Mike and I took the opportunity today to vote in the advanced polls (election day is officially Saturday). I don’t think I’ve ever done the advance polls before and I can’t say I was terribly impressed with the security guard trying to “manage the bottleneck” (of three people including us) by insisting we “STAY BEHIND THE GREEN LINE” (Mike was two inches over the line) and was clearly lacking in knowledge about the actual process (she did not know when voting day actually was or how a person could register to vote if they did not receive a voter’s card in the mail) but, aside from that, the rest of the process was simple and smooth.
If you want to know who I voted for and why, read on; if not, move along…. these are not the polls your looking for.
On the ballot today were: councillors, mayor, school board trustees and CRD (Capital Regional District) representatives. Here’s how I broke it down:
For mayor it was important to me to select someone other than incumbent Dean Fortin. I didn’t like Fortin when I first met him, coasting into council on Pam Madoff’s coat-tails, and I haven’t been pleased with his work as Mayor. Leading up to the election I wasn’t sure what I was going to do (maybe right down to not casting a vote) but Paul Brown stepped up with a platform based on transparency — something that has been sadly lacking from our current council. Over the weekend, Mike and I got a lawn sign in support and today, he got my vote.
For councillors, I voted for three incumbents and four new faces using 7 of my 8 possible votes. Alphabetically:
Chris Coleman: I’ve been voting for him since 1999 and not been disappointed. Chris is a likeable person who listens and, while I don’t always agree with his position I feel like he at least gives the job his attention and respect.
Shellie Gudgeon: New on the municipal scene, Shellie has been active in community building, specifically in the Quadra Village neighbourhood near our home, for some time. I appreciate her advocacy for public safety and transparent governance.
Aaron Hall: I appreciate that Aaron is active and accessible on social media and understands Greater Victoria from a real estate perspective. Like Paul Brown, Aaron is running with the Open Victoria slate.
Lisa Helps: honestly, I was feeling very tepid about this round of voting until I saw Lisa speak at Pecha Kucha last month. Her energy and commitment to community is contagious.
Philippe Lucas: most of the time his views run far to the left of where I sit on the political spectrum but he has worked tirelessly to advocate for food security, local food, and a permanent downtown public market; for that, he earned my vote.
Jon Valentine: his campaign is focused on support for the arts and his campaign photo was taken in Legends Comic Shop. Good enough for me! (I always vote for at least one long shot. It’s only fair.)
Geoff Young: another incumbent, Young tends to swing pretty far to the right of the spectrum but I think it’s important to keep him in office for, if nothing else, balance on council. Someone has to question the craziness!
For CRD, I marked Coleman, Lucas and Young (as above)
For School Board Trustee, I voted for two teachers and a cop: David Bratzer, Diane McNally & Deborah Nohr. Most important for me were that none were incumbents. Of all the ballots I filled in today, this was the election I knew the least about… but I voted.
Feel free to tell me where I made an error but it’s too late to change my vote. 
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P.S. if you want to see how Mike voted, he’s outlined his choices on his blog: “Victoria Goes to the Polls.”
What a wonderful post! While I might not agree with all you voted for, the fact you have been willing to make your choices public, and with more than valid reasons, is refreshing. It has inspired me to do the same.
Thanks, Mat. I normally don’t but as more than one of my friends had asked who I was voting for, I thought if we are ever going to get voter turnout to go up, we all have to make an effort to build momentum. This is my contribution.
I’m impressed with your attention to these candidates and your mindfulness towards local issues. You’ve set an example for civic involvement that I’m motivated to follow, and I am with Mat in his admiration of your transparency.
Thanks, Renee. All I suggest is that you actually look at all the candidates’ platforms to see which ones come close to matching your values. (Full list of Councillor & Mayoral candidates is here: http://www.victoria.ca/cityhall/pdfs/election-declaration-candidates-v3.pdf)
Thanks for posting your experience voting and your choices. I am of the same mind for the most part, regarding the candidates. Paul Brown would make an excellent Mayor and Geoff Young definitely needs to keep the balance. I have also been impressed by Aaron Hall, Lisa Helps and Shellie Gudgeon.
Thanks, Brian.
I support the idea of a secret ballot and allowing people to keep their own counsel about who they vote for and why. But having the right to a secret ballot doesn’t force secrecy. Anyone who knows me knows I will dish about stuff like who I voted for and why (eg. like on my blog). People are welcome to vote differently and they’re welcome to keep those choices and motivations to themselves, but I would rather hear their viewpoints and differences.
It’s true. Politics is one of those things that most people don’t talk about in public or among people outside their closest circles — even in our world of over-sharing social media where I might know what a celebrity had for lunch, I may never know how (or if) she cast her vote. Yes, the secret ballot is a key facet of our democracy but so is our right to speak up. Let’s use both.