Today marks two years — the mid-way point — since my election to Saanich Council and the Capital Regional District Board. Much like the recent months marked by COVID, it has somehow both felt like a mere blink of the eye and at other times like the longest two years of life.
As I’d hoped and anticipated, my local government elected roles come with tremendous opportunity to shape communities and help steer them through an increasingly uncertain future. But I’ve also learned that inertia is a tremendous force to overcome, and these are big ships to turn.
In Saanich, which I characterize as having a very stable political history, I continually remind myself that my level of effort is proportionate to the degree and rapidity of change being sought. With a substantially new Council (4/9) and several younger voices around the table, there is a lot of desire for change and a lot of interest in discussing issues that previously saw little light, like rental housing, access to daycare, and climate change action.
Change doesn’t come easy though. Only recently has it felt like the fruit of significant labour and learning post-election is starting to materialize in Saanich. This ‘progress’ (in my view) is manifest in things like an initiative to develop a housing strategy, improvements to our tree protection regulations, and governance tune ups to replace longstanding conventions with best practices.
At the CRD, I continue to be struck by just how unrepresentative our board is of the people in our region, in terms of gender, age, and ethnicity (this last one is sadly true of all elected bodies in the region and the rest of Canada). Consequently and likely to the chagrin of my fellow board colleagues, I feel an obligation to speak up frequently to share my perspective. What I’ve noticed though is that one or two voices around the table are sometimes all that is needed to change the conversation. By virtue of either enlightenment or political pressure (at the end of the day it doesn’t matter which), others will often go with the tide.
I guess that’s how this works. Vote by vote and one policy tweak at a time, gradually we’re charting a new course. Not every degree of change is perceptible to the public, but they are perceptible to me and for now, that’s enough to keep me motivated.