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News release:
Luton back on the ballot for council and CRD
John Luton will run for a second term on Victoria City Council and hopes to secure voter support for a seat at the CRD Board table in the November 19th municipal election.
He says the work Victoria has done on key issues like housing and homelessness are creating a more livable and supportive city and that council needs to continue those efforts. Luton also cites important work on tackling the city’s infrastructure deficit and investing in key projects to shift to a more sustainable model of transportation and urban development as critical to Victoria’s future.
“We’ve made great strides forward on some of our major challenges, but we still have much to do”, says Luton. “I’ve been pleased with council’s work ethic and I think I can bring that energy back for a second term.”Luton says that a seat on the CRD Board would help focus efforts on critical transportation choices facing the region as the CRD seeks to build a more effective and accountable regional authority to take on important local transit projects like LRT. He’s also needed to help steer the way forward on a new cycling and pedestrian master plan that will be implemented over the coming years.
Luton also points to the work he’s done on economic development issues, quietly helping to stickhandle initiatives to support an expanded shipyard at Point Hope, and the teamwork with fellow councillors on housing and development projects to help people who work in Victoria also live in Victoria. He pointed to the recently completed downtown plan and the Official Community Plan process as key to a vibrant and sustainable future. “We need to keep our young people at home and that means providing diverse and affordable housing options and maintaining support for a vibrant cultural sector to serve both the Capital Region and our important tourism economy.”
He’s keen to get to work on the next stage of community planning to build a city of neighbourhood villages where people can live, work and find services close to home and within walking and cycling distance to move away from a reliance on the automobile. “22% of our households don’t own a vehicle and we need a city and transportation system that supports sustainable choices”, says Luton. Land use as well as transportation diversity is important to build on the successes we have .
Luton is also a strong supporter of green city initiatives that have strengthened the city’s parks and is beginning to connect them through a greenways network that is starting to take shape. He’s also well known for work on cycling and walking issues and lately taken up the challenge of promoting LRT. “Light rail is that important next stage of evolution we need to support for our transit system. It will secure downtown Victoria as the economic heart of the region and can help us attract new industries like high tech that will be the jobs of the future. Every major player in Waterloo’s high-tech sector is support their LRT and we need to compete with efficient and livable models of transit that fit this century, not the last one”, he said.