Hi everyone,
A quick update for everyone following Sooke Traffic Petition and Sooke Tax Petition.
I wasn’t able to attend Tuesday night’s TACS All-Candidates Meeting (Sept. 29/26), so afterward I spoke with several people who were there and compared their impressions.
An actual head count put attendance at about 150 people. Longtime Sooke residents told me they haven’t seen that kind of turnout for a local candidates meeting since the days when Sooke was exploring incorporation in the 1990s!
Who is TACS? The organizers describe themselves as a group of local women — professionals, homeowners, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents — who care about where and how our tax dollars are spent and want accountability from local government.
By every account I heard, the evening was well organized, informative and respectful. Dave Saunders was originally scheduled to moderate but had to step away because of a family commitment. Ryan Chamberland stepped in and, I’m told, did an excellent job.
According to those I spoke with, the full Sooke First team — Kevin Pearson for mayor, Herb Haldane, Janet Evans, Elliott Lifton, Rob Pearce, Curtis Peterec and Christine Thomas for council — attended, along with another mayoral candidate Al Beddows and, council candidates Noah Dowhy and Nick Dickinson-Wilde. The four Sooke Together candidates did not attend and in their words "“We believe all-candidates meetings are an important part of local elections, but we also believe they should be organized and moderated by people who can reasonably be seen as impartial. In this case, both the organizer and moderator have strongly expressed views about local political issues and candidates.”' The remaining independents who did not attend for unknown reasons are Landon Kenneth Grams, Kyra J. Lazzar, Tony St-Pierre, and Katherine Strongwind.
The audience was respectful, the candidates were courteous toward one another, and there was a lot of gratitude in the room. Several people told me afterward that the evening actually helped them decide.
Every participating candidate was first asked what they would do to reduce the tax burden on Sooke homeowners — including what services, service levels, projects or infrastructure investments they would reduce, delay or eliminate. In the next round, each candidate randomly drew one of ten questions and had two minutes to answer. Topics included the OCP, accountability, spending, growth, transparency, administrative costs and the roles of Council and staff.
Traffic came up as well. The District’s broader Throup/Phillips corridor is currently estimated at approximately $50 million, although construction and borrowing have not been approved. (Source: District of Sooke)
Kevin Pearson and Herb Haldane of Sooke First have supported examining a considerably lower-cost alternative. An independently engineered concept commissioned by local contractor Matt Banner proposes a 20-metre right-of-way with two travel lanes, a centre turning lane, sidewalk and bike lane, while preserving the playing fields. Its preliminary estimate is approximately $15 million, including a 25% contingency. That is a preliminary estimate for the alternative concept, not a District-approved construction budget. (Source: Sooke First)
Fire department staffing was another topic mentioned by several attendees. They recalled Herb Haldane talking about looking to qualified members of Sooke’s existing local paid-on-call firefighters to fill needed positions rather than bringing people in from elsewhere. I’m told that comment drew a strong round of applause.
A big thank you to the organizers, to the candidates who were willing to stand in front of about 150 people and answer some tough questions live, and especially to the residents who showed up. People gave up family time, arranged babysitters, changed plans and, in at least one case, took time away from a paying job to attend.
It takes courage to stand up and answer publicly, and it takes commitment from residents to make the effort to be there. Showing up matters. Thank you all!
And now there is a provincial election underway too
For Juan de Fuca–Malahat, the current party candidates are current MLA Dana Lajeunesse for the BC NDP, David Evans for the BC Greens and Mike Hicks for the BC Conservatives. Candidate nominations do not officially close until October 3, so Elections BC’s final ballot list is not yet complete.
On taxes, the BC Conservatives made an explicit September 27 campaign commitment that a Conservative government would introduce no new taxes and would not raise taxes during its term. (Source: Conservative Party of British Columbia) The BC NDP is emphasizing middle-class tax relief rather than a broad tax freeze, while the BC Greens' current campaign calls for increased contributions from the ultra-wealthy and large corporations. I have not found a comparable across-the-board 2026 tax-freeze pledge from either the NDP or Greens in the campaign material published so far.
On Sooke traffic, there is history from all three provincial candidates. David Evans (Green Party) has previously called for ideas including HOV lanes where practical, more local employment to reduce commuting, and having developers provide road improvements such as turn lanes earlier. (Source: Sooke News Mirror ) Dana Lajeunesse (NDP) was involved with the Sooke Traffic Committee, which looked at immediate and longer-term ways of relieving Highway 14 congestion. (Source: Goldstream Gazette) Mike Hicks’ BC Conservative Party current candidate biography points to his past work on Highway 14 access at Gillespie Road, the Roche Cove Bridge and improved emergency communications along Highway 14. (Source: Conservative Party of British Columbia)
As of September 30, I have not found a detailed new 2026 Highway 14 congestion plan published by any of the three candidates. If that changes during the campaign, I’ll pass the information along.
For those of us who have been pushing for action on traffic, taxes, infrastructure and affordability, there are now important decisions being made at both the municipal and provincial level. Stay engaged and most of all VOTE. Thank you for your continued support on these very important and key issues.