Photo via the City of Victoria.
Victoria resisted the anti-incumbent wave that swept the municipal elections across the province last month. Marianne Alto was re-elected as mayor for a second term alongside five returning councillors.
Returning councillors Stephen Hammond, Matt Dell, Marg Gardiner, Jeremy Caradonna, and Dave Thompson will be joined by new councillors Wendy Bowkett, Melissa Cseszko, and Jack Sandor.
The recent municipal election saw 31 281 ballots cast, making up roughly 41 per cent of eligible voters — a roughly 4 per cent increase from the 2022 municipal election. Alto won the mayoral race with 13 505 votes, beating Bruce McGuigan by approximately 3 000 votes.
Hammond received the most votes this election for council with 15 092 votes, and Dell came in second with 14 291 votes.
Dell told the Martlet he’s “excited for a new council to be elected, and to be working with the existing and new councillors to collaboratively tackle the issues [Victoria] is facing.”
Voter turnout varied across Greater Victoria. In Metchosin, approximately 52 per cent of eligible voters cast a vote, electing new mayor Steve Gray and only one incumbent councillor. Colwood recorded the lowest voter turnout with around 32 per cent, re-electing Doug Kobayashi as mayor.
B.C. saw a wave of anti-incumbent results across the region in what many dubbed a “change election.” Public safety concerns were a common concern this election, with many candidates running campaigns promising to deal with public safety concerns.
Dell echoed this analysis, stating that Victoria council was elected based on the issues of housing affordability, homelessness, and addiction.
“In Victoria, I think the public wanted to see faster [results] and they elected a couple of people who were bringing a conservative approach to that,” he said.
“I think the public expects voting for someone different will make a difference, I don’t necessarily believe that on an issue like [homelessness].… I think the push to the right was over those two issues — housing affordability and its impact on the neighbourhoods, and homelessness and addiction.”
Hammond campaigned on lower taxes, “better” housing policies in and building “in the right places,” and addressing “safety concerns” of the downtown area, whereas Dell campaigned on advocacy for arts and culture, supporting non-market and affordable housing developments, and keeping the downtown area accessible, among other issues.
Although the new council term has not started, some councillors have already come under controversy. Newly elected councillor Wendy Bowkett came under fire during the election for posts attributed to her on X (formerly Twitter) and verified by CTV. In one post, Bowkett responded to a tweet that said “My buddy’s wife just came out as a TERF”, a term that stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, with “Great news! It’s never too late.”
A petition created on Oct. 19 calling for Bowkett’s resignation has received over 3 000 signatures, and Bowkett has since deleted her X account. She told CTV she was sorry some of her posts could be construed as “mean” or “snarky,” but alleged other posts attributed to her were false.
CTV said they verified many of the posts, and said Bowkett did not tell the network which posts she contends are fake.
The Martlet reached out to Bowkett but she declined to comment.
The Victoria Pride Society released a statement on Oct. 22 regarding Bowkett’s posts, stating that transgender and gender-diverse peoples’ “identities, dignity, and human rights are not up for debate.”
Alto told CTV she would “intervene as chair” if any disrespectful behaviour ensues in council, and Councillor Caradonna said constituents should “feel safe from discrimination by their elected officials.”
Dell said that the non-partisanship of municipal politics will allow for collaboration between councillors who hold opposing views. Earlier this year, Victoria council unanimously voted to direct staff to open requests for electric bike-share program proposals, resulting in the introduction of Lime bikes, a private bike-share company based in San Francisco.
Hammond also signed the motion to start development on the now-closed Crystal Pool, he said, an initiative championed by more progressive councillors like Dell.
“It’s more pro-housing versus anti-housing, and that’s where the real split is … I’ll be trying to collaborate as much as possible.”
The elected council and mayor began their term today following a morning swearing-in ceremony. A group planned to gather outside city hall to protest Bowkett’s post history.
