Local politics is the most important level for most facets of daily life other than medicine and education, yet it is often ignored - almost always much lower turnout in local elections and much less news coverage compared to provincial and federal politics. Below are my takes, opinions and projects on local politics - predominantly East Sooke, Sooke and environs. Most significant note is that I ran for Sooke Council in 2022 and while not elected - only incumbent/prior councilors were - I still hold strong opinions and am continuing to work to make positive change.

# Featured Projects & Thoughts

East Sooke Residential Road Safety

East Sooke Map

East Sooke is predominantly a few secondary roads (East Sooke & Gillespie and to a lesser degree Mt Matheson) with residential neighbourhoods of family homes on side roads. 50kph is a fundamentally unsafe default speed limit for these neighbourhoods.

Past Projects and Opinions

Certainly things I still care about but slightly older thoughts and actions.

Park Heights Neighbourhood Speed Limit Reduction

The Park Heights neighbourhood in East Sooke is a small rural/residental neighbourhood with a maximum driving distance to ESR of slightly over 2km. Nick is aiming to make it safer for residents, pedestrians and wildlife.

Winter Weather Pedestrian Safety in Sooke

Snow blocking the cross walk at the roundabout on Sooke Rd
Date

This is unfortunately a story of failure, and a call to change. Our current method of ensuring safety and accessibility for pedestrians in Sooke in the winter is not working. There are short term improvements we can make but long term we need a fundamental shift.

2022 Sooke Council Election Results

Nick wearing a Sooke Horseshoe Players hat with one of his election signs on his backpack.
Date

Nick ran in the 2022 Sooke Municipal election as candidate for council. The results are now in and safe to say Nick isn't a councillor this cycle. Not last but far from elected. All incumbents were re-elected and one former incumbent.

# Local Political Blog Posts

Moving to an East Sooke wide focus

East Sooke Map
Date

It took a while - especially with summer holidays and a fall election - but discussions with CRD Directors Al Wickheim & Paul Brent where much more productive. The conclusion is that it is best to approach this as a community wide issue rather than a single neighbourhood. So, onwards...

Stalling out with MOTI

Date

Despite, a fair degree of communication and politely worded, the final answer from MOTI is essentially "that isn't in our normal procedure go pound sand", but maybe one day. With a slight hint that a direct request from the CRD would have more weight but likely be short term ignored as well.

Back to Politics... Road Safety

Nick with Wiliiam and a bag of garbage he picked up along the road
Date

Been extremely out of active politics basically since the Langford - Juan de Fuca by-election. Extremely good reason and all but great to be getting back into active politics. Got a new reason to be majorly engaged too - a son - so now have a moral duty to try to make things better. First on my list right now is road safety.