Updated Sept. 27: It’s too late to mail in your ballots but it’s not too late to vote! Tomorrow, Sept. 28, is Election Day and you can either drop off your ballot at a designated site or register to vote in person at the site. All the information you need is at this link.
If you’re concerned about climate change and/or getting around the city without a car, here are my thoughts:
First, the number one thing an individual can do in response to the climate crisis is to go car-free. Using active transportation is even better than using public transit. One of the most important things cities can do is to create safe accessible active transportation networks for people to use.
There has been surprisingly little discussion of the climate crisis during this election, although plenty about active transportation, especially bike trails and sidewalk snow clearing. In fact, Ward 1 candidate Jill Bruce said the topics she heard most about as she canvassed were transportation and bike trails! Actually both Bruce and fellow candidate Jenn Deon also said that sidewalk snow clearing is a huge issue for the people they’re talking to, and that many said they’d be willing to pay more in taxes for that specific purpose. As Deon noted, “When you’re hearing people talk about snow clearing on 30 degree days when you’re knocking doors, you know it’s important.”
Mayor Danny Breen and Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O’Leary have already been acclaimed so I won’t discuss their records here except to say that I think they will work collaboratively with a council that is really committed to responding to the climate emergency that the City has declared.
I’m kind of glad I don’t live in Ward 1 because I think there’s a difficult choice there with three candidates who are all supportive of active transportation. You can see their responses to questions on climate change, transportation and other issues here. However, I would support Mark Nichols if I lived in the ward because he has focussed his entire campaign on mobility justice. As part of that, he has a very clear understanding of the role of active transportation in addressing the climate crisis: “Decentralize the car. As we’re trying to get emissions down, it would improve health outcomes because people would be outside, engaged in active transportation.”
I do live in Ward 2 and I’m supporting Ophelia Ravencroft. How could I not when her number one priority is to fix our “horribly uncleared sidewalks in the winter that are wildly unsafe, wildly inaccessible, and that badly exacerbate our city’s inequalities”? Like Mark Nichols, she really gets the key role of transportation and has been very explicit about that. You can see her responses and those of two of the other three candidates to questions on climate change and transportation as well as other things here. (Art Puddister did not respond but last time he was a councillor he did his best to turn bike lanes into parking so I think that’s all we need to know about him.)
Sidewalk snow clearing was also a key issue in Ward 3. However, none of the three candidates seem to understand the central role of transportation for climate and none of them seem very supportive of making real improvements in enabling people to get around without a car. I can’t recommend any of them. See for yourself what they said in response to questions about these issues from the Independent. Here’s a sample: Jamie Korab said he was aware of what he called “the climate change thing” but he was vague on the details, saying only that “eventually we get to that zero net emissions which I believe we set for 2050. I can’t remember exactly—it was a couple of months ago we did that.”
Ward 4 incumbent Ian Froude has already been acclaimed so there’s no need for more discussion but he has shown in the past that he is a very strong voice for accessible active transportation and climate. He and Maggie Burton were the only two members of Council who, last winter, voted against a budget that did not support improved sidewalk snowclearing. He has also taken a lead on building active transportation infrastructure as well as on the city’s declaration of a climate emergency.
Sidewalk snowclearing was also a key concern in Ward 5. Actually it is huge right across the city as we hear from survey after survey. Why the City still doesn’t take it seriously I have no idea (well, yes, I do: they are blinded by car culture but anyway…) In terms of the climate crisis, Scott Fitzgerald seems the most likely to make it a priority, stating in response to a question about the main issues facing Ward 5 that “the decisions St. John’s makes have to be through the lens of climate change and climate adaptation.” I am not so familiar with the candidates in this ward but, based mainly on their responses to the Independent interviews, FitzGerald really has by far the most in-depth understanding of the need for systemic change and the importance of infrastructure.
There are many candidates for the four at-large positions but I didn’t really hesitate on who to vote for here as there are four candidates who really stand out and whose records I’m already familiar with. They are Maggie Burton, Jess Puddister, Anne Malone and Meghan Hollett. Here’s a short summary of my reasons for supporting them.
Maggie Burton responded to a budget question from Bike NL with “On budget: I want to make decisions using an equity lens. And that’s considering climate justice, racial justice and economic justice.” She is an incumbent and her past record also shows that she is serious about this—for example, in her constant support of better sidewalk snowclearing and her understanding of climate and justice aspects of that. She has already spoken articulately and fought hard for these issues. I so hope she is re-elected to continue her good work!
As a geo-environmental scientist, Jess Puddister probably has more professional expertise on the climate crisis than any other candidate. She has years of experience working with municipalities and other organizations on climate change solutions. Her response to questions on transportation was: “The City has an obligation and responsibility to make it possible for people to have a good quality of life in St. John’s without having to own or use a car, and to mitigate climate change by reducing the number of cars and car trips needed to get around the City.” She also noted that “Taxpayers often don’t realize but they’re subsidizing car culture through planning and budget choices at the Council table. We need to make a culture shift.”
Meghan Hollett has stated that “Active transportation is one of my highest priorities, as it promotes healthy populations and sustainable cities. It is excellent preventative medicine, promoting mental and physical wellbeing in a province that is currently grappling with many healthcare system concerns. It is one of the easiest ways for many people to reduce their carbon emissions.” She too has shown in the past that she is committed to this with her leadership roles in Conservation Corps NL and Critical Mass. You can see her profile here and her responses to the Independent questionnaire linked above.
Anne Malone‘s position is that she wants to be the accessibility councillor so she has really focussed on that issue but I know her quite well and feel that she would support any initiatives to address climate change. She has worked for many years on making St. John’s more accessible with a particular focus on sidewalk snowclearing. Anne is absolutely a mobility and climate justice candidate. She was an invited speaker at the last Fridays For Future climate strike along with the other three at-large candidates mentioned above so they obviously think so too.
If we elect the candidates I am recommending, I believe we will see a massive shift at City Hall towards climate justice as a framework for decision making and accessible active transportation as an essential aspect of responding to the emergency.
Road Rage 