Welcome :)

Here is my short 2 minute statement from the All Candidates Meeting. See more of my answers to Q&A and my closing statement here.

Get in touch at Bio and Contact in the Menu or chrisale@gmail.com or FB Messenger or leave a comment.

Endorsements

More here!

Running again for your support.

I will be running for re-election on October 20, 2018 and I would be honoured if you would again support me to continue representing you on City Council.

My platform is going to remain pretty similar to last time. I’ll update my platform pages here over the course of the next few days and weeks, as things wind down a little over the summer with Council work.  I’ve learned a lot about what can be done fast, and what needs to be done more slowly but the goals remain the same.

I believe I have proven to be always open, transparent and honest.  And I believe I have tried to ensure Council is as open and accountable as it can be as well.

I have not always agreed with Council, in fact there were more than a few 6-1 or 5-2 type votes. But I knew that might happen and I think you did too when you voted for me.

My hope for this election is that we see a clear shift in direction for the City.  We can’t rely on the next big project to propel us into the future. We need to focus on our community, our businesses, and our amazing natural spaces.

Just as I want you to know what I stand for, I want to also hear what you would like to see happen in Port Alberni over the next term. It’s going to be a fun ride to October.

You can see a little more of what my thoughts are on the past few years in my Press Release

Thank you for visiting.

Sincerely,

Chris Alemany

9 replies on “Welcome :)”

  1. Chris – congratulations and good luck!

    It’s no surprise that taxes and employment top the list in your poll, because these are important issues for all of us, but for me I think the biggest issue facing our city is the need for a positive outlook for the future. Let’s look at our city and ask “what’s great about this place, and how can we build on that!”

  2. Thanks Bill! And I totally agree! Sometimes, a breath of fresh air really can reinvigorate! The City has a huge inventory of recent studies to go from as well from 20/20 to the Waterfront plans. So no reinventing of wheels needs to happen. Just need to move on what the community has already said and continues to say is needed. We have been held back by I-don’t-know-what for too long.

  3. Hi Chris
    I think you should take our socio-economic problems seriously. The statistics are here under 23Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District: http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/SocialStatistics/SocioEconomicProfilesIndices/Profiles.aspx
    It seems to me there is a disconnect between the decision-makers/bureaucracy and the citizens of Port Alberni. It looks like the people that make decisions have no idea that a large number of people in this region are unemployed and under-employed. It’s unfair and unreasonable to expect taxpayers to pay for anything other than essential services (e.g. safe drinking water, sewer, policing, road repairs, etc.) and maintaining current services. Any taxpayer that desire more can do so without including the 1 in 5 people that are barely making ends meet.

  4. Hi Susan!
    It is a shame that the stats are not broken down by city rather than by the wider regional district which includes communities that are severely disadvantaged and do not pay city taxes so to the lump them all as if they are all burdened with city taxes is inaccurate.

    In fact, i would not be surprised if those disadvantaged communities very often use Port Alberni as a service hub for the entire region for medical, adminsitrative, recreational, educational and other services.

    That said, there is no denying the difficult Socio-economic conditions within city limits. Even the small, unscientific poll on this site is already pretty convincing, as to what the big issues are. Taxes and jobs. And I have indicated in my platform page on Accountability that the tax shares residential taxpayers are currently being forced to hold is simply not sustainable.

    These will not be easy issues to address.

  5. The statistics are good not so much as a reflection of those that do or do not pay city taxes but moreso as an indication of the overall socio-economic conditions. Although the people from outlying areas like Beaver Creek, Cherry Creek, and Beaufort do not pay city taxes, people that live in these areas are no more disadvantaged than the people that live within the city. Of the 31,000 people that live in the regional district, only 2,200 are First Nations. I think First Nation communities are at a disadvantage nonetheless only make up 7% of the total population. Furthermore, Tofino/Ucluelet would likely balance out that equation because they add advantages. In other words, the statistics should be considered a fairly close reflection of the socio-economic conditions within the city’s boundary.

  6. Without meaning to diminish in any way the fact that the city has a larger share of unemployment and other socio economic issues than similar cities, I think you are under estimating the degree to which First Nations communities skew the results, due to their even more desperate situation.

    As evidence I would refer to the 96/01/06 Canada census comparison here:

    http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/92-596/P1-2.cfm?Lang=eng&T=CSD&PRCODE=59&GeoCode=23008&GEOLVL=CSD&TID=0

    It is for only the City of Port Alberni, not the Agglomeration of surrounding districts and FNs and despite declines in population and number for families, actually shows improvement in house ownership, employment rate, and big drop in unemployment rate.

    What has dropped drastically and needs to improve is overall median household and individual incomes. (Especially for men, which is telling).

    Unfortunately I can’t find this info for the 2011 census, maybe it hasn’t been released yet?

    So yes, in the main, the statistics say the same thing. There can be no disagreement there. We need jobs. Good paying jobs. And that will be an ongoing challenge for every council from now and into the foreseeable future.

    In my opinion though that is not going to negate the need for the families and households that remain to have services that the city currently provides. So there will continue to be an annual struggle as we deal with wants, needs, and necessities.

  7. Don’t forget that the unemployment rate does not include the under-employed nor those that went from $25 per hour down to $15 per hour. The middle class is shrinking. I think it would be fair to say at least half the population would fit into the working class/poor.

    When elected officials make spending decisions they should be consering what people can afford that fit into a level just below the median family income. According to the link you provided, that would be somewhere between $33,000 and $43,000. That’s not a lot of money.

    The statistics you provided also should a rise in the people aged 65 and older. In 1996, it was 14%. In 2006, it was 19%. I bet it’s at 23% now. That means that about 1 in 5 people in this community are on fixed incomes.

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