Fellow activists and advocates, come read the answer to every question about Victoria city council members that you've been too afraid to ask. Because we never know our adversaries well enough.
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
Sun Tzu, the Art of War
I’ve been watching the debacle of homelessness advocates’ fight against the Alto administration unfold in slow motion since the day it assumed office, and I’ve reached the conclusion that advocates lose primarily because they do not know whom they’re fighting against—to the point that some of us even empathise with these snakes as they blame everyone but themselves for the predictable consequences of their agenda against the unhoused.
Knowledge is power, it is said. Well, I’ve compiled a directory of publicly available personal information on council members, which I’ve supplemented with insight gained by observing them from near and far, such as what they want and what they fear. Anyone who’s got legitimate grievances against this council, feel free to use it as a starting point to brainstorm your own campaigns.
I would add that every council member has one obvious weakness, which is easy to overlook: all of them are politicians. Their popularity, down to their core supporters, is both an asset and a liability. Some councillors are particularly susceptible to the whims of the electorate, or to backlash on mainstream or social media. None of them is impervious to attacks in the court of public opinion, in spite of their aura of invincibility, especially as the facade they built crumbles under the failure of their agenda. Consequently, every one of them is vulnerable to asymmetrical engagements, because they stand so much to lose in confrontation, compared to nothing for the most vulnerable among their constituents. With the right plan, they may end up resigning en masse, just like all but two on the previous council declined to seek reelection.
This directory is not complete. If you find any details worth supplementing this post with, feel free to tip me at martin.girard@rulebreakers.info.
| Legal name: | Marianne Lydia Alto-Bond |
| Marital status: | Married, two children |
| Office email address: | malto@victoria.ca |
| Home address: | 3536 Lorraine Road, Victoria, BC V8P 4V3 |
| Personal phone number: | 250.589.1123 |
| Personal email address: | azimuth@telus.net |
| Alternate email address: | malto@crd.bc.ca |
| Education: | Degree in natural research management and cartography at the University of Victoria Law degree at Dalhousie University |
| Work experience: | Owner of defunct Azimuth Consulting |
| Profile: | Career politician since 2010. Only remaining member of the previous council. No active social media presence since elected mayor. Craves media attention and ceremonial, and of course the figurative gavel. Sweet talker, who sounds empathic but is actually callous. Keeps her composure at all times. Values civility and decorum. Irritated by infractions to protocol. Fears losing control of the situation. |
| Quote: | “They’re (bylaw staff) doing their usual excellent work and picking up trash and bringing in a little bit of order and working with the folks who are there, as they do every day.” |
| Legal name: | Jeremy Lawrence Caradonna |
| Office phone number: | 250.686.2739 |
| Office email address: | jcaradonna@victoria.ca |
| Home address: | 1334 Gladstone Avenue, Victoria, BC V8R 1S1 |
| Personal phone number: | 250.589.0023 |
| Personal email address: | jeremycaradonnayyj@gmail.com |
| Alternate email address: | jcaradonna@crd.bc.ca |
| Website: | https://www.jeremycaradonna.com/ |
| Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/jeremylcaradonna |
| Google Scholar: | https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=ZK_vrMMAAAAJ |
| Instagram: | https://www.instagram.com/jeremycaradonnavictoriabc |
| Linkedin: | https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-caradonna-b90945162 |
| Threads: | https://www.threads.net/@jeremycaradonnavictoriabc |
| Education: | PhD in History at Johns Hopkins University |
| Work experience: | History teacher at University of Alberta Used to own Share Organics |
| Profile: | Living embodiment of colonialism. Conspires to line up the unhoused in a concentration camp for triage, and even appealed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to send in the military in response to the crisis. Complains the city is being invaded by the homeless even though he grew up in Seattle, studied and worked in other provinces and even countries, and only moved to Victoria in 2012. Believes the city’s shelter space and affordable housing is so scarce that it must all be shipped to neighbouring municipalities. Can’t stand Marg Gardiner’s rambling, to the point he interrupted her in a council meeting. Co-hosted Best Coast Political Podcast with Matt Dell. Fears exposure to poverty and social disorder, and public backlash to his agenda. |
| Quote: | “In fact I’d like to make a personal appeal to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to consider working with the Department of National Defence to direct Canadian peacