Safety - a campaign promise

 Safety has a peculiar resonance in contemporary urban politics. For some conservative leaning folks safety is about protecting their property and their children from 'influences' they don't like. 

[Consider] the slogan of safety in schools.    Most of us we think this means something like ensuring no child is bullied, that schools are earthquake proof, and/or that it implies a focus on issues of emergency preparedness. However, this is also a coded phrase that speaks to a conservative anti-LGBTQ movement intensely opposed to any kind of non-heteronormative sexual orientation or gender identity. (Menzies, Oct. 2018).

In the current UNA elections safety has popped up in almost every campaign letter and communication from candidates (not all, but most). A discouragingly strong minority of occurrences reference the conservative 'protect my property' variant of safety. Some, however focus on a more progressive focus that might be called a community wellbeing approach.

Fei Liu, for example, very carefully argues that "a safe community should be inclusive without out prejudice and hate."  Eagle Glassheim discusses safety in the context of earthquake preparedness and climate change induced wildfires in Pacific Spirit Park.   This approach to safety centers the wellbeing of all people living in our neighbourhoods.

The conservative mode of safety reconceptualizes threats to wellbeing as something caused thieves at night, unfamiliar strangers, or identities that challenge parental authority.  The solutions to these types of threats typically involves increased police presence and excluding people thought to be strange and dangerous. 

Three candidates in the current election have explicitly called for increased policing and more money being spent on the local RCMP; this in an historical moment wherein many people are calling for a defunding of police or a retasking of police funding to more community wellbeing focussed activities. 

Tony Cheng opened his campaign by citing examples of violent crime in Alberta and followed up by promising to lobby for more RCMP funding.  AMS supported candidates Mitchell Proust and Sofia Ngieng have both promised to lobby for more police presence on campus in order to improve community safety.  Erin Co, another student candidate, is less explicit on an expanded police presence but also picks up the conservative safety theme by advocating to The Ubyssey "to make a working group and to liaise between the RCMP and UBC to ensure the overall safety of all community members." 

A lot of research shows that community safety isn't gained by increased police presence. For the fiscally concerned, there are cheaper ways than spending on policing to improve community safety.  In fact, the best intervention lies in preemptive community planning - something that is currently underway and already in existence in the residential neighbourhood plans.  Let's hope that those candidates who have called for spending more money increasing police and enforcement reconsider their promises. If they get elected this is one promise I hope they break - not because they are typical promise-breaking politicians, but because they will have reflected on the facts and have realized they are wrong to demand more police.

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Editors Note, Nov. 20/21: Proust and Ngieng clarified/reversed their position on expanding police presence during the All Candidates Forum by saying they meant community enforcement, not more police officers.

Mitchell Proust campaign letter.

Hello neighbours,

In case I haven’t had the chance to meet you yet, my name is Mitchell Prost. I am a resident of Hawthorn Place and am running to represent you on the University Neighbourhoods Association Board of Directors. The UNA is an organization that has surely affected your living experience here on campus in some way or another. I am hoping to work with board members and residents alike to improve our community for all.

Before I dive into my campaign and what I hope to do with the UNA, I thought it would be nice for you to get to know a little about me first. Some personal fast facts about me are:

• I was born in Langley, BC and grew up in Surrey, BC
• I have lived on the UBC Campus (Musqueam Territory) for the past six years
• I have one dog and two cats (very cute pictures linked here)!
• I graduated from UBC with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and Behavioural Neuroscience
• I have played the piano for 16 years and love to compose music
• I like to think I am a friendly person, and hope to meet many of you in the coming weeks and beyond!

Professionally, I currently work as the Student Services Manager with the Alma Mater Society (AMS) of UBC Vancouver where I oversee the operations of our community services. The AMS Food Bank, our Safewalk campus shuttle program, and our AMS Housing Services are some examples of the services I manage daily. In this role, I additionally sit on the AMS Board as a councillor, on the Finance Committee, and the Student Life Committee.

Outside of my current work, I sit on the City of Vancouver’s Renters Advisory Committee where I regularly engage in conversations and consultation with city staff and Councillors on a variety of issues affecting Vancouver’s 600,000+ residents.

If you’d like a full picture of the work I have done, I invite you to review my LinkedIn profile. Additionally, you can visit my campaign website at mitchellprost.com. 

My Vision for the UNA

As I mentioned above, the UNA is an organization that affects us all here living in our neighbourhoods. The board in particular has the ability to engage in consultation with a variety of stakeholders such as residents like us, the UBC administration, the UBC Board of Governors, and more. The topics vary from more local issues such as parking and access, to more broader topics such as the planning of how UBC’s physical campus will grow in the future. As a UNA Director, I will commit to bringing my full attention to all conversations we have, no matter how easy or difficult, or how small or large they might be.

In addition to continuing the work currently being done by the board to ensure a smooth transition that does not disrupt the community in a major way, I hope to work on the following priorities:

Land Use Planning and Development

An affordable, accessible, and sustainable living

• Coordinate with the UNA-UBC Liaison Committee and the UNA Land Use Advisory Committee as a way to ensure that the UNA is making housing more affordable in our neighbourhoods.
  
  

• Consulting directly with all residents on matters of land use, climate action, sustainability, transit solutions, and more as UBC renews its 10-year Land Use Plan, otherwise known as “Campus Vision 2050”.
  
