Goodwill moves council agenda in right direction

Co-operation key to progress on issues such as housing, writes Kennedy Stewart.

During last year’s election campaign, I promised to take bold action within my first 100 days to help our city move forward. The issues on which I focused were driven by what I heard from voters, including addressing the permitting backlog for housing; standing up for renters; taking action on the overdose epidemic; increasing transparency and accountability at city hall; and supporting Vancouver’s small businesses.

I am pleased to report all these files have moved ahead, but even more delighted to credit this progress to the goodwill and initiatives of councillors from all political parties.

There are plenty of examples as to how crossparty co-operation is working to help us tackle our key problems.

While all councillors have initiated significant council motions, a few that specifically tie to my 100-days agenda are important to note. On the permitting backlog, it was Non-Partisan Association Coun. Melissa De Genova who first acted on this issue through a staff motion I was happy to support. In terms of helping renters, it was Green party Coun. Pete Fry who has pushed forward work on a new renter’s advocate office.

Co-operation on council also extends to my own initiatives.

For example, every councillor supported my call for a mayor’s task force to address the overdose crisis, and then backed that vote up a few weeks later by unanimously supporting the task force’s recommendations, including calling for a safe drug supply to save as many lives as possible. Council also unanimously endorsed my ongoing efforts to establish a new lobbyist registry and tougher conflict-of-interest rules. I am also excited to share with council feedback from my first small business roundtable happening next week.

So today, at the 100-day mark of this council, I am proud of what we have accomplished, but even prouder of how we are going about our business.

Immediately following the election, many thought a council with no majority party would quickly grind to a halt. The reality has proven to be quite the opposite.

This approach should make us all feel good as we have seen what can happen elsewhere in the world when we allow political differences to overshadow the challenges faced by people in their daily lives. The more partisan our politics become, the easier it is for small differences to push us so far apart that we forget what it is we’re really fighting for: making people’s lives better in meaningful and measurable ways.

Here in Vancouver, that means delivering on our No. 1 challenge: building housing that is truly affordable for all income levels in a way that doesn’t destroy neighbourhoods or displace people from the city they love. In my view, the new co-operative approach on council is the only way we can succeed.

It is not going to be easy — in my experience goodwill is hard to maintain over the long term — but I am hopeful. This new council has shown itself to be consistently concerned with getting the affordability question right and willing to compromise to move things forward.

If we are to take the lessons from our first 100 days to heart, it will be because all of us hold one another to a higher standard.

So I look forward to hearing from more residents during council meetings and public hearings. I look forward to the media continuing to provide the critical information residents need to make informed decisions. And I look forward to builders and businesses, academics and activists all focused on one thing: making Vancouver a city that works for everyone.

Many thought a council with no majority party would quickly grind to a halt. The reality has proven to be quite the opposite.