PoCo Firefighters Candidate Survey

The Port Coquitlam Firefighters sent out a survey to all the Candidates in the upcoming election.

These surveys really force me to analyze the positions in my campaign and test my ability to communicate answers back which balance the need for services and the need to hold the line on tax increases.

I am not sure if the answers to this survey will be made public or if the firefighters will come out and endorse some candidates.  That said, I wanted to publish the questions and my answers here on my website.  As always, I would enjoy your feedback.

Why do you want to be a councilor/Mayor?

After years of community service and advocating on issues a number of residents have told me they believe it is time that I move into the role of decision maker.  I have proven I can make the decisions required to keep Port Coquitlam moving forward and bring new ideas to the table.

What is your work history/background?

2008 to Present – Owner, Dave.ca Communications
1996 to Present – Owner, Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling
2005 to 2008 – Assistant to MLA, Harry Bloy
2002 to 2005 – Store Manager, HomeSense
2000 to 2001 – Director Brand Management, Communicate.com
1997 to 2000 – District Manager, Western Canada AT&T Canada
1991 to 1997 – Store Manager, STAPLES

My recent volunteer experience is as follows:

2003 to 2006 – Port Coquitlam Official Community Plan (OCP) Task Force
2003 to present – Terry Fox Hometown Run Organizer
2004 to present – National Wrestling Alliance, Director
2006 to present – Tri-Cities Crystal Meth Task Group
2006 to present – Tri-Cities Homelessness Task Group
2006 to present – Live @ Leigh Square event producer
2006 to present – Youth Matters! Director
2008 to present – Wear Pink Anti-Bullying Day Communications Director and co-founder

What is your education background?

York University – Sociology and Religious Studies

How long have you lived in Port Coquitlam?

11.5 years

What are your concerns with Port Coquitlam?

Some of the issues on which I am running:

World Police and Fire Games – get involved by loaning our fields to the athletes for practice sessions during July and August of 2009
Police Services – hire 3 more police officers and 1 more bylaw officer
Property Taxes – hold the line on property tax
Recall Legislation – we need the ability to fire our local politicians
Heritage Fund – create a heritage fund from the existing 5% DCCs collected from developers
Highrise Condos – support high density development through highrise development
Homelessness – create a regional approach with the MVRD to tackle the problem based on Toronto’s “Streets to Homes”
Dog Parks – create up to three dog parks so our canine friends do not have to take us outside of PoCo to play off leash

What is the first thing you would like to see changed or improved upon once elected?

We need to get a full account of the City’s financial health.  Our reserves are all but gone and price overruns on the Coast Meridian Overpass have caught most of the community off guard.  Until we get our finances in order we cannot properly plan for growth, improvements or prosperity.

List in priority sequence all the issues you feel need to be addressed inside our City.

Finances
Public safety / hiring of more police, fire and bylaw members
Homelessness Regional Plan
Implementation of the Recreation Plan

What do you think you could do to improve what the current Mayor and council has achieved during their term?

Communication.  There have been times when accurate and timely information has been slow in being communicated (e.g., Coast Meridian Overpass cost overruns, financial health of City).  The use of clear plain language in place of “government speak” is needed so the residents truly know what is happening.  Council also needs to schedule Open Houses on issues when it is convenient to the public not just for City Hall.  Further, once these public input sessions are complete Council should vote according to the input received.

There have been times when Council members vote one way saying this is what they heard from the public when clearly that was not the case.  Case in point – the 26-storey Shell Condo near Lions Park.  Over 90% of the public input said NO to the condo yet a majority of council voted yes and one Councillor even said a majority of the input was in favour of the project!  Clearly more attention needs to be made to the area of communications.

Council sets the level of service provided; do you know what the service is that is provided by the fire department?

To start with, the 2009 budget for Port Coquitlam Fire Services is roughly $7.046 million which is less than a 4% increase over 2008 which shows some solid financial management by our fire management team.

As of November 1, 2008 the Performance Measures expected by the City from the Fire Services area have not been developed (which I find interesting that such measures have not be provided thus far).

Below are the services provided by the fire department:

Fire Administration Division

• Plan, organize and direct the Department’s 5 major divisions: Training/Public Education, Protective Service, Fire Operations, Fire Facilities, and Emergency Preparedness.
• Coordinate for all matters related to staff, budget, and personnel issues.
• Administrate the Pre-Fire Planning Programs.

Training/Public Education Division

• Develop and instruct relevant fire fighting training programs.
• Conduct employee promotional exams.
• Administer departmental safety programs.
• Coordinate and deliver a variety of public education and awareness programs to the citizens of Port Coquitlam.

Fire Protective Services Division

• Provide a high level of life safety & fire protection for businesses and residents.
• Conduct Code and Bylaw Enforcement.
• Upgrade existing non-conforming buildings.
• Plan check and approval for new construction.
• Business license review.
• Review/approve fire safety plans, occupied premises, and demolition sites.
• Administrate the Fire Inspection Programs.
• Conduct fire investigations.

Fire Operations Division

• Responsible for all Fire Department equipment and emergency preparedness radio equipment.
• Respond to all emergencies.
• Manage subordinate Officers and Fire Fighters.
• Contracted fire dispatch services within the City.

Fire Facilities Division

• Ensure fire hall facilities are well maintained and resources are secured.
• Respond to all emergencies.
• Maintain and secure the City’s emergency preparedness equipment.
• Manage subordinate Officers and Fire Fighters.

