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 Steve Forseth, an independent candidate for Council in Williams Lake.

I have to hand it to Williams Lake. For a community of 11,000 people, their citizens are leaders in online engagement. There’s the work Rick Roy is doing with his independent Williams Lake Community Television website (http://www.wlctv.ca/index.html). The City of Williams Lake has fully integrated social media into their website (http://www.williamslake.ca/). And blogger Steve Forseth has been keeping an eye on the political scene for a few years (http://cariboopolitics.blogspot.com).

Now Forseth is seeking a seat on Williams Lake Council—and he has made the CTF Contract with Taxpayers a central plank in his campaign platform. In fact, Forseth recorded a video blog explaining the Contract, why he supports it, and why he is happy to sign it.

So rather than me paraphrasing, click on the YouTube video in this post and check out Steve’s own reasons for signing the CTF Contract with Taxpayers.