The following letter was requested by Michael McCormick of the Hidden Valley Seniors Manufactured Home Park Residents Association. I’m providing here my response here, for anyone it’s of interest to.
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Hi Michael, thank you for taking the time to contacting me.
I have a deep history in Langford, having resided here for 19 years, starting when I moved here with my family when I was 16. Shortly after I Read the rest of this entry »
Below are some of the things I intend to work towards as a member of Langford Council. They are broken down into three sub-categories. I will add more content as the campaign goes on. If you have any questions, please email me at steven.hurdle@gmail.com.
Opening the Doors to City Hall:
I believe that more citizens would get involved in their local government if they knew enough about the issues facing their community, and to that end I would advocate for a collection of reforms, including:
I have updated my bio, adding some additional detail that people had requested that is relevant to the campaign and will be of interest to people. You can read it here. In the days and weeks to come I will begin talking a bit more about policy, ideas, where I’d like to see Langford, how Langford might better communicate with its citizens, and how City Hall could encourage residents to get involved in their community.
The Goldstream Gazette has posted an article on the upcoming Nov. 15th elections. Here is the section related to my candidacy:
All current councillors except Coun. John Goudy are seeking re-election. Throwing their hats in the ring too are Steven Hurdle, Herman Surkis and Michael Mortimore, all who took Langford to task on its new official community plan earlier this year.
Hurdle in particular squared off against council when he organized a petition calling for a referendum on borrowing money for the Spencer interchange. Hurdle collected 2,250 signatures from Langford residents.
Many residents in Langford say council doesn’t listen to citizen concerns and often appears to make decisions with little public discussion, Hurdle said.
“Since (the petition) many people have asked me to run. Almost every day somebody mentions it,” Hurdle said. “What I discovered a lot feel ignored, a lot don’t feel listened to
“I think the public is ready for discussion and debate at Langford council,” he said. “I think people are willing to vote for that.”
The following is the Langford portion of an article from the Times Colonist about the forthcoming local government election.
John Goudy is the only councillor not seeking re-election in Langford, where Mayor Stew Young runs a no-bones about it, pro-development municipality.
The popular Young has been acclaimed.
While condos are still being built and ribbons of red interlocking brick sidewalk continue to spread throughout the municipality, not everybody is happy with the pace of growth in Langford. The municipality had to call in extra RCMP this spring to clear out protesters taking to the treetops in opposition to the Spencer Road interchange now under construction.
And Langford’s plans to borrow money on behalf of private landowners wanting the interchange sparked a mock counter-petition led by Steven Hurdle. Hurdle, an active council watcher for months, is among 14 looking to get elected to one of six council positions.
CFAX was running my press release on the news yesterday. Here is the transcript as it appeared on their web site.
LANGFORD BLOGGER TO RUN FOR COUNCIL
Oct 11, 2008A LANGFORD BLOGGER HAS ANNOUNCED HE’S RUNNING FOR A SEAT ON COUNCIL IN NEXT MONTH’S MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.
STEVEN HURDLE SAYS HE’S BEEN CALLED THE “LANGFORD WATCHDOG” FOR HIS EFFORTS IN CHRONICLING THE ISSUES IN THE LANGFORD AREA ON HIS BLOG.
HURDLE STARTED A PETITION CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE MUNICIPALITY’S DECISION TO BORROW MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON BEHALF OF DEVELOPERS FOR THE BEAR MOUNTAIN INTERCHANGE.
HURDLE SAYS HE FEELS THERE IS A NEED FOR MORE Read the rest of this entry »
There is a crowded field running for Langford Council this year, with 14 candidates running for 6 positions. Five of the incumbents are running, one candidate who is on record as having unconditional support for the incumbents, and 8 challengers of which I am one. There are seven days for people to withdraw after filing, so it will be interesting to see whether the field thins our or not. We may find there were candidates who put their name in, thinking no one else would (it’s been a quiet summer on the local election front), and seeing a crowded field might elect to bow out.
So far, only two candidates (Ryan Hinton last month, and now myself) appear to have issued a press release about their candidacy and given the public an idea of what they stand for. It is likely the others will in the coming days.
Steven Hurdle running for Langford Council
STEVEN HURDLE, THE “LANGFORD WATCHDOG”, RUNNING FOR LANGFORD COUNCIL
For immediate release
Date: October 11, 2008
LANGFORD – Steven Hurdle, nicknamed the “Langford Watchdog” by a local media outlet for his efforts at bringing the events of Langford Council and committee meetings to residents through the “Inside Langford” news blog, is running for election as a Langford city councilor in the November 15th municipal election. He first moved to Langford 19 years ago, and both lives and works in the community.
“I believe there’s an appetite for more community consultation, and for a renewed commitment to democratic accountability in our community,” said Hurdle. “I have time and again witnessed people leaving Langford’s Council Chambers feeling that they were heard, but not truly listened to. Read the rest of this entry »
