Which Candidates Best Reflect Your Development Priorities?
Compact infill provides many economic, social and environmental benefits.
To help voters evaluate candidates’ affordable development priorities, Cities for Everyone surveyed Candidates and analyzed their platforms. We found that, when it comes to affordability, candidates tend to fall into four general categories:
- Comprehensive affordability. Support policies that allow more compact infill in residential neighbourhoods to increase low- and moderate-income affordability.
- Low-income affordability. Focus on subsidizing and mandating below-market housing to increase affordability for people with low incomes and special housing needs.
- “Protect neighbourhoods.” Oppose neighbourhood change and therefore affordable infill.
- Unconcerned or unclear. Indicate little concern or provide little information about affordability.
The distinction between comprehensive and low-income affordability is important because there are often trade-offs between these goals. Some policies intended to increase low-income affordability can reduce middle-income affordability, for example, if inclusionary zoning increases moderate-priced housing costs, or housing demolition prohibitions prevent development of larger buildings. Comprehensive affordability advocates support diverse infill housing, including some that is initially too costly for low-income households but increases affordability through filtering, as some low-priced housing occupants move into the new middle-priced units, and over time as the new homes depreciate.
The table below categorizes candidates’ apparent affordability priorities. Voters can use this information to select candidates that reflect their values.
Candidates Categorized by Their Affordability Priorities
| Comprehensive Affordability | Low-income Affordability | “Protect Neighborhoods” | Unconcerned or Unclear | |
| Victoria | ||||
| Mayor | Lisa Helps | Rob Duncan | Stephen Hammond | Saul Anderson |
| Council (eight) | Marianne Alto | Steve Filipovic | Marg Gardiner | Gary Alberts Rose Henry Jesse Jimenez Edison Kahakauwila William Tate |
| Saanich | ||||
| Mayor | Fred Haynes | Richard Atwell | David Shebib | |
| Council (eight) | Benjamin Allan | Nathalie Chambers | Kathleen Burton | |
| Oak Bay | ||||
| Mayor | Kevin Murdoch | Nils Jensen | ||
| Council (six) | Andrew Appleton | Cairine Green | Esther Paterson | |
Candidates tend to fit into one of four general affordability policy categories. This information can help voters choose the candidates who will best represent their priorities.
Click here for a PDF version of the Candidates’ Affordability Rating Report.
Please let us know what you think. For questions or comments contact info@citiesforeveryone.org.