Canadian Media Guild VP Lisa Lareau on the status of the CBC
“What we do see is an increasingly empty Broadcasting Centre. We see empty offices. We see one empty studio, another one used by a former network competitor (Rogers) and a few more slated to be shuttered by next year. We see whole areas of expertise parcelled out (documentary production, weather, hockey). We see a single permanent reporter in a city the size of Fredericton. We listen to talk about selling the Broadcasting Centre itself. And today all of us will bear witness as hundreds more people across the country get notices that their jobs are redundant. I could go on.”
I’ve heard commented, more than once, that there isn’t a lot to separate the two men running for mayor in Prince George. Both are seasoned politicians, both have sat on council, and both hold leadership positions in the community. A recent write-up in the Province sums it up well, under the headline “Very little separates Prince George mayoral candidates”:
“In separate interviews with The Province, both identified major infrastructure upgrades to the city’s roads, sidewalks, sewer systems and pools as key priorities should they win the seat, which went up for grabs in May when outgoing Mayor Shari Green announced she wouldn’t seek re-election.”
I’d back that, for the most part. I don’t think the vision either man has for the city is radically different from the other. One may support a zoning change to revitalize downtown while the other would prefer a tax break. Zurowksi may have made population growth a key part of his campaign, but it’s not as if Hall opposes the idea. Infrastructure and responsible spending are key to both their platforms. One gets the impression they wouldn’t mind sitting on committees together, and probably wouldn’t vote against each other’s initiatives all that often. Heck, when I asked them what their favourite music was, both said Rod Stewart.
I even tried making word clouds using the candidates’ official websites, to see if there were any big differences in language. Here they are:
Lyn Hall:
Don Zurowksi:
The top words used by both: “Prince”, “George” and “community”. After that, no words were used more than ten times. The only thing that really stood out for me is that Zurowski uses “100,000” multiple times (as in, grow the city to 100,000) and Hall referenced educational institutions like the school district and UNBC.
Even on controversial issues you don’t see a lot of difference. For example, the always divisive Northern Gateway. Hall hasn’t, so far as I can tell, stated his own opinion on the project, simply saying that he is waiting to see how everything plays out from an environmental and regulatory standpoint. Zurowski has stated his personal support for the project, but emphasizes that is a personal viewpoint and not one that would affect how he runs the city. Both are quick to point out that what the mayor of Prince George thinks doesn’t matter, anyway, since it’s a provincial and federal decision. What they have to do is be prepared to deal with the infrastructure issues that would come up as a result of increased activity and jobs in the northwest. A pragmatic approach, in contrast to mayors and councils elsewhere in the province, a number of which have officially declared their stance on the project.
But if Hall and Zurowski both recognize their lack of power over national and provincial infrastructure projects, where do they stand on a major city project, like the Performing Arts Centre? In the Prince George Free Press election supplement, both were asked “If the federal and provincial governments agreed to fund two-thirds of the estimated cost of a Performing Arts Centre, would you support the city borrowing $15 million to complete the project?”
Zurowski answered simply “Not at our current population base.”
Hall would also not support borrowing the money, but for different reason. “The underlining factors such as scope of the project and operational costs have yet to be determined. There is ongoing work to be completed by the PAC Board and City administration to resolve these outstanding issues.”
Again, pragmatic approaches.
So when the substance is similar, where do you turn but to style? In the last few weeks of the campaign, I’d argue both men have sought to differentiate themselves by what type of leader they’d be, rather than where they’re leading. If you wanted to point to a flashpoint moment, it’s be an open letter from Garth Frizzell asking if they’d be a “council mayor” or a “CEO mayor”:
“In Prince George, the Mayor is both the leader of Council, and the CEO of the corporation. Will you be a ‘Council Mayor’ or a ‘CEO Mayor’? A ‘Council Mayor’ is one among nine, whose influence comes not from pre-determined authority, but because they can articulate the issues best, can be influential and compelling. They’re persuasive because they’re competent, have integrity and a clear vision. A Council Mayor recognizes that all members of Council are held responsible, and will stand beside and support colleagues. By contrast, A ‘CEO Mayor’ believes that ultimately s/he is responsible for the success or failure of policies at the City. This attitude is critical in business, where the business’ success or failure can mean the livelihood of a family and the families of employees. The CEO in business is the highest-ranking manager or administrator, and it all falls on his or her shoulders.”
Lyn Hall responded first. An excerpt:
“I think it is evident from what I speak about that I would be a ‘Councillor Mayor’ by your definition. It is imperative that a Mayor treats each Council member as an integral part of the team of nine – because they are. The reality is: elected officials are responsible and accountable to our community both individually and collectively.”
