With the BC municipal elections now in full swing (aren’t those signs lovely?), I can report that we have had dozens of candidates from all across British Columbia sign our Contract with Taxpayers and commit to introducing a Taxpayer Protection Bylaw if they are elected Nov. 19. It’s a very exciting time.

Candidates have until Friday afternoon, Nov. 4 to sign, and we will release a full list to our supporters and the media on Monday, Nov. 7. This week, we will blog about some of the individuals who have signed the Contract and why they wanted to support this CTF initiative. We have heard some very intelligent, innovative ideas on reducing property tax burdens and increasing accountability at City Halls, and we are excited by the calibre of candidates running this year.

These profiles are NOT an endorsement by the CTF—merely a report on what some of the Contract signers are doing.

Today, we look at Bob Spiers, an independent, incumbent candidate for Council in Vernon.

Spiers started out as a blogger on political issues at http://vernonblog.blogspot.com/. His blog masthead explains what happened next: “When an American gets mad, he says ‘Where's my gun?’ When a Canadian gets [ticked] off, he says, ‘Where’s my pen? I'm going to send a letter to the editor.’ When the editor won't publish his letter, he sets up his own blog page.”

After a few years of dogged opposition, Spiers won a seat on Vernon council in 2008 and has actively pushed for ways to bring down local property taxes. His goal in this campaign builds on his work: “If re-elected, I hope to persuade a majority on Council to authorize a Core Service Review, an external Value for Money Audit that will be the Financial Component of the OCP that will set the direction for the financial sustainability of the City of Vernon.”

Spiers signed the CTF Contract with Taxpayers on Oct. 19, and posted it to his personal blog http://bobspiers.blogspot.com/. Over his three years on Council, he has posted hundreds of times to his two blogs, offering citizens a look behind the curtain at Vernon City Hall.

When I visited Vernon last month, I offered Bob the chance to have coffee and take a photo of him signing the contract. His response: "No thanks. I'm not into photo ops." It's about results for this councillor, not recognition.