Victorian Olympus: World Funny Car Champion Stan Sipos passes Sports-Developers’ Cabal Olympic torch to BC Liberals-friendly running shoes salesman Rob Reid

CCC . . .  In a remarkable publicity stunt that had all the hallmarks of a carefully staged new age cult event, World Funny Car Champion Driver Stan Sipos, once touted only last week by Victoria’s Liberal chattering classes as the saviour of the Sports-Developers’ Cabal, a developer with no known political history of previously seeking the mayor’s office of the City of Victoria, suddenly cancelled his campaign to sit in the mayor’s chair, citing family obligations, and endorsed the owner of a shoe store on the corner of Vancouver and View, one Robert Reid, also a political neophyte. 

  Mr. Reid rallied his team of eager Liberal endorsers, including ex-Olympian and ex-Liberal Environment Minister David Anderson (who infamously and unapologetically endorsed the Kyoto Protocol without having read it), ex-Victoria City Councillor David McLean and current Victoria City Councillor Bea Holland (both longtime members of the Sports-Developers’ Cabal and enthusiastic promoters of the ugly new arena) and a famous Olympic medal winner who shall remain unnamed… under the flag pole in Beacon Hill Park.

  Mr. Reid is an unapologetic proponent of the recent Terry Fox Run in Beacon HIll Park. Supposedly a charity event, Thrifty’s Foods and other commercial business interests set up tents at both ends of the run, advertising their businesses on tent signage, in contravention of the Beacon Hill Park Trust banning such commercial activity. The timing of his own campaign in Beacon Hill Park, not far from the start of the recent Terry Fox Run, cannot be accidental. 

  Mr. Reid has a website where one finds a lofty quote from Gandhi.  Critical analysis of his policy positions reveals a tendancy to usage of vague, naive and frankly unrealistic Liberal ‘greenwash’ platitudes and bromides.

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ROB REID’S MAD DASH TO AN EXPENSIVE, FUTURISTIC ‘SUSTAINABLE’ LIBERAL SPORTS-FRIENDLY VICTORIA

Runner Rob Reid has his expensive Futuristic Green-LIberal version of a ‘sustainable’ Victoria (whatever that might be is never quite defined) presented in nine categories at his website:

1.  Downtown Revitalization

2.  Community Engagement

3.  Climate Change & Environmental Sustainability

4.  Transportation

5.  Homelessness and Social Issues

6.  Affordable Housing

7.  Policing and Safety

8.  Health and Wellness – Quality of Life

9.  Harbour

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  ROB REID IN HIS OWN WRITE:

1. DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION:  “Strategies have to include ways to attract citizens to the core to revitalize marginal businesses, reducing crime and addressing social concerns.”

2.  COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:  “The Time is Now – together citizens can make a difference by voting and enabling a less polarized council to move things forward.  The silent majority can take away special interests and the creation of a deadlocked, non-pro-active City Hall.  Moving forward we need to ensure that there are no more partisan politics at city hall but instead a community first attitude making our tax dollars efficient to improve the future for our city.”

3.  CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY:  “Our City standards should be solar powered and we should continually review our processes to look for alternative methods of constructon and energy.  This is an exciting change that is happening now and we can embrace this opportunity.  Green is the new normal.”

4. TRANSPORTATION:  “It’s all about moving people and as a community we need to choose the best alternatives for moving us and the planet forward.  We need to cultivate our partnerships with BC Transit, the CRD, and the other muncipalities to find integrated, sustainable solutions.”

5.  HOMELESSNESS AND SOCIAL ISSUES:  “The community needs disclosed on what is happening together with a time frame for future results. . .  Many of these strategies were identified by the Mayor’s task force and now it’s time to move on these initiatives. . . . The way forward is a multifaceted approach utilizing emergency centres, places for treatment, help with job skills, and ongoing support.”

6.  AFFORDABLE HOUSING:  ‘As a community we need to encourage and support co-op housing and we need to support developers in making rental housing available.”

7.  POLICING AND SAFETY:  “Band-aid approaches haven’t served us well, we need long term, sustainable solutions to ensure personnel (sic) safety.”

8.  HEALTH AND WELLNESS – QUALITY OF LIFE:  “We can embrace the World Health Organization initiative for age friendly cities, we can suport local farms through city planning, increased walkability and ease of accessibility by connecting pathways, improving surfaces.”

9.  HARBOUR:  “On a federal level we can work with Transport Canada in ensuring that the infrastructure for our marine airport is sustained and that safety standards are maintained for this important corridor.”

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WHAT IS WRONG WITH MR. REID’S CANDIDACY FOR MAYOR OF VICTORIA?

  It is remarkable for what it omits.  There is not one concrete proposal to address the shocking problem of the addicted – mentally ill – homeless in downtown Victoria.  

  There is no mention at all of whether Mr. Reid would raise residential or commercial property taxes in Victoria.

  There is no mention at all of building height regulations, always a topic of keen interest in Victoria.

  There is no mention of whether Mr. Reid would  retain the so-called ‘needle-exchange’.  Nor do we know whether he is favourable to a so-called ‘safe injection site.’

  There is no reference whatsoever to the fact that the Police Chief has resigned, that the Police Department and the Police Board are both demoralized and held in contempt and/or very low regard by many, if not most, Victorians.

  There is no stated position on the stockpiling and use of stun guns on Victoria citizens by the Victoria Police.

  There is a clear assurance that the Inner Harbour will continue to be used by noisy and dangerous helicopters and seaplanes, and no mention whatsoever of the problem of nuclear ship visits to the harbour.

  There is a clear assurance that more concrete sidewalks will be poured (‘connecting pathways, improving surfaces’), supposedly under the guise of the improved ‘health and wellness’ of Victoria’s aging  citizens.

  Until Mr. Reid clarifies his positions on these issues of concern to members of the Concerned Citizens’ Coalition, I cannot in good conscience endorse this man’s candidacy for the mayor. . . nor am I likely to, however, even in the unlikely event that he might. . .

 

– Gregory Hartnell, President

   Concerned Citizens’ Coalition

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 HOT LINK TO ROB REID’S WEBSITE FOUND IN COMMENTS SECTION BELOW

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