Emergency Preparedness

• Recruit emergency preparedness volunteers.
• Train, develop, and implement the City’s Emergency Preparedness Community courses.
• Train, develop, and implement the Neighbourhood Program.
• Administrate the City’s overall emergency plan.
• Manage acquisition and maintain the emergency preparedness equipment.

Are you satisfied with the level of public safety in Port Coquitlam and if not what can be done to improve it?

Port Coquitlam has one of the lowest police officer to citizen ratio in the Lower Mainland and we have only two Bylaw Officers for a city of roughly 58,000 residents.  This is unacceptable.  As our city continues to grow further service level pressures – and safety issues – will impact our police, fire, ambulance and bylaw services.  Greater funding and leveraging regional supports will be needed.  I have made public safety a top priority in this election and will follow through once I am elected.

Do you know what your firefighters do in their daily operations?

The Mission Statement of the Port Coquitlam Fire and Emergency Services Department really sums up the daily operations:

The primary Mission of Port Coquitlam Fire and Emergency Services is to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Port Coquitlam from the adverse effects of fires, sudden medical emergencies, exposures to dangerous conditions or disasters created by man or nature.

A significant portion of our Mission will be accomplished through fire prevention, education, training programs and emergency preparedness.

My brother-in-law Alex is a Firefighter in Mississauga, Ontario and one of the members of the Terry Fox Hometown Run – Keith Olson – is a PoCo Firefighter.  Both have given me great insights into the joys and challenges of firefighting.  One of the greatest joys which does not always get highlighted is the giving back to the community that each fire member provides.  Be it having their heads shaved for the Terry Fox Foundation to raise funds for cancer research or helping with neighbourhood block parties our Firefighters are always giving back to the city.  Thank-you!

Did you know that Work safe B.C. has changed the entry protocol for structure fires affecting our staffing issue at a structure fire?

Section 31.3 of the Work Safe BC regulations on firefighting states:

31.23 Entry into buildings

(1) When self-contained breathing apparatus must be used to enter a building, or similar enclosed location, the entry must be made by a team of at least 2 firefighters.

(2) Effective voice communication must be maintained between firefighters inside and outside the enclosed location.

(3) During the initial attack stages of an incident at least one firefighter must remain outside.

(4) A suitably equipped rescue team of at least 2 firefighters must be established on the scene before sending in a second entry team and not more than 10 minutes after the initial attack.

(5) The rescue team required by subsection (4) must not engage in any duties that limit their ability to make a prompt response to rescue an endangered firefighter while interior structural firefighting is being conducted.

Also with the first of the highrises starting construction in Port Coquitlam, our firefighters will also have new procedures:

31.5 Procedures

(2) Written procedures must be established and followed by a fire department or industrial fire brigade for the following situations, where applicable:

(a) fires in buildings 7 storeys or over;

These procedures are in place to protect our firefighters.  As a City, we must provide the funding and support to meet and possible exceed these safety standards.  If elected, I will vote in favour of such additional funding.

With the new overpass construction, Port Coquitlam, for the first time could be like most cities in the lower mainland and be in a deficit situation.  With possible public pressure to reduce spending, how would you defend spending more money to improve public safety and fire fighter safety? If faced with either reducing services to maintain tax levels or increasing taxes to maintain services, which would you choose?

I am on record at the last three years worth of public input sessions for the city budget that while no one likes tax increases I would support additional spending to support public safety services.  Port Coquitlam deserves a higher level of service from our police and firefighters and as a City, I would ensure the funding is there to ensure the safety of our families.

What are you doing to make sure you are successfully elected?

Engaging the public.  Each day since the end of September I ensure I am in the community delivering flyers, door knocking, meeting with residents, updating my website, calling for support, etc.  I respond to every question posed and always ask for a person’s vote – and their support in asking their friends and family to vote for me as well.

What do you think you are you doing differently than the other candidates in order to get elected?

I believe my years of community involvement and service and my speaking out on issues over the years (Fremont Connector, Shell Condo development, Cold Wet Weather programs, homelessness, etc.) sets me apart.  I have a proven track record of being involved and not just putting my name on a ballot and appearing on the scene during an election. I am using these experiences and contacts I have made over the years to gain support from residents.

Finally, my website – www.Dave.ca – is by far the most comprehensive, user friendly and interactive of all the candidate sites.  As I have said before communication is key and this is my small way of ensuring information is available for residents.

Why do you think you have a better chance to get elected over everyone else?

Same as above.

Who on the list of candidates can you best work with?  Who could you least work with?  Any opinions on other candidates?

I have had positive experiences with all of the incumbents on the ballot and would enjoy working with most of them as Council colleagues.  While I have been outspoken on the need for Mayor Scott Young to resign and then not seek re-election, should we both be elected, I would do what is right for the City of Port Coquitlam.

As for the new candidates on the ballot, I have worked with Bob Lee and Brad West on various projects and know they can be thoughtful elected officials.  During the course of the campaign I have seen Todd Delaurier, William Issa, Chris Jones and Michael Thomas working hard to get out their message.

While many politicos would say I should not mention my “competition” in a positive light, at the end of the day I want my City Council to work.  I know that the incumbents – minus Scott Young – the above mentioned new candidates and me – Dave Teixeira – would all work together for the benefit of Port Coquitlam.