“I suppose I would be a ‘CEO Mayor’. A good CEO builds a strong team and relies on the strengths and input from those team members to move the corporation, in our case the City, in the direction of the common vision. A good CEO helps keep the team focused and steers them back to the important tasks when they become distracted. A good CEO is not dictator, but a team builder and leader that is not afraid to stand up for what they believe in and does not hide behind the team when problems arise. A good CEO leads the company with the best interests of the shareholders, in this case the residents of Prince George, in mind. I am the strong leader that this City needs.”
You see that? Inclusive leader versus strong leader. It’s something both men latched onto on CBC when asked about their key advantage over their opponent.
Lyn Hall, asked to sum up why people should vote for him:
“I think an inclusive style of leadership that the city is really wanting, and I think it’s the connecting of council to the community. So keep those two things in mind, that’s what I bring to the table.”
Don Zurowski, same question:
“I believe the city of Prince George deserves a mayor with a vision that aligns with their vision and expectations, and if you vote Zurowski for mayor, we will get Prince George growing.”
I should also note that while both Hall and Zurowski are saying they would be more inclusive or more visionary, neither one is saying they wouldn’t be that other thing either. Hall would be a CEO mayor when necessary, just as Zurowski would bring council-mayor tendencies to his leadership style. As Neil Godbout argued on CBC this morning, even when it comes to leadership styles there’s probably more similarities than differences.
For what’s it worth, the PG Free Press declared Lyn Hall the winner of the first mayoral debate based on style:
“Firstly, Hall gave answers that didn’t sound like they came out of a campaign platform book and often spoke in specifics. Zurowski, not always, but a few times, used the age-old campaign trick of trying to turn a question around to one of your talking points. For example, when asked about improving the city’s downtown nightlife, Zurowski referred to his campaign plank of growing the city’s population by 25 per cent as the solution.”
It should be noted that no one else was willing to declare a winner, and even the Free Press said both were “poised” and “articulate.”
Which isn’t to say there isn’t a choice to be made on November 15. There is. There are endorsements from various community leaders and groups, which I have no doubt you can find. Weigh those. Weigh also how important leadership style is. Equally important is to remember that whether led by a council mayor or a CEO mayor, there is still an entire council that shapes the direction of the city just as much as the mayor does. And in that realm, you can see some major differences emerge in style and substance on all sorts of issues.
I’ve put up the answers to my own council questionnaire here, the Prince George Free Press has published its Election Primer online, The Prince George Citizen has a special Election ’14 page and an election supplement for free on new stands around town. CBC Daybreak North has an election page and two in-depth interviews with the mayoral candidates. 250 News/CFIS have been doing interviews with all the candidates, as well, and posting summaries, you can find them here, and PGTV has put all its stories together, too, as well as compiling these candidate minutes – sixty seconds with each person. Finally there’s PGelxn.com which has its own questionnaire and some other information.
Whoever gets elected tomorrow is leading the city for the next four years. They will decide issues like how many taxes you pay, how many potholes get filled, how many parks get maintained, and how the image of Prince George is projected to the world. If that matters to you, there is a choice to be made.
The Prince George Citizen asks election candidates who’s backing their campaigns:
“Candidates were asked to impart campaign contributions of $1,000 or more from third parties, which excludes expenses financed by their businesses or spouses.
“Hall said he had six donations which met the criteria, but would not specify who they were from prior to the election.
“Zurowski said any disclosure prior to the election would be incomplete, and so wanted to wait until the full filing was made.”
On the editorial page, Neil Godbout criticizes the lack of disclosure:
“Either Hall or Zurowski will be sworn in as Prince George’s new mayor in December, yet Prince George residents won’t know until February, just a couple of months into their four-year mandate, who helped pay for their campaigns and how much they gave… It’s too bad the two mayoral candidates wouldn’t allow voters to decide how important or irrelevant that information about their campaigns was in deciding who they will choose.”
As you may recall, I came up with ten questions to ask the candidates running for mayor and council in Prince George. They are questions I, personally, am interested in and should by no means be taken as the most important issues of the campaign.
Using the email addresses provided by CivicInfo BC (which in turn used the information on candidate nomination forms) I sent my questionnaire out. I did not provide prompts or reminders, one email to the email address used on the forms.
Out of 27 total candidates, I received 13 responses. All were from council candidates and all but one were from newcomers to the race.
This has been a crazy busy campaign. There have been multiple public events every week, and many more private or semi-private ones. There are media requests, questions from the public and, let’s not forget, everyday life. This is all volunteer work, at this point. So it is 100% understandable that responding to my questionnaire isn’t at the top of the list of priorities.