  

• Pushing for the development of more green spaces in all neighbourhoods along with the promotion of sustainable transportation methods such as the Skytrain-to-UBC and zero-emission vehicle charging stations.
  
  

• Advocating for the inclusion of the Skytrain-to-UBC into CampusVision 2050 in understanding the short-term and long-term benefits that the project brings to the region, such as employment growth, Indigenous partnerships, and sustainable transit solutions.

Safety and Communal Living

Creating a safe community

• Work with the rest of the board to push the provincial government to allocate more resources towards local law enforcement and UBC to ensure that our neighbourhoods and the entire campus are being kept safe.
  
  

• Collaborate with UBC and the Director of Electoral Area A on the creation of a UNA Safety Advisory Committee which would be mandated to work with local law enforcement to create a comprehensive crime prevention plan as a way to mitigate the long-term impacts of population growth.
  
  

• Lobby the provincial government, in coordination with UBC and all relevant stakeholders, to conduct a safety audit of direct roads and ensure that all access routes to UBC’s Vancouver campus are safe for residents, visitors, and students. 

Community Engagement and Transparency

Being transparent and accountable

• Revolutionize the UNA’s community engagement strategy by growing social media accounts and regularly updating residents on the operations of the UNA Board of Directors along with work being conducted by UNA staff in brief, concise, and engaging language.
  
  

• Push for the creation of more youth engagement in the UNA’s operations and governance by pushing for the creation of a UNA Youth Leaders’ Council which would act as a consultant on directional decisions regarding affordable housing, connectivity, sustainability, and more within the UNA neighbourhoods.
  
  

• Improve accessibility and transparency of the UNA Board Meetings through the uploading and storing meeting recordings to UNA website, in addition to the written minute documents already available.
  
  

• Increase community engagement in creating the annual budget through a UNA budgetary priorities survey.

Expanding Revenues and Services 
Cutting costs and investing in a community for all

• Push for the reduction of parking costs for UNA residents while making up for lost revenue by potentially increasing parking costs for visitors and guests in understanding that UNA residents are existing financial contributors (small financial study required).
  
  

• Conducting a review on the current services provided by the UNA to identify any gaps in an effort to reinvest within the community.

Many of my goals are informed by the thoughts and feelings of other UNA residents. Before moving forward on major changes, I believe it is imperative to adequately consult the community, and will incorporate this belief into my work as a Director, should the community select me as one.

If you have made it this far, I truly appreciate your time and attention. If you have any questions or comments at all, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at mitchell.prost@gmail.com or by replying to this email.

Thank you and have a great day!

Best,
Mitchell

Mitchell Prost | He/Him

Candidate | UNA Board of Directors

Website: mitchelprostcom

Email: mitchell.prost@gmail.com

Sofia Ngieng - campaign letter

 Good afternoon,

My name is Sofia Ngieng and I am excited to announce that I am running to be on your UNA Board of Directors. Having been a resident of Hampton Place neighbourhood, I believe that the UNA has failed in ensuring that they are accurately voicing your opinions along with the opinions of your fellow residents - whether that is on matters of land use, green space expansions, community safety, or engagement and transparency. If elected to the UNA Board of Directors, I hope to bring a fresh slate of ideas and work tirelessly with all UNA residents. My candidacy for the UNA Board of Directors aims at revolutionizing the UNA’s outlook on land use development, safety, communal amenities, and expanding revenues while investing in you, the residents.

UBC is currently renewing its 10-year land use plan, more commonly referred to as “CampusVision 2050”. The plan will have a major impact on how the neighbourhoods are developed over the next few decades and it is essential that the UNA advocates for the needs of its residents. If elected, I will work with UNA residents and push for the following items:

• Creating a direct line of communication with all residents to ensure that your voices are being heard when it comes to CampusVision 2050;

• Maintaining and growing sustainable initiatives such as green spaces and zero-emission vehicle charging stations;

• Advocating for the inclusion of the Skytrain-to-UBC into CampusVision 2050 in acknowledging the transportational improvements, increased employment opportunities, environmental benefits, and Indigenous reconciliatory partnerships that the project brings to UBC and the region.

As a young resident who is working towards my double major in English and Political Science at UBC, I will work towards bettering the relationship that the UNA has with your children, the youth of our community. A couple of ways that I will better this relationship are as follows:

• Actively engaging with newer residents through community events and initiatives to ensure that they understand the importance of the UNA along with the partnerships that it has with stakeholders such as UBC and the UEL.

• Working with the rest of the UNA Board of Directors to create a UNA Youth Leaders’ Council to involve and engage younger residents in directional conversations on sustainability, community engagement, and connectivity within the UNA neighbourhoods. 

Your youth are growing up in these neighbourhoods, they should be involved in these conversations.

Our community must be kept safe - for our children, for our students, and for our parents. We need to be actively liaising with local law enforcement and UBC to lobby the provincial government to provide the UBC campus, in its entirety, with increased enforcement funding and resources. 

The UNA has not made any tangible action on this yet. I believe it is pivotal that the UNA plays a strong role in voicing support for improved road safety on UBC’s Vancouver campus. 

This election, UNA residents and members have a unique opportunity to make our communities more safe, build a tighter community, and shape the way that our communities are going to look over the next few decades. I hope to serve as a fierce advocate for this work and ensure that your voices are being accurately represented on the UNA Board of Directors.

Warmly,

Sofia Ngieng

Candidate | UNA Board of Directors