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Local Citizens and Business have signed a letter to City of Victoria Mayor and Council calling for a referendum on the Johnson Street Bridge.
Dear Mayor and Councillors,
We understand that the provincial Inspector of Municipalities has approved the City of Victoria’s Loan Authorization Bylaw 09-057 to borrow $42 million for the replacement of the Johnson Street Bridge. We also understand that you will decide this Thursday, November 19, whether to obtain public approval of that bylaw by referendum or counter-petition.
As we stated in our email to you of November 12, we believe that requiring citizens to gather 7,000 signatures under a counter-petition – just to force a referendum that you could choose to hold – would be undemocratic and unfair, and would reduce trust in our civic government.
The mayor says he believes the City has adequately consulted the public about the future of the bridge. However, the City has not held any public hearings of options to repair the bridge, even though they would be less expensive than replacement, and would preserve a historic structure. As the Times Colonist stated in its November 12 editorial: “A referendum would not just allow the public a say on a decision with financial implications for decades. It would also ensure that a badly needed public discussion of the options takes place.” The Times Colonist does not believe the City has fairly consulted the public, and neither do we.
We ask you again to choose a referendum to obtain public approval of this bylaw. We want Victorians to have a fair and democratic vote on the future of their city.
With kind regards,
JOHNSONSTREETBRIDGE.ORG
Ross Crockford, director
per: Vittorio Cheli, Yule Heibel, Anne Russo, Brian Simmons, Mat Wright, 263 online signatories, and
The Honourable David Anderson
Dave Broadland, Focus magazine
Leslie Campbell, Focus magazine
Franc D’Ambrosio, architect
Keith Dagg, advertising consultant
Barry Hobbis, Victoria Harbour Ferries
Matt MacNeil, Victoria Pub Company
Jim Munro, Munro’s Books
Rob Reid, Frontrunners
Nick Russell, heritage advocate
Tell the Mayor and Council to hold a referendum
When finally approved this Thursday, this will be by far the largest borrowing bylaw in City of Victoria’s history, and for a single infrastructure project. This requires an Accountable, Democratic vote – this requires a Referendum.
Email mayor@victoria.ca
Johnson Street Bridge - Photo: Miroslaw Paprotny
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I applaud you on your work to raise the attention of the public regarding the blatant misuse of power being excercised by Mayor Fortin & City Council. There is no question that a full review of costs and alternatives should be undertaken before the city goes ahead with the huge expenditure associated with a full bridge replacement. As the cost of this work will undoubtedly affect all tax payers in the Capital Regional District, I wish we, in Esquimalt, were able to support this cause by casting a vote. I hope you are sucessful in driving this to a referrendum.