Programmed the street with live music, supporting local artists through COVID. As the two-year pilot was underway, worked with the community, business owners and Songhees and Esquimalt Nations on a Government Street Refresh Project. Council adopted the recommendations of the Refresh project in the summer of 2022 making permanent the pedestrian priority approach to the street, creating two new public plazas, incorporating Indigenous culture and heritage into the street. This project will be implemented from 2022-2027 timed with underground infrastructure work that needs to be done to prepare the city for climate change.

Gorge Waterway Dock

Supported the efforts of the Victoria West community to install a large dock off Banfield Park, a much-loved community swimming hole in the Gorge Waterway. When the new dock opened in June 2022 the Gorge became even more of a vibrant community gathering space for people of all ages. The swimming area is adjacent to a pedestrian and cycling path, making it accessible for people without cars. Installed additional bike racks to meet demand soon after the dock opened.

BC Social Procurement Initiative

Helped establish the BC Social Procurement Initiative (initially the Coastal Communities Social Procurement Initiative) to change the culture of local government procurement in British Columbia. The purpose of BCSPI is to support local governments and institutions to implement social procurement best practices to build community well-being and resilience. Like many good things, initial discussions about the BCSPI began in a pub, following a presentation on social procurement at the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) conference in 2016.

Seizing on the enthusiasm of the large group of people who showed up for the discussion, myself and former Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne created and co-chaired an informal working group of our local government colleagues across the AVICC region. Secured initial funding to pilot the program on Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities for two years. Once inquires started to come from across the province, secured substantial additional funding to expand the program across British Columbia. Working with the local government steering committee and program delivery partners Scale Collaborative, helped to grow membership from an initial six local governments to close to 35 members today. In a 2021-2022 survey completed by 21 members, it was identified that at least $78 million in social procurement spend had been made by their communities in one year.

Mayor’s Community Drop In

When I was a city councillor, I got to sit in as acting mayor for one of the former mayor’s open-door sessions. There was a line-up of people in the waiting room. The mayor’s secretary would let them into the mayor’s office one at a time. At ten minutes, she would pop her head in the door, timer in hand and say that the time was up. That was the cue for the next person to file in. It struck me as odd that only the mayor would get to hear the ideas and concerns of the people who were dropping in; this seemed a missed opportunity for community building and dialogue.

When elected as mayor, I convened the Mayor’s Community Drop In, inviting the community into the office once every two weeks for coffee, tea and conversation. At the beginning of each session, I’d ask those in attendance what’s on the agenda today, and I’d write up the topics on a flip chart. We worked our way through the agenda with the person who put the topic up speaking first, but then everyone else in the room also weighing in. People got to hear different points of view, different issues of concern. The very best moments were when people connected and said to each other, “I can help you with that,” or “My neighbour had a similar issue,” or, best of all, “I’d never thought about it that way.” COVID-19 brought the Community Drop Ins to an end; we tried to do it online, but the feeling wasn’t the same.

COVID Response and Decampment Working Group

One of the times I felt most committed, connected and alive during my time as mayor was when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As the world was shutting down around us, there was a team of us that continued to go into City Hall every day and we became the City’s core pandemic team. There was an intensity to the work that was very satisfying as we figured out how to adapt city services, what to keep open, what to close, and then the biggest dilemma – what to do for the 400 to 600 people who ended up homeless when shelters reduced their numbers, bubbles got smaller and people who had been staying with friends or family were literally sent outside.

Early on, I realized it was left to the City to bring everyone together to address pandemic-related homelessness. I called a meeting of everyone I thought could help and requested that we meet every day at 1pm. The meeting included BC Housing, Island Health, our Chief Medical Health Officer, and a few other core service agencies. I requested that the same person from each agency attend each day for continuity and also because building relationships would be key.

At each daily meeting I asked three questions: What did you do in the last 24 hours? What will you do in the next 24 hours? What support do you need to take action? It was a gigantic effort and took way too long, but eventually we had mobilized resources and – working with the provincial government – provided indoor sheltering opportunities to everyone who needed them.

None of this was perfect or smooth and there were lots of bumps and challenges along the way, but I liked the intensity of the work, the deep relationships that were built, and that there was a feeling of love in the (virtual) room as we did the work. The group became the Decampment Working Group. Meetings eventually went from daily, to weekly to biweekly, and we wrapped them up for good in August of 2021. People still talk about how they miss those meetings and that feeling of love, connection, and sense of purpose as we did our work together in a really difficult time.