How to Lose a Bridge and By-Election, and still Win (Guest post by @MatVic)

‘How to Lose a Bridge and By-Election, and still Win.
By Mat Wright

Hi – my name is Mat Wright, and I’m an acti-holic. Thanks for allowing me into your reading room. July 2009 was a turning point. It’s when I turned from being a sometime voter, to an activist. As with all ‘addictions’ it starts simply. We know there is no cure, but your support is welcome…and, yes, I’ll take your pamphlets on ‘Saving One-Eyed Sand Fleas in the Aleutian Islands’. Your pain resonates with mine.

When I met my life partner back in the frontier days of the early ‘noughties’ she made a simple case – ‘run a business, travel the world, do illicit substances in the ‘name of research’: I’ll have your babies, but DO NOT GET INVOLVED IN POLITICS.

That was a promise easy to keep as we lived in the Narnia of Europe (Belgium). A decade of health care, income and housing support, 10 Euro flights for weekends in Florence and Barcelona – and nobody thinking of destroying historic bridges. It all changed when we decided to move to Victoria in 2005, my University town.The place that nobody can hate, where everyone gets along.

The first few years were fine. Getting used to running over deer and raccoons in the driveway, and Googling road-kill BBQ recipes. The occasional windstorm and BC Ferry cancellation were fine, and dodging the increasing number of the high, inebriated and homeless in Downtown was a game – get home without getting slashed, win a frozen pizza. Sure, booze is way more expensive, but the guy with the moldy house, and sparking wires from the overhead transformer, next door had great dope. Things were great.

Johnson Street Bridge .ORG Wordle Tag Cloud

Then, without consulting moi (or 350 000 Capital Regional Residents), Victoria City Council decided to melt down the 80+ year old, historic Johnson Street Bridge as a few cyclists complained about tire wear (oh, and it might fall down in an earthquake). Well, that got the blood boiling – which is natural as it was the time of year to make Belgian style bloedworst – but then two online friends said ‘let’s make a Blue Bridge website, and see what happens’. Why not, said I – which resulted in myself, Yule Heibel, Ross Crockford and a star team of volunteers creating history (Part 1) with Victoria’s first ever successful counter-petition against Victoria’s diabolical plans to borrow billions (well – $42 million) to destroy our beloved bridge. Ha! That showed them – a few people, a simple website, some phone calls, bit of media play – and we can beat City Hall. Well done everyone, pat on the back. Let’s go home, and figure out how to pay the mortgage.

Oops – we got what we asked for. A year later, a referendum, and City Hall spending more billions (well, they ‘say’ $150 000) on a new campaign to replace the bridge. Oh, and cool timing, we’ll throw in a council by-election as a bonus. This time, while the Blue Bridge group was having fun with an Art Gallery, dressing up, and holding a massive forum, yours truly was campaigning for a wanna-be council hopeful (who had the right idea on the bridge). We both lost – Victoria Council now has the authority to turn the Johnson Street Bridge into window security bars for their offices at City Hall, and the runner up in the by-election is back to happily playing with boats in Victoria Harbour. FYI – Historic Part Deux is holding BC’s first ever Telephone Town Hall as part of the campaign, now everyone is doing it so it’s getting boring.

The moral? What would have happened if in July 2009 I passed on creating the website for the Johnson Street Bridge Campaign? If the answer was ‘sorry gang’ the cost would have been huge. I would never had the opportunity to be on CFAX, CBC (Radio and TV), CHEK. A-Channel, Globe & Mail, SHAW, Victoria News, Monday Magazine, Focus Magazine – and Face to Face with Jack Etkin. The chance to meet and work with great people from around Victoria, BC and Canada who care about so many issues. Working with Keith Martin, Chris Causton – connecting with so many Mayors, councillors, MLAs and MPs – getting into a political cause opened so many doors, and mainly for the positive (I may be persona-non-grata at Victoria City Hall, but who cares, I live in Saanich)

As for now, it looks like we lost the bridge battle, and the by-election, but won so much in friendships, connections and experience. No doubt, it has all been worthwhile, and continues.

As for my suffering partner, her answer is simple. You broke your promise about politics: fine, ‘I’m now rescuing cats’ – which is why the home office smells of cat litter and the challenge is working around purring furballs.
Finally – this guest blog would not have happened. Thanks Raul! (nor would Raul and I be on Public Eye Online). Think about that! Get involved in something you care about, be an acti-holic.