The Editor,
I am a nurse at the local hospital, I have lived and worked in Richmond with my wife, Lih-Fen, for approximately 26, years raising four children.
This election should not be about sign laws, taxes written in stone, off-the-rails development or who can ram in the most $1.5 million spec homes, replacing perfectly sound fix-me-ups. It should not be about discrepancy of services where certain areas primed for development get sidewalks and street lights, or if they are getting developed community centres or libraries with sidewalks and lights. What does it take to get sidewalks and lights in Richmond? How many $1.5 million spec homes per street?
This election should be about something that connects all those issues and that is quality of life.
We should be able to picnic in uncrowded parks and find a picnic table. We should be able to walk through Steveston without risk of a high-rise condo blocking our views. We should be able to drive and walk on uncongested roads and not choke on fumes, as is the case in some of the countries many people in Richmond came from, or escaped from, for better quality of life.
One of the slates has businesses and developers on its board, and, if elected, will dominate the council. I saw one of their signs being delivered and installed from the back of a developer’s truck. They assured me when I contacted their Facebook page that they were volunteers. “But it was a company truck,” I said. They stated they would get back to me. I am still waiting. That was about five days ago.
So, I wonder if this slate gets elected, whose priorities will they consider first, the developer’s or our quality of life? And how are they going to pay back the developer for the use of his truck?
Michael Young
Richmond
