We sat down with the six mayoral candidates running for office to try to get to the bottom of their policies, beliefs and contradictions that may have surfaced during the municipal election campaign.
Watch the full video, or fast forward to the times outlined below to see answers to certain questions posed by reporter Tyler Olsen. You can also find links to interviews with other mayoral candidates below. For our election hub, with links to all our other election-related coverage, click here.
Eric Nyvall, who has made an array of ambitious policy proposals, was asked how realistic it was to believe they could be accomplished.
“I want to be careful. I’ve never promised that we will be able to get them done. To me they seem like very sensible ideas. Abbotsford is electing a mayor and eight councillors, not an emperor. As mayor, I pledge on each of those individual items I’ve campaigned on, they will be brought before council.”
Nyvall has also called for a designated camping spot for homeless men and women.
“People at times have talked about sites that are out of town. That is neither realistic nor fair.
“You would have to look at pieces of land that are available within a reasonable and close-enough proximity to the downtown of Abbotsford.”
He acknowledge there would likely be significant community concerns.
“I can only imagine the concerns would be enormous. I would address it largely the same way Mayor Braun and Councillor Gill [did] when they stood up to support a men’s homeless shelter.” The argument then was that it would help the community to give homes to those living on the streets. Nyvall said the message would be similar for a designated homeless camp.
“We are talking about taking homeless people who are in the parks nearby, and putting them in a camp where they will no longer be transient.”
Eric Nyvall
0:30 : Can you square your statement that you wouldn’t sign a guaranteed-revenue agreement with a hockey team with a statement that a memorandum of understanding should be signed?
4:00 : Aren’t Las Vegas and the NHL different from Abbotsford and the AHL?
4:30 : Would you actually be able to get the Canucks to come to the table?
6:20 : What can you do to make Rail for the Valley happen?
7:50 : Should the city be spending money on that?
8:45 : Where could you realistically find a place for homeless men and women to camp?
9:30 : How would you manage the inevitable community concerns?
11:00 : You’ve been active on social media. What would you say to a young progressive voter concerned you may not share his or her values?
13:20 : If a request came in to raise the Pride Flag or create a rainbow sidewalk, would you support that?
15:45 : Wouldn’t expanding the city’s urban development boundary run contrary to Abbotsford’s Official Community Plan?
17:00 : As a father of young children, would you have the time to undertake a mayor’s responsibilities?
18:40 : Should the city grow its reserves beyond where they are now?
20:00 : There are very large projects coming down the line, is it feasible to do as much as you want now while having that money there for later?
21:45 : What is your opinion on the expansion of industrial land?
23:15 : So you would consider asking for the removal of land from the ALR along the Fraser Highway corridor?
23:30 : How would you increase the number of park amenities?
25:45 : People are naturally skeptical of politicians and you’ve said very specific things and you make it sound very likely that you will be able to do them. Can the public believe those things will actually get done?
OTHER MAYORAL CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS
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