Bio
Jason grew up in prince Edward Island and moved to Victoria in 1996. He has had a life-long passion for computers and studied at Camosun College in their information technology program. He has worked as a consultant developing various software systems for the Province of B.C. during his programming career. Recently, he has taken up video recording and editing, focusing on local politics. Last year, he was living up north in Fort Nelson, during which time he was fortunate to travel up and down the Alaska Highway, including to the Yukon and Alaska. He also had the opportunity to spend three weeks in the Northern Rockies, including two weeks on horseback. His two main hobbies are reading and playing board games. He loves science fiction and fantasy, and is always looking for a good story. Presently, he teaches graphic design students to build web sites and he drives taxi out in the West Shore.
Why should I vote for you?
You should vote for me because I will make city hall an inviting place. Our meetings will be interesting and engaging and every issue facing our city will be discussed regularly and in a well-organized fashion. I want to put key decisions such as neighbourhood planning into the hands of the residents and business owners in those neighbourhoods. I will make my first term a learning term, inviting the public in at the ground floor of a complete review of city operations, helping us all to understand what the city does, how it works and where the money goes. I will also push for CRD reform, advocating for an elected board that manages such big issues as sewage treatment and transit improvements, instead of the appointed board that it is right now. WIth a background in information technology, I have the expertise to transform the city's communication to the public and revolutionize public engagement.
Your main goal if elected?
I started getting involved in city politics during the last election. I recognized that no one was recording all of these public meetings across the region, so I set out with video cameras in hand to start recording and observing municipal politics. What I found was meeting after meeting of boring discussion with no introduction for the newcomer. City politics is a hostile place for the curious person, and I want to change that. Because there are so many issues and so much information surrounding each issue, newly elected officials frequently have no knowledge of the many key issues they are tasked with managing n a daily basis. Likewise, the public is invited to speak, but they are not tutored on the details of these issues or given an explanation for why things are being done the way they are. My main goal, if elected, it to make my term a “learning” term. I want to crate a welcoming environment where we can all learn about how the city works and how it should work. I want to encourage cooperation and build consensus in our communities about how our city changes over the coming years.
Website: www.moderndemocracy.ca