Still, I appreciate the replies of the 13 people who did take the time to answer. It has provided me with new insight and, honestly, made my decision a little more difficult because the playing field between candidates narrowed in a few cases.
I leave the opportunity to respond open to the remaining candidates, and I will publish the results as they come in throughout Friday.
I’ve embedded a table of the answers below, but you may find it easier to read the answers here, because I’ve made it so the candidate name and the question asked is always on-screen.
PS. If you’re looking for other places to get informed, the Prince George Free Press has published its Election Primer online. The Prince George Citizen has a special Election ’14 page online, as does CBC Daybreak North, including two in-depth interviews with the mayoral candidates. 250 News/CFIS have been doing interviews with all the candidates, as well, and posting summaries, you can find them here, and PGTV has put all its stories together, too, as well as compiling these candidate minutes – sixty seconds with each person. Finally there’s PGelxn.com which has its own questionnaire and some other information. No excuse to not get informed!
I am not sure why there are a bunch of stories about fluoride right now, since only a couple of B.C. cities are actually voting on it. But nevertheless , here’s the Globe and Mail tackling it today, and coming up with the same conclusions as elsewhere:
“The overwhelming evidence is that fluoride is safe and beneficial, particularly in the low-doses in which it is added to water…
“More than 400 million people worldwide benefit from fluoridated water. It’s unfortunate that it’s not more because dental cavities are the single more common chronic health problem on Earth.”
Dan Misener reacts to Seth Godin’s “An End of Radio“:
“So then, what’s CBC Radio’s podcasting strategy? I can’t pretend to know, but judging from the current lineup of podcasts, it’s all about mirroring the existing over-the-air broadcast lineup.
“The best podcasts out there embrace the unique properties of the medium. They’re intimate, and personal. They’re portable. They’re not constrained to broadcast lengths. They take advantage of the fact that listeners start from the beginning, every time.
“Simply duplicating broadcast programming in podcast form isn’t going to cut it in Seth’s ‘long tail of audio.'”
A brief history of fluoride coming out of your tap:
“On Saturday, voters in Prince George will be asked to vote on this question:
‘The City of Prince George currently fluoridates its water supply. Are you in favour of the City of Prince George fluoridating its water supply?’
“It is a contentious issue, with passionate advocates on both sides of the debate.
“What you might not know is the debate has over sixty years of history, from Communist plot to suspicious chemical to today.”
I put together a story on the history of the fluoride debate for CBC. In the process, I used a lot of archival sound from the CBC archives dating back to 1949 so I decided to put together an interactive piece that let’s you explore those stories along with the new one. I hope you’ll check it out.
Seth Godin:
“With so many podcasts, free downloads and Spotify stations to listen to, why? With traffic, weather and talking maps in your pocket, why wait for the announcer to get around to telling you what you need to know?”
This is my theory: take a listen at a traditional radio broadcast. How much of what you hear could feasibly be replaced with apps and unlimited data – stocks, sports scores, road conditions, and weather? What’s left? Focus on how to create it better than anyone else and package it alongside on-demand information. That’s where radio is going.
The Guardian reports on a speech by Conservative MP Theresa May:
“If the BBC can provide all the locally-significant news, what reason is left for local people to buy a newspaper? That’s as dangerous for local politics as it is for local journalism.
“The BBC has to think carefully about its presence locally and the impact that has on local democracy.”
The media system is an ecosystem. No one benefits if a single organism consumes everything else.
Emily Oster writing for FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver’s data-based journalism outfit:
“The bottom line is that if you want to build a case against water fluoridation — and, apparently, many people do — it is possible to do so. But the case is weak.”
There have been many comprehensive reviews on fluoride in mainstream media, most reaching similar conclusions. The thing is, much like other controversial issues it doesn’t seem like evidence has much power in the face of gut instincts and fear.
Here’s a story on the anti-fluoride movement from 2013:
“In many ways the rise of the grassroots anti-fluoride movement is similar to the anti-vaccine lobby, which has campaigned hard against the practice of vaccinating children on the grounds it causes autism. Those opposed to fluoride are equally organized and determined, driven by the belief that the medical establishment is ignoring recent research.”
Prince George was the first British Columbian city to put fluoride in its water, way back in the fifties. Decades of use hasn’t lessened the cries from those who want it removed, and it goes to referendum this Saturday. We’ve got experts being flown in from Health Canada, anti-fluoride lobbies, and everything in between. It’s the latest battleground in this ongoing fight. We’ll see how it turns out.
