May 17th at noon, I will be leading a workshop to help project leaders be well-prepared to help inform Council candidates about how they can be most effective if elected in the October 15, 2022 municipal election . You will come away from this workshop with a clear plan to build constructive and trusting relationships with Council candidates. Sign up here.
I am listening to clients hopes for the Fall 2022 municipal election in BC.
I am hearing from private, non-profit and government project leaders alike that they would like to impact land use policy in the Vancouver region. I am hearing questions about how to do this effectively.
There are 22 municipal governments in Metro Vancouver. Even with the Regional Growth Strategy, Vancouver Charter, and Local Government Act, over time, each municipal Council has developed its own unique land use policy framework. Each municipality has a different context and a different culture. Some Councils are more functional than others. There are over a hundred municipal Councillors in the region making land use decisions.
It matters that we elect people who are confident, knowledgeable and have a specific plan for what they will do “more of” and what they will do “less of” to address land use policy in the Vancouver region.
This is an invitation for you to actively support Council candidates with great information.
I believe that every person who stands for public office has a genuine desire to use their time and energy for maximum impact in their community. Great candidates are looking to be well-informed going into their campaigns. They want to commit to voters about the results they plan to achieve.
It’s March and the election is in October.
It is an important time to start to consider how you can contribute to constructive and trusting relationships with Council candidates that ensure future decisions are well-informed.
Please start thinking about what future City Councillors would benefit from knowing about you, your values, your projects, what has gone well and what has been more challenging. I suggest that your team start brainstorming and tracking this information now.
Once you have a clear vision of what future City Councillors need to know to make an important impact in their role, I recommend that by the end of Q2 your team has:
- A draft candidate engagement plan.
- This will track candidates’ names, contact details, and their key platform issues as well as dates of all-candidates meetings.
- You will need to decide who from your team would be well-suited to attend phone calls or meetings with candidates.
- A draft 1–2-page case study summarizing your previous experience and specific suggestions on how Council members can help make a difference in the future.
- The goal is to build trusting relationships with candidates by offering a resource that is constructive and helpful.
- Check-in with industry groups like UDI, HAVEN, NAIOP to understand how your messages are the same and different from messages being offered by the industry.
- Seek input on the draft document from government staff. Without question, blind-sighting staff will harm your relationship with municipal hall.
In Q3, it will be time to action your candidate engagement plan by booking meetings, phone calls, and reaching out to candidates to offer your support. Ideally, your team will be represented at all-candidate meetings with questions that are constructive and helpful.
Participating in the Fall 2022 municipal election in a meaningful way will require some work and I suggest being intentional in allocating ample resources.
I create impact by listening and connecting people.
Clients are starting to work with Channel on candidate engagement plans. If you or members of your team would like our help to connect your message with incoming candidates, please book an appointment here.