Bryce Casidy
City of Vancouver development project coordinator, age 34
Bonson resident who’s lived in Pitt Meadows 2.5 years
I grew up in Coquitlam and have slowly moved eastwards, first moving to Port Coquitlam and now Pitt Meadows.
I am a father of two young daughters, for whom I want to ensure this wonderful city that we have chosen to make our home stays that way.
I work for the City of Vancouver as a development project coordinator, specializing in social housing projects.
With this experience, I have been exposed to the challenges that a larger city faces, as well as seeing the effective and ineffective strategies to tackle them.
I’m very active and play soccer, hockey, dodgeball, and ultimate Frisbee, when I’m not taking my dogs for a walk or my girls for a bike ride.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085343871744
Email: bryce.casidy2022@gmail.com
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Have you held office in past? If so, please specify:
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Questions:
(These answers are presented as the candidates submitted them)
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1. Should the City switch from a volunteer-based (paid-on-call) fire department to a full-time model?
Yes. The volunteer model has provided a great opportunity for not just young firefighters, but also other fire departments as we are a recruiting ground. That being said, as our population increases, particularly with more and more wood homes being constructed close together, our firefighting demand is growing.
2. Should Pitt Meadows take more direct action to combat the local opioid crisis?
I don’t know. I have not heard about this issue affecting our community specifically but this crisis has ravaged other parts of the Lower Mainland. It is important we remain vigilant so that we can step up to meet any issues that may arise.
3. Do you support the construction of the Harris Road underpass?
Yes. Our city has too few routes out in the case of disaster. During the flooding last year, the east ends of Hammond and Airport Way were flooded and blocked, as was the Ford Road detour, and about 30 minutes, a train was stopped on the Harris Road crossing, completely cutting off our community from the rest of the Lower Mainland (including me from my daughters).
4. Should the City set targets for the creation of more low-income and seniors rental spaces, social housing units, and/or co-op development to improve home security?
Yes. Recent residential development has been limited to mostly higher end duplex/townhouse/detached development, essentially making Pitt Meadows a less accessible city for young people as well as those on fixed or low incomes.
5. Do you support the proposal for the new CP Rail logistics yard?
No. I am opposed to the loss of important agricultural land.
6. Should the City be offering more tax breaks, rebates, and other incentives to entice new businesses to town?
I don’t know. Larger businesses seem to be thriving whereas smaller businesses seem to be dying out. There is some nuance here that needs to be considered to maintain Pitt Meadows “small town” feel whilst ensuring all businesses can thrive.
7. Do you think residential property taxes are too high in Pitt Meadows?
No.
8. Does Pitt Meadows need an indoor swimming pool?
Yes.
Having spoken with several people, I am not the only one having significant issues getting my daughters enrolled in swimming lessons.
Not having any local options, I am forced to go to other municipalities – that have priority booking for their residents, often leaving me with few options that are not viable.
Gone are the days of the local backyard swimming pool hosting private swimming lessons for the whole neighbourhood.
We also have a large, active community that wants to be able to swim without having to commit significant time commuting to a neighbouring city’s pool only to find it overcrowded or unavailable.
9. Do you support the City creating a separate RCMP detachment, exclusively serving Pitt Meadows?
No. Our recent Council has had perhaps an over-representation of those with an RCMP background and though an RCMP detachment may be a beneficial improvement for the community, I feel like it has been prioritized ahead of other more pressing concerns.
10. Should Pitt Meadows parks and nature areas be protected at the cost of future development opportunities?
Yes.
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EDITOR’S NOTE:
How the questions were presented to each candidate
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows news readers have told us how much they value this important, straight-forward reference guide that helps orient them with the range of choices on the ballots – both at the council and school board levels.
Towards that end, we have attempted to make this package available (along with the following instructions) to each of the candidates in a timely fashion ahead of the Oct. 15 election.
Please read carefully before you start to fill this out.
To help voters in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows make their choices on election day, The News is asking local candidates 10 issue-based questions.
You must provide a ‘yes,’ a ‘no,’ or a ‘don’t know’ (Y, N, D) response to EACH of these questions.
Each question MUST be answered with yes (Y), no (N), or Don’t Know (D). This will be published in a grid in the Oct. 6 edition. Any questions not answered will be LEFT BLANK.
Candidates may also expand on ANY OR ALL of these questions (to a maximum of 200 words each). Please note any responses longer than that will be cut off at the 201-word mark.
Due to space limitations, we can only guarantee to run one of these answers in The News print edition ahead of the election. You must CLEARLY indicate which expanded answer you want to see published in print. If you do not specify, we will choose. Any and all expanded answers provided will be published online at www.mapleridgenews.com.
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