The Halifax Regional Municipality is a vast place about the size of Prince Edward Island. It is a patchwork quilt of small communities, which used to be organized into independent towns, counties and villages. But when amalgamation happened in 1996, all of those communities were slammed together in the larger regional municipality, a single politicial entity.
Whether or not this was a good move (depends who you ask), when you combine 200 or so communities and then divide them into just 16 council districts there are going to be some districts, especially those in zones of transition, that lack a unified vibe. District 9 is one of those districts. Half of the district is the area in and around Quinpool Road and that wing of Halifax’s multi-faceted downtowns. But it also stretches up past the Armdale Roundabout and includes the areas around Chocolate and First and Second Chain Lakes.
To determine which of District 9’s six candidates are equipped to face the complex challenges facing the city, The Coast sent out an extensive questionnaire to see what each candidate knows about the issues facing the city ahead of the municipal election on Oct. 19. The Coast followed up with more detailed questions to test each candidate's policy chops.
Of the six candidates running to be this area’s councillor, only half filled out the survey by deadline. We’ll start with the first candidate to send in their responses..
Shawn Cleary
The sitting councillor for District 9 wasn’t just the first from District 9 to complete the survey, he was the third candidate in the entire election to do it. As one would expect from an incumbent, Shawn Cleary demonstrated a very good understanding of the issues facing Halifax, and what the city is planning to fix those issues.
Cleary has made some gaffes, like that time he tried but failed to stop AirBnB regulations. He also frequently faces some pretty valid criticism from constituents that he’s kind of a dick when communicating with them. However, for his faults, Cleary has consistently been one of the strongest progressive councillors in Halifax. Do you know what got the Cornwallis statue removed? A motion from Cleary.
As part of the unofficial progressive caucus at council, he’s the only one who will reliably and consistently votes against the RCMP budget. While this may seem like an extreme move, the RCMP is very bad value for money for the HRM. The city pays a lot of money for some pretty garbage police service, and the city has no real oversight powers into the RCMP’s operations because that’s federal jurisdiction. The city is working to integrate Halifax’s two police forces so that the Halifax Regional Police and RCMP play nice together, but that work takes time and the city still won’t really have oversight of the RCMP. It makes a lot of sense for the HRM to give the RCMP the boot and have one municipally accountable police department for the HRM. Even though a handful of councillors want to see this happen, only Cleary has put his vote where his rhetoric is.
Cleary is also one of the few councillors who’s trying to use his power to decrease congestion in the city, and recently asked for a staff report to charge larger vehicles higher fees for parking. Although this will annoy anyone who has a big truck or SUV, it’ll make the city safer to move around in as those large vehicles make substantial contributions to pollution, congestion and road violence, and is very good policy for the health of the HRM as a whole.
And finally, although Cleary is still a bit of a dick, as his redemption arc continues he’s started using this power for good. For example, when city staff decided to ignore council’s instructions for the Windsor Street Exchange Cleary gave city staff the what for. This strong admonishment from Cleary (and others) will hopefully lead to city staff coming back with a plan for the exchange that prioritizes the city’s strategic plans and council’s instructions.
Shawn Cleary’s website can be found here: shawncleary.ca
Carlos Pessoa
Second to submit a response from District 9 was candidate Carlos Pessoa. Pessoa demonstrated a good understanding of the issues facing the city. In his answers he correctly identified some core issues with municipal development patterns, mainly in the realm of transportation. He identified that car-dependent suburbs with only residential land use means people have to drive everywhere, even a quick trip to the store for that one thing. To get away from this, Pessoa understands the role of the Integrated Mobility Plan, writing that the plan is supposed to “cut use of car driving in the region, to help reduce gas emissions, traffic congestion, and healthier transit habits.” Pessoa wants to see some legislative changes to discourage driving, and thinks the city should increase parking fines for repeat offenders.
While Pessoa has a good understanding of the issues, he’s got a pretty unique view of how a councillor should be responsible for fixing them. In his responses Pessoa wrote that “every development proposal needs approval by the district through district based-voting.” In a follow-up interview Pessoa explained that district-based voting would be mini referendums held within the district for residents to decide what Pessoa’s vote should be on any given issue at council. While this is an admirable ambition with regard to public engagement, it also has the potential to expose the city as a whole to some pretty significant risks. As a councillor, Pessoa would be given access to more information about municipal operations than most of his constituents. There are times when councillors will be asked to make decisions to improve the city that might be unpopular in their specific district. In practical terms, even if Pessoa thinks voting one way is in the best interest of the city, he would vote against it if his constituents voted against it in the district based voting process. Risks of direct democracy aside, Pessoa deserves credit for creativity.
