The Times Colonist story highlights:

The caller accused Hedstrom of stabbing council in the back after it took her side in an ongoing dispute with the Tower Fence cement plant. Council is taking the plant to court after receiving repeated noise and dust complaints by Hedstrom and others. “Anyways, just to let you know that the builders I know will not be buying their landscaping products from you any more,” the caller says.

The call followed a press release in which Hedstrom and her longtime foe, Dennis Madsen, president of the cement plant, jointly endorsed the Langford Team. The two claim the council challengers found more common ground between the opposing sides than council ever did.

“This is a democracy we live in,” said Hedstrom, who said Read the rest of this entry »

A longtime small Langford business broke the myth that business owners always back the incumbents, who serve on a council often marketed as business and development friendly, by publicly putting up signs for the Langford Team of Steven Hurdle, Michael Mortimore, Herman Surkis, and Vern Trew as well as Ryan Hinton. Now it seems the big ogre is out to get the little elf for straying too far into the dark woods of politics. Lynne Hedstrom-McAuley, owner of Lynne’s Little Elf Garden Centre, received a call that threatened Read the rest of this entry »

Monday Magazine has an article on the incumbents’ campaign finances from the 2005 election that is of interest. Apparently over 80% of the funds they raised were anonymous corporation donations in the last election, an impressive feat given it was done in under-$100 increments.

The week – November 13
Posted By: Monday Magazine Staff
11/12/2008 8:00 AM

Langford campaign questions

While campaigning for re-election in 2005, Langford councillor and current CRD board chair Denise Blackwell told the Goldstream Gazette, “Langford Council has worked as a team and the results are visible.” Longtime Langford politician John Goudy told the same publication, “I’m proud to be a member of a team that has delivered so many significant achievements for our community.”

Since the members of mayor Stew Young’s council of unanimity consider themselves a team, perhaps its no surprise that they seemed to draw from the same pool of financial backers in the 2005 election.

Despite their professed independence, financial disclosure statements filed by the incumbent Langford councillors after the 2005 election show that all six received the same bundle of 33 corporate donations of $99 each—or $3,200 to each candidate. In addition, all six received Read the rest of this entry »

There was a fire at Western Foods on Goldstream Ave. this Remembrance Day. No one was hurt, staff or customers, thanks to some observant and fast acting staff. There was a lot of damage in and around the electrical panel, so the repairs will probably be substantial.

- email the moderator – Cheryl McLachlan -

I did some work researching each candidate’s name using google, and after checking all 13 Langford Council Candidates here is what I found Read the rest of this entry »

The amount of information that is available about the School Board Trustee candidates for District 62, Belmont Zone is increasing. The Goldstream News Gazette covered the the one and only all-candidate meeting for the Belmont Zone. The West Shore Chamber of Commerce website includes a full list of who is running in both the Belmont and Milnes Landing Zones, and bios on all the candidates Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a story from the Times Colonist, Despite critics, community marches to its own drummer by Bill Cleverley. The article is about Langford, it touches on the municipal election, Mayor Stew Young, Steven Hurdle and the direction Langford is going in and who will be leading it there.

- email the moderator – Cheryl McLachlan -

The incumbent councillors Denise Blackwell, Matt Sahlstrom, Lanny Seaton, Winnie Sifert and  Lillian Szpak all touted a long list they all felt they achieved: a one per cent tax increase over 15 years, they reported a 500 per cent increase in greenspace, cited the development of City Centre Park as a community achievement, noted a recent Communities in Bloom national award for sustainability, and completion of Langford’s new OCP (Official Community Plan), as well as beautification projects, Langford’s affordable housing program, new jobs and low unemployment.

The challengers of Steven Hurdle, Michael Mortimore, Herman Surkis and Vern Trew had a variety of different answers to questions, but a reoccurring theme of a lack of public consultation and real democratic accountability being present in the current council. Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you all for the many comments, and feedback publically and privately, about the present commenting policy on Inside Langford. I would like to take the opportunity to mention a few things.

All comments are now moderated before being approved because of the difficulty several people have observing the comment posting guidelines. Several people have noted that comments that they have made are “pending moderation” and they wonder why. Comments awaiting moderation are either recent comments that I have not yet seen to approve, or Read the rest of this entry »

An article in the recent Focus magazine considers many of the issues that were raised by people knocking on doors in the winter days of early 2008 gathering over 2,260 signatures for a simple request of the Mayor and Council: to put the decision by the City of Langford to borrow up to $25 million dollars to finance the Spencer Road Interchange to a public referendum.

Excerpts from p. 12 “Stew Young’s bridge to nowhere: Was the Langford mayor’s roll of the taxpayer’s dice on the Spencer Road Interchange a safe bet?” – Sam Williams, November 2008, Focus Magazine:

[...]
“The mayor had originally proposed to fund the $32 million interchangem through the provincial Municipal Financing Authority, but a committee of local politicians turned the mayor down, citing the financial risk involved. Langford council went on to establish a Local Service Plan to fund the interchange, which essentially dumped the risk onto Langford taxpayers. At the time, City of Langford clerk Rob Buchan claimed there was no risk Read the rest of this entry »