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Looking Towards the Civic Election on November 15th 2008

This something like the 412th post on this site since August 24th 2005. I am extraordinarily proud of that number, as many elected people blog at election time and then stop the day after voting day. To me, this blog is part of my core business of being transparent, accountable, and reachable. I have learned a lot from people who have interacted with me here. And I appreciate every comment I have received, even the ones that have ripped me up.

Here is my the first post I ever wrote here. It kind of a little bittersweet to read that post - because some of those issues I talked about then, I could not advance as much as I would have liked while elected. By the same token, a lot of what is listed in that first post were part of initiatives and motions that I was able to help move forward.  Maybe, that's just the hard reality of the being on council.

I am really looking forward to the upcoming election. I think that the issues I will be highlighting are ones that benefit from having the experience of serving on council for a term. For the most part, I am very proud of my work on behalf of the community. I also know I have fumbled from time to time - two really big fumbles come to my mind. I hope I can take lessons from my fumbles and become a better person and a better member of council.

I think the community will have a really good range of able people to choose from for council positions. A lot of people filed on the last day, and many really solid candidates. 

This blog will now again take on duty as a campaign outreach tool. Looking forward to interacting with folks here.

When Might I Ever Vote For Gambling Expansion?

 

 

As many probably know, city council just approved the building of a new and larger downtown casino. It's true I have opposed every expansion of gambling / gaming that has come before council since I have sat at the table. I have been concerned about the social ills that come with gaming - most notably gaming addictions.

But, I also know that gaming is an adult activity and most people who partake do so responsibly. I also know the gaming generates large revenues for community groups and for city hall.

I was trying to formulate in my head what would tip that balance for me. What would give me comfort that expanded access to gaming in Kamloops is a net positive, as opposed to a net negative?

BC Lotteries offers services to about 5000 people who self identify with gaming problems. That's out of a total estimated population in BC of 120 000 problem gamblers. So, our success rate with helping people with these types of issues is a little more than 4%. That seems too low to me, and that's ultimately why I voted no on the upcoming expansion. 

I wonder if it might be an idea to set some sort of benchmark - say 10% helped next year - and base my positive vote on that. Or maybe that is too simplistic, leaving out things like the actual cost of the positives and negatives, the entertainment value of gaming, the economic development spinoffs, etc etc.