Photo courtesy of Erik Olesen

By Liam Verster

Byelection Candidate

Improving services with minimal impacts to Vernon residents key for Erik Olesen’s candidacy

Nov 22, 2021 | 7:23 PM

Editor’s note:
This is part of a series of profiles on the Vernon council candidates for the Dec. 4th byelection to elect one councillor.
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Byelection candidate Erik Olesen is running on a campaign with a goal of improving the lives of Vernonites and growing the community, but without putting the strain on taxpayers.

In a statement to Vernon Matters, Olesen said he wants see Vernon become a place where people and businesses can thrive. However in doing this, he does not to put the strains on taxpayers, and suggests looking at other sources in order to provide relief to residents.

“It is important that we take into consideration that we still are able to provide services at levels the community requires based on current population and future growth projections with regards to public transportation, recreational, local infrastructure, parks and open spaces,” said Olesen.

“There needs to be a balance between the cost of services and the services required. There may be times council needs to delay providing services in order to not increase costs to residents or business and other times there may be need [increase taxes] to warrant increasing services.”

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He noted that he wants council to be flexible and find balances that consistently fit the needs of the people and the community as a whole.

In his letter to Vernon Matters, Olesen noted that action must be taken to address several issues that continue to be at the forefront of Vernonites’ minds.

He said real climate action must be taken, such as working with developers to retrofit buildings and densifying communities and improving public transportation to decrease the need for car use. He also noted that the Official Community Plan should be reviewed and changed to support the city’s Climate Action Plan.

Densification is a focus on Olesen’s housing priorities as well. He told Vernon Matters that the city has worked well in the past with provincial partners and community organizations to increase supportive housing opportunities, but suggests more can be done to “create spaces for young adults, families, seniors etc. that are affordable in rental prices and/or attainable in purchasing.”

Olesen said all levels of government, community partners and neighbouring communities need to work in collaboration to create policies and support projects that create more housing options locally.

Crime and homelessness are other issues on Olesen’s platform. He said the local homeless population rate has increased by 46 per cent since 2019, and long term solutions need to be created, adding that support from the RCMP will be needed to implement any big changes going forward.

“We need to stray away from band aid solutions. Recently we [saw] an initiative in the City of Kelowna where they are developing a five year safety plan which is something [Vernon] council should look at.” said Olesen, adding “It’s not an easy task but it’s one we can’t be afraid to challenge ourselves to do.”

On the topic of COVID-19, Olesen said the pandemic has weighed heavily on a lot of people, and has brought the issues of existing gaps in services for seniors and those with mental health concerns to the forefront of people’s minds, adding that those gaps need to be addressed.

He said while he does support the restrictions rolled out by the province to prevent the spread of the virus, they should also be re-evaluated to ensure they fulfilling their purpose while being in balance with the hardship they create.

“We need to look beyond just implementing restrictions and look at creating on-going practices that will limit the spread of not only COVID, but any new viruses,” said Olesen.

“We need to not go back to the way things were but to create a new safer way to travel, socialize, and do business.”

He added that some measures, such as enhanced cleaning practices and opportunities to work from home should be viewed as good practices and incorporated into businesses in the future.

Olesen, who moved to Vernon in 2015, currently works in community health care as a Residential Coordinator for Dauncey Elmer Support & Counselling Services Ltd. He is also an active volunteer in Vernon and serves as chair of the Vernon Winter Carnival.

Olesen has some prior political experience, having run for mayor of Vernon in 2018 and he has also ran for provincial and federal positons for the NDP. He told Vernon Matters that he has always had an affinity for politics, and has worked on ‘many campaigns’ since he was 12 years old.