Carlos Pessoa’s website can be found here: carlospessoa.com
Josh Beitel
The last of District 9’s candidates to fill out the survey (so far) is rookie Josh Beitel. He demonstrated a strong understanding of the transportation issues facing the HRM, with a particular focus on the importance of improving Halifax Transit. Like many of the rookies seeking election this year, Beitel is lacking a bit of the policy experience that comes naturally to any candidate with a bit of incumbency under their belt.
When rookies first get their start they often lean on experienced players to better learn how to navigate the professional game, and when Beitel didn’t know an answer he too leaned on a veteran player. When answering why the HRM is perpetually in a budget crunch, he said that the city relied too heavily on property tax and that “the city has lacked creativity in finding other ways to generate revenue”—pointing to the veteran political player, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Building Inclusive Communities report, as a document he could lean on for solutions.
Beitel’s campaign slogan is “Let’s Get Things Done,” and he wrote in his responses that council was too “meek” in using its power. In a follow-up interview he explained that he’s a bit weak on the legislative mechanism of hard power councillors could use, but that councillors also have a lot of soft power they aren’t using. This soft power, exercised in communication, relationship building, cajoling and everything colloquially known as horse trading, is something Beitel would likely excel at. Beitel’s a professional translator, which is all about being accurate and making sure nothing gets lost in translation. The city of Halifax could use someone who can translate strategic priorities from a policy document to how they are enacted in the city.
Josh Beitel’s website can be found here: https://www.joshforhalifax.ca/about
Tonya Malay
Has not completed The Coast’s candidate questionnaire. If candidates complete the questionnaire after the deadline of September 18, The Coast will attempt to complete a review in time for October’s election. Until then, we cannot determine if this candidate is worth your vote and would advise sticking to the known candidate in your district. If you would like The Coast to assess Tonya Malay’s potential as a councillor, please ask her to complete the questionnaire.
Her website can be found here: tonya4district9.ca
Valar Kaliaperumal
Has not completed The Coast’s candidate questionnaire. If candidates complete the questionnaire after the deadline of September 18, The Coast will attempt to complete a review in time for October’s election. Until then, we cannot determine if this candidate is worth your vote and would advise sticking to the known candidate in your district. If you would like The Coast to assess Valar Kaliaperumal’s potential as a councillor, please ask her to complete the questionnaire.
Her website can be found here: valarmathykaliaperumal.ca
Lara Cusson
Has not completed The Coast’s candidate questionnaire. If candidates complete the questionnaire after the deadline of September 18, The Coast will attempt to complete a review in time for October’s election. Until then, we cannot determine if this candidate is worth your vote and would advise sticking to the known candidate in your district. If you would like The Coast to assess Lara Cusson’s potential as a councillor, please ask her to complete the questionnaire.
Her website can be found here: laraforcouncil.ca
Analysis
As of right now, the incumbent Shawn Cleary has the lead as far as policy is concerned. Although he does have a tendency to rub some constituents the wrong way with his communication… style, Cleary has been the most dependable policy maker in the HRM since being elected.
Josh Beitel is running a strong campaign and has good ideas, however if his main argument is that council could be using their power more, that comes across as an advertisement for Cleary, the only councillor with a record of consistently leveraging their power to enact change. Beitel would have better luck with this campaign if he were running in an open field, or against a councillor who has been sitting on their hands.
Carlos Pessoa is a strong candidate, and the access to direct democracy he’s promising his constituents does deserve a lot of credit. However recent debates like the Housing Accelerator Fund bylaw changes—designed to address some acute municipal problems like the housing crisis—show there are times when downtown councillors are asked to be leaders and choose something that is pretty unpopular with their most vocal constituencies. Even though these changes are in the city’s best interest, it’s not clear Pessoa would have supported them if the constituents who participated in a localized direct democracy vote him not to. Pessoa’s position on direct democracy really comes down to what leadership looks like for you in a councillor.