Last week I was in Vancouver for work and I stayed at the Georgian Court hotel. One evening, I had about an hour of free time and was hoping to pop up to a couple shops of Commercial for some Christmas shopping. I didn’t feel like paying for a taxi, so I mapped it out and found it was a a 50 minute walk and half-an-hour transit trip with a couple of transfers. Then I remembered something I’d seen on the website while booking my hotel- free bikes. And according to my app, only about twenty minutes of pedal time to get to my destination.
So off I went. It was faster than walking, less stressful than driving, free, and I didn’t have to worry about transfers. Most of my trip was along an ocean path and then residential side streets, so it was a lot more pleasant, as well.
I had the same experience on my vacation in Quebec City earlier this year – free bikes at the Chateau Frontenac let me take a morning tour of the Plains of Abraham in less than half the time walking would take, but still with the ability to stop and snap photos along the way. A car couldn’t have made that trip at all.
I’ve rented bikes in other cities, but the complimentary bike system is great. You’re not always sure you’re going to need it, and sometimes you only want it for a trip rather than the full-day excursions most bike shops rent for. When it’s at a hotel, you just give them your room number, grab a helmet and a key, and off you go.
Bike riding is a great way to explore a new city. And from now on whenever I’m checking hotel options, complimentary bikes are going to be high on my list of priorities.
Neil Godbout takes on the assumption that population growth is necessary for Prince George to survive and thrive:
“If that was truly the case, then how does one explain the incredible amount of public and private sector development over the past three decades? With the population numbers stagnant, Prince George built a university, a medical school, a hospital expansion, a cancer centre, a 6,000-seat arena, a new swimming pool, an airport expansion, a new art gallery, a new courthouse and a new police station with public dollars. Private investment, meanwhile, developed the entire Highway 16 retail corridor – Superstore, Costco, the Brookwood Plaza and up Peden Hill to Westgate. Private dollars also fuelled several new residential neighbourhoods across the city, numerous new and successful businesses and CN’s inland port at the downtown railyards.
“While all this was happening, the city’s economy diversified to include health and education as major employers, alongside manufacturing and transportation. That diversification softened the blow as sawmills closed their doors and/or slashed staff due to the modernization of their production facilities.
“In other words, the city “grew” without physically growing in population.”
I’ve taken on the assumption that growth = good before, but I’ve never really thought of Prince George as a living example of a city improving without growing. And yet it is, for the reasons outlined above. This is a more mature and robust city than it was when I was born, and it got here without ever hitting that magical 100,000 people mark.
For small and mid-sized cities it seems like population growth is a hammer that turns every problem into a nail. Not enough doctors? Population growth. Downtown dying? Population growth.
Population growth is only a small part of what makes a great city, IMO. Many of the great cities of the past – the Athens of Socrates and Plato, the England of Shakespeare – were small by today’s standards. And yet they managed to create systems and ideas that have endured centuries. There are many arguments in favour of population growth, I know, but it is not the end-all and be-all it is often portrayed as.
A collective of independent, experimental, and production-rich podcasts have raised over half a million dollars from 20,000 people in under a month. You want to talk about the future of radio? You should be talking about this.
The best butter chicken I’ve ever had is from the cafeteria of the Law Society of B.C. in Vancouver. Highly recommended.
The best butter chicken I’ve ever had is from the cafeteria of the Law Society of B.C. in Vancouver. Highly recommended.
Ad nauseam
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November 11 2014 | ∞
The other night on Twitter, I got into a discussion with a few other political geeks about different voting systems. One that came up was the ward system, which divides a city up into neighbourhoods and people vote for someone to represent them geographically, similar to ridings on a provincial and federal level. I argued that Prince George is right on the bubble of where such a system would make sense: maybe we are big enough that we need to ensure this type of geographical representation, but I’m not sure.
Anyways, I decided it would be interesting to see which parts of town the people running for mayor and council actually live in. I used the addresses listen on their nomination papers and published on both the City of Prince George and CivicInfo BC websites to create the following Google Map (the blue markers are the mayoral candidates, orange markers are council incumbents, and red is everyone else):
I’m not sure how much usable information there is here, but I do see a few interesting tidbits. For example, while most parts of the city are fairly well represented by both incumbents and challengers, only three people have homes north of the Nechako River. This means that there are actually the same number of people who don’t live in Prince George at all who want to be on council as the entirety of the Hart, North Nechako, and Valleyview areas combined. There is also no one east of the Fraser River, towards the airport and Blackburn. Might be worth investigating why that is.
See the full map here.
Filed under: Prince George | Discussion