Position is Pro-property Rights: McNulty

Peninsula News Review

Position is Pro-property Rights: McNulty

By Sean McNulty

Fred Young and I did have a pleasant conversation while I was on my ‘Silent Majority Tour’, but he mischaracterized my position on development. My approach is not that of everything and anything goes. In fact, I don’t like the term pro-development. It lends to the idea that as Mayor I would go around dictating to people to develop their properties, which is not the case. I look at my position as one of pro-liberty and pro-property rights. Therefore, my take on development is that if a man or women wants to improve upon their property, and it doesn’t negatively affect the equal property rights of others, why should it be stopped? I’m not encouraging anyone to develop anything, I’m freeing people to pursue their goals and dreams with their land as they see fit.

This is why the anti-development crowd is not only wrong in an economic sense, but morally as well. The  ‘pro development’ crowd respects property rights and believes that individuals ought to be able to do what they wish with their properties within the given regulations the land is purchased under. Whereas the anti-development crowd wants to impose their vision on others people’s property regardless of what the land owners desire. One side advocates a bottom up, grass roots approach and one advocates a top down, dictatorship like approach to communities evolving.

In regards to this not being an ‘industrial, or even light industrial municipality’, Randy and I both operate businesses in the Keating Industrial Park (Raven Metal Works and Five Star Paving) which is a vital part of Central Saanich. Keating doesn’t irrevocably diminish our rural appeal, it makes a great place even better.

I question the term ‘we’ that was throughout Mr. Young’s letter. Who is ‘we’? I know he’s not speaking for myself and my supporters. I believe Mr. Young is putting forth his point of view, and perhaps his neighbors, not all the citizens of Central Saanich. I’ve door knocked over 1200 homes and can say I’ve yet to meet this ‘we’ that is being referred to.

The Town Hall meeting was a tremendous success, and why Mr. Young is critiquing it while at the same time stating he didn’t see the entire thing is odd. It’s like going to a movie, watching half of it and then writing a review.

The barbarians aren’t at the gate, they’ve broken through long ago and are operating the municipality! Central Saanich, your liberators are at the gate. It’s time to elect us and take back your municipality from the vocal minority!

Sean McNulty
Mayoral Candidate in Central Saanich

Industrial Land Diminishes Rural Nature

Peninsula News Review

Industrial Land Diminishes Rural Nature

By Fred Young

A few weeks ago a very young man knocked on my door and introduced himself as Sean McNulty. He stated he was running for mayor of Central Saanich. When asked his position on development, his eyes lit up like pinwheels and he enthusiastically pronounced he was all for it. When I said more growth would lead to more infrastructure, more housing, more school rooms, more hospital beds, more cars, more sewage, more noise, more ferries, longer ferry waits, etc., etc., he almost levitated and gave me an enthusiastic “Yeah!!” I told him I couldn’t support his position and that today’s new infrastructure is tomorrow’s tax burden and that any success at fast growth would diminish this pastoral, bucolic municipality irreparably. Sean was polite and friendly, we respectfully bid adieu to each other.

Some time later, I attended a meeting, which I believed to be endorsed by Council: “Notice of Public Town Hall Meeting for the Future of Central Saanich – Increased Taxes or Managed Growth”. On arrival, I spotted the mayor and two council members who said this meeting had nothing to do with council and they were there as invited guests. The very young Mister McNulty was there as a featured speaker, as were other prominent business leaders. A local businessman, Randy Sewell, who is trying to have his property rezoned for business expansion purposes, gave an impressive, but disturbing, power point presentation. He would put up a set of points, followed by a question aimed at the perceived ineptitude of the current mayor and council, followed by a photo of a mentally challenged person scratching his head like a dodo bird. He continued to humiliate and insult his guests, the mayor and council. This is like inviting guests to your house for the purpose of humiliating them for the enjoyment of others. This even disturbed some in a room obviously full of development supporters. He talked about a previous council whose motto was “Go Slow, Grow Slow” (which I thought a perfect slogan for our unique municipality) which Mister Sewell believes is a motto of professional ineptitude and incompetents. I assumed his motto was “Go Fast, Grow Fast” (anybody want to move to Langford?). Some speakers (gentler, kinder than Mr. Sewell) threw out the developers’ favourite phrase “Smart Growth” which I always considered a Central Saanich oxymoron. In honesty, I fled the meeting in frustration after a couple of hours and missed some speakers.

The point, Mr. Sewell and Mr. McNulty, is that this is not an industrial, or even light industrial municipality. This is where we choose to live because of its unique rural nature. Every new industrial footprint irrevocably diminishes this community. This Mayor and Council aren’t stupid, Mr. Sewell, they actually ‘get it’. It’s you that doesn’t get it. This is far more viable and attractive as a bedroom community than a Langford spin-off.

According to Mr. Sewell, we are being burdened by unnecessary tax increases. This year my taxes were increased by approximately $15 a month (10 per cent) or one family outing a month for ice cream cones! My neighbours and I would gladly pay more to maintain our unique community. We currently have one of the lowest tax rates anywhere in the CRD.

Developers are folks who end up in the mansions on the hill looking down on the sprawl they created.

Time to gear up, folks, the Barbarians are at the gate!

Fred Young

Central Saanich

Talking the Talk

Peninsula News Review

Talking the Talk

By Christine van Reeuwyk

A lot of yammering will lead to a regional champion or two at the library Tuesday. The librarian at the Sidney North Island Branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library will just have to deal with the noise as Toastmasters from across Greater Victoria gather for competition. Talking, after all, is the name of the game.

The Saanich Peninsula Toastmasters club #1288 hosts the Area 3 International Speech Contest on March 25. It’s called an international contest because that’s where winners wind up. Winners from the Area 3 region head to the divisional, those winners head to district competition, then regionals, then the world.

“You get to witness the beautiful art of public speaking,” said Sean McNulty, Saanich Peninsula Toastmasters president. “For me personally, what I find most interesting is the topics people speak on.”

He recalled a competitor once who gave a speech on an astrological event that happened around 500 BC, and described how it was recorded by different groups.

“I found that very interesting,” McNulty said. The facts, research and relaying of the speeches are what make it interesting, he explained.

“You get to see the most talented speakers, so you get some really interesting speeches, you get some really humorous speeches …” he said. Speaking techniques and gestures can also add to the drama of a speech.

“Sometimes you get some speeches you think would be very boring, but the way they present it can be very interesting,” McNulty said.

The contest is broken into two competitions, speech and evaluation.

The speech portion is what most might naturally associate with Toastmasters. The competitors carefully research and prepare a speech that’s five to seven minutes long.

“It can’t be about sex, politics and religion. We steer clear of those things at Toastmasters,” McNulty said with a laugh. The competence of the speaker is gauged through hand gestures, eye contact, vocal variety and pronunciation — which are all calculated by six judges.

For the evaluation competition a test speaker comes in and makes a speech. The competitors evaluate, using similar criteria to the speech competition.

The Saanich Peninsula Toastmasters club #1288 hosts the Area 3 International Speech Contest on March 25 at the Sidney North Saanich branch of the VIRL from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The event is open to the public; tickets cost $5 at the door.