Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Enhanced Interest in This Election = Increased Voter Turnout...

I'm insanely curious to see if the enhanced interest in this year's civic election will lead to increased voter turnout. I've run in 4 elections in Kamloops and I've never had this many requests for responses to questionnaires and to attend forums / mixers. It is harder on a candidate but I've come to see that as a good thing for democracy. I heard Radio NL's Jim Harrison also muse on his show recently that he has not seen this much interest in a civic election in a long time. Hopefully this energy goes beyond those who are already interested in voting and engages more people. I hear quite a bit from people wanting a council that listens well. Hope more people will tell us what they think on Nov 19th.

My 2011 Kamloops City Council Campaign One Pager / Platform...

Arjun Singh 2011 One Pager

Supporting the City Council Decision seeking an Independent Review of the Ajax Mine Proposal...

    
   Ajax Mine Website         Stop Ajax Mine Website

I support the city council’s decision this week to ask the Federal Government to complete a rigorous environmental review (the independent review panel) on the Ajax Mine project. However, I also feel some legitimate concerns have been raised around how this request may impact the current review, which is already underway. I think these concerns can be addressed. A rigorous review ensures that community interests are balanced with economic development to create a winning legacy for these types of projects. The critical aspect of this entire review process is to ensure that public trust is enhanced by the final decisions which are made.

At this time, I don't have a position for, or against, the proposed project. I’m seeking information which will help me to make an informed and intelligent decision about a project that could have far-reaching benefits and impacts on our community.  I welcome your thoughts, please feel free to share yours on the proposal.

Arjun's 2011 Campaign Vlog #1 - A Look Inside the Campaign So Far...

  

A quick look inside the campaign so far!

Releasing Some of My Findings from the 100 Kamloops Conversations Project

As promised, here are some of my findings from the 100 conversations I had this summer with a very diverse group of Kamloopsians. Much of what I heard I am incorporating into my platform and candidacy moving forward.

 

 

City Council Candidate Arjun Singh Releases Findings From His 100 Conversations Project

For Immediate Release



Candidate for Kamloops City Council Arjun Singh is releasing today findings from his 100 Conversations project. Over the summer, Singh set out to meet with a diverse group of 100 Kamloopsians, from all walks of life, and ask these people five questions:

1) What do you value about Kamloops?
2) What could be even better?
3) What is your general perception of city council / city hall?
4) What are your top issues / concerns?
5) What are the attributes of a good city councillor / council?

    By the end of the summer, Singh had spoken to business people, social service professionals, environmental activists, artists, educators, young people, senior citizens, health workers, and sport advocates. Here are the most interesting things he heard.

    Almost half the people Singh spoke to value Kamloops as a community that is neither too big or to small. They felt that Kamloops has great amenities and yet has retained a community spirit with  friendly people. A very similar proportion of people valued Kamloops geography and outdoor recreation opportunities. Additionally, many people valued that the community is well managed.

    As many respondents feel that the community is well managed overall, there was more difficulty identifying ways to improve Kamloops. Top responses were that we need to attract more business and jobs, that we need to be  more green, that we should be more open to new ideas, and that we should consider broadening our community focus from the “Tournament Capital” brand.

    Perceptions on the current council were roughly split 50/50 between positive and negative comments. Many top of mind issues and concerns were raised including the Lorne St parkade and the Ajax mine proposal.”I heard about twice as often about the Ajax Mine than about the Lorne street parkade”, Singh stated, “I believe the concerns raised illustrate how valuable and important community feedback is to development proposals in the city.”

    In response to the questions about the attributes of a good councillor or council, top of mind were looking at the needs of the whole community and not just of a select few, good listening, approachability, decisiveness, and strong involvement in the community beyond council duties.

“I make no claim that the 100 conversations are an authoritative representation of overall community feeling”, says Singh, ” but I worked hard to talk to a very wide range of people and I do feel that some incredibly important themes emerged. I intend to continue asking my fellow citizens these questions and other questions as a candidate and, if elected throughout my council term. I pledge to be a city councillor who listens, links the community, and promotes smart thinking.”

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For more information contact:
Arjun Singh,
Candidate for Kamloops City Council
(250) 377-1797

Celebrating Business Excellence in Kamloops...

I love and admire entrepreneurs. People who risk, innovate, create jobs, and follow their dreams. I'm proud to know incredible successful Kamloops entrepreneurs like my dear friend Peter Cameron-Inglis (the good looking lad in the above photo). Peter has been nominated as a finalist for business person of the year for the 2011 Kamloops Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards, along with two other amazing local entrepreneurs and friends Mike Miltimore and Natalie Peace. The complete list of Business Excellence Awards finalists is on this Kamloops Chamber web page. Congrats to all the finalists and to all those who were nominated!

I'm humbled that Peter has endorsed me for city council and has volunteered on my campaign committee. He has brought amazing insight and ideas.

What I Will Remember Most About Summer 2011...

