Are Terry and John Serious?

[MarkSaltzman]

How is it that more people haven't been talking about the fact that neither Terry Siklenka or John Garrison even live in Central Saanich? Does it not seem absolutely preposterous to have people sitting on council and voting about our taxed and community who don't have any sort of stake beside their council paycheck? Seriously?

Terry actually moved out of Central Saanich while he was still in council! He managed to live here for one year before taking his council paycheck and leaving to go live in Victoria, and now he's coming back for more cash?! Unreal.

And John Garrison lives in Duncan,, Duncan! and he thinks he has the least bit of business telling us how to run our community?? Isn't there a council in Duncan he could run for?

I am absolutely shocked that these two have the temerity to come out to our community and try to tell us how to run it. Local politics by locals thank you very much. Not ex locals, not people who swing by for delicious free range eggs, but real stakeholders, people who are here for the long haul. I really hope they don't end up on our council because they certainly do not represent the voice of Central Saanich.

Mark Saltzman

[TERRY SIKLENKA]

I lived in Central Saanich from 2007 and operated Le Cafe Chocolat with my wife. I sold my house behind the coco shop just at the end of this summer as we temporally relocated to another orchard property we own off Old Field Rd on Sparton just inside Saanich while we prepare to Reno our new home we bought this fall on Wallace Drive in Central Saanich. I paid approximately $9200.00 in property tax in Central Saanich in 2011. I hope this clears things up for you.

Thank you
Terry

[mc9]

Not ridiculous if you have a regional viewpoint. Why is it so impossible for someone to actually care about an area even if they don't live there?

[bluefox]

Originally Posted by mc9

Not ridiculous if you have a regional viewpoint. Why is it so impossible for someone to actually care about an area even if they don't live there?

I agree. I might not run for council in Victoria or Saanich, being a resident of Langford... and maybe I would run for Langford council. But that doesn't mean I don't care (or I'm not allowed to care) what goes on in those two municipalities, seeing as they represent over 50% of the residents in the CRD.

[EllenGruenbaum]

Caring is a lot different than voting on property taxes for an area you don't live in. I care about the whole world, but I would never propose that I should be telling people how they should run a community that I am not a part of.

It's not at all about caring, it's about having a stake in the area.

If you want people who don't live in your community making decisions about taxes and about community policy, that's your prerogative, it just doesn't make any sense to me at all.

[EllenGruenbaum]

If that's true Terry, why didn't you register that address prior to this whole election?

[gumgum]

Man I can't wait till this election is over.

[Ryan Smith]

Terry and John have made numerous better decisions than other past councillors who lived in the municipality. This is a none issue and is only being raised by those that are weaker candidates because they have nothing else on John and Terry to complain about. They are both extremely qualified and more importantly very proven to make great decisions for this municipality. That is what matters!

[EllenGruenbaum]

Would it start to matter if they lived in Nanaimo? What about Campbell River? What about Vancouver, or how about Alberta? Would it matter if they lived in Ontario? What if they made incredible decisions for the community but happened to live somewhere in Japan? Are you saying that where they live has no bearing at all on their candidacy? That's outrageous. They might care about Central Saanich with every fibre of their being while living in Tokyo, but I think that we can both agree that we wouldn't want them on council, deciding how to run our community.

Really, how could it possibly not matter where they live and where they pay taxes?
Just because someone makes good decisions doesn't mean they should be put in charge of a community that they have no involvement in. It would be like applying for the job of CEO of a company without working there or having any personal stake in the company. Shareholders would never agree to that, and rightly so. How can anyone not see that having a personal stake in the community isn't just a nice addition to a candidates credentials but an absolutely crucial prerequisite?

[Ryan Smith]

Council members do not have to pay taxes in a particular municipality in order to make good decisions for that municipality. Skills, values, knowledge, experience, and common sense are FAR more important attributes a councilor should have. If they have those, along with a strong interest in seeing the municipality succeed, then so be it. John and Terry have all of the above - hands down. If the majority of voters agree, then great.

[EllenGruenbaum]

I agree, the majority will decide. I just know that I am uncomfortable about a person voting on taxes that they won't be paying, for a community that they don't live in.

[Ryan Smith]

I can appreciate your concern, but Terry and John have a great level of interest in Central Saanich (or they wouldn't be running) and they have proven that they can do a much better job than a number of the other candidates that live in this municipality. They have done a great job in the past and will definitely do the same quality of job, if given the opportunity.

[LJ]

Originally Posted by EllenGruenbaum

I agree, the majority will decide. I just know that I am uncomfortable about a person voting on taxes that they won't be paying, for a community that they don't live in.

What about a local person who votes down every initiative, no matter how essential or desirable, because they don't want their taxes to go up - period!

[EllenGruenbaum]

I would expect that sort of policy would be part of their platform and if the community voted them in, then the community would get what it voted for.