Candidates for the 2022 municipal elections are starting to come forward, with community advocate Basil Langevin today announcing his intention to run for Saanich council.
B.C.’s municipal elections will take place on Oct. 15 and the nomination period for candidates to submit their formal nomination papers opens on Aug. 30.
Langevin says he decided to run for council because he sees ways for Saanich to improve.
“I love Saanich and it’s the community I want to live in the rest of my life, ” Langevin said. “But I know that it has so much potential to be better. We’ve seen, especially over the course of this pandemic, just how slow-moving Saanich can be at times and how that has such a cost, to our well-being, sometimes to our lives, such as the case of street safety.”
We all deserve to live in safe, welcoming, affordable communities. These last few years have shown us that thoughtful, innovative leadership is crucial for building a better society. With that in mind, I’m excited to announce that I will be running for @Saanich Council this fall! pic.twitter.com/wsvjBfwVGr
— Basil Langevin (@BasilLangevin) February 28, 2022
Langevin says his three main priorities are advocating for safer streets, housing affordability, and environmental restoration.
For safer streets, he says he would like to see more infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists in the municipality.
“We’ve just seen with the crosswalk and Merriman and Cedar Hill Cross Road, that the district was able to put together a really safe infrastructure for just over $10,000 in an afternoon and a half. And so my question is, you know, why aren’t we doing this across the district,” Langevin said.
On housing affordability, he says he heard about situations during the pandemic where post-secondary students weren’t able to attend school because they couldn’t find a place to live, so they had to go elsewhere and he would like to see more available housing so everyone who wants to can live in Saanich.
For environmental restoration, Langevin says this is an issue he has been involved in for awhile.
“I’ve been very involved in removing invasive species and working to restore our natural habitat,” he says. “And so wanting to see Saanich really embrace the beautiful natural environment we have here and work to enhance it by planting trees along our streets, by building new parks, and by really working to reconnect with nature.
Langevin, who has been the executive director of an LGBT group for seven years, says this gives him the necessary experience to work collaboratively on council.
“I have a lot of experience in bringing people together despite their differences in finding really collaborative, problem solving, innovative approaches to issues and really being able to see progress through being innovative through being nimble in my approach,” he says. “I think that’s something that Saanich really needs, the district is really weighed down by its bureaucracy.”
In Saanich, Dean Murdock has also previously announced his intention to run for the mayor’s seat.
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Laura Brougham