In completing one of my first campaign commitments, I spent a lot of time this summer talking to my fellow citizens. I talked to 100+ people, spending on average one hour with each person. My favourite part of the summer was watching people looking purposefully into space, the typical "I'm thinking" face. I want to express my heartfelt thank to all those who spent time with me talking about Kamloops. You were indeed thoughtful and friendly.

I'm currently looking through all my notes from the conversations. There were some really interesting common themes that emerged and there were definitely issues that divide the community. More on this soon!

Public Engagement is not Public Agreement (and other related issues)...

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristiewells/2921614505/#/

As someone who is very interested in public engagement, I try to pay close attention whenever I hear people mention or raise the topic.  A lot of people I've been chatting to in my 100 conversation project (65 completed so far!)  have said that listening skills are important attributes for a city councillor. People have also shared with me some their issues with public engagement. I would like to list a few of these , with some of my own related thoughts.

1. Public Engagement is not Public Agreement: This is a situation in which people criticize any public engagement unless decisionmakers agree with their position. When this happens, it can be very damaging to any future support for other public engagement processes. Good public engagement, in my view, is much less concerned with outcome than it is with a fair, respectful, and inclusive process.
2. Anonymous Feedback in Public Engagement Processes is Problematic: To me, its not so much if feedback is anonymous or not, it is more important that the feedback is thoughtful, respectful, well argued, and /or helpful. I agree it is better for building and maintaining a strong community if "everybody knows your name", but also think people can have legitimate reasons why they want to stay anonymous, such as potential loss of friends and/or risks to their employment.
3. Citizens have to take some Responsibility to Get Involved: I totally agree with this. I would also say that sometimes citizens need a friendly way to start getting involved. Municipal issues are not always seen as that interesting, or perhaps some people are intimidated or simply feel too stretched to provide input into municipal decision-making. As community leaders we need to ask: "How do we make it as easy possible for citizens to engage with community issues?" "How do we tap the great wisdom in Kamloops?" Thinking about these questions brings to mind my friend Dave Meslin (who is one of Toronto's most celebrated local government activists) and his Ted Talk entitled The Antidote to Apathy.

I am personally very involved in a worldwide community of practitioners who utilize dialogue and deliberation(a gold standard in public engagement, in my view).  What is dialogue and deliberation? Some great  introductory web pages are hosted by the US based National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation and the Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation.

So, as someone who is very interested in public engagement, I've also tried to learn and gain experience with good practices in this field, ones that have been shown to be effective and inclusive at the same time. Look forward to sharing more of what I think I have learnt in future posts.

A Rich and Diverse Network of Friends - Laying the Foundations of My Council Campaign...

It's the middle of summer and 13 people still came out to my second formal council campaign last week. We went through an analysis of my Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, and Threats (SWOT) as it relates to running again for city council. It was an enormously useful exercise for me and I am so deeply appreciative of the folks who sat around that circle and who are helping me become the best candidate and councillor I can be.

I'm also well into my 100 conversations summer project. Again, I am so thankful to the people who entered into some amazing conversations with me and helped me to understand their perspectives on our community. I am really trying to deeply listen and not talk too much, but also I do try to share briefly some of my thoughts and understandings.  I've scheduled 17 conversations this week. The 100 conversations allow me to re-acquaint myself with what's happening in all areas of the community and help me better understand what might be the most important issues for Kamloopsians. I am making a concerted effort to make sure to listen to people from all walks of life. I am hoping that people will also be re-introduced to me and what I might be able to offer as a councillor.

I've been blessed to know so many incredible people in this town. I am so thankful to my diverse network of friends for helping me lay such a strong foundation for this council campaign.

 

Important Community Decisions Made Tonight in Kamloops...

In quite a short (maybe half hour) public hearing tonight, City Council made some decisions I feel could have quite an impact on Kamloops:

1. Preventing banks locating their main branch outside of downtown: A couple of years ago, the Bank of Montreal decided to move their main branch from downtown to the Summit shopping centre in Sahali. I am not sure the bank even has any presence downtown anymore. City Council has now restricted banks from opening locations above a certain square footage outside the downtown core. Council basically wants the main branch of all financial institutions to be downtown. This move was designed to protect the vibrancy and viabiliy of downtown Kamloops.
2. Restricting the ability of government agencies and public utilities to locate offices in industrial areas: City planners said tonight that they have noticed that more government and utility offices are trying to locate offices in the Southgate industrial park (also in the Sahali area). If these offices need a storage component for vehicle fleets, trucks, or equipment, this will be allowed. But otherwise it will be explicitly restricted. This preserves industrial parks for industrial uses and also encourages offices in downtown and north shore business areas.
3. Allowing the creation of residential suites below commercial spaces: In our main commercial areas, this allows commercial landowners to create residential below their street level commercial spaces. Residential is already allowed above commercial spaces. This could potentially create more private housing in Kamloops and allow for more housing choice in our community and more viability and vibrancy in our commercial areas.

All in all, it was an interesting meeting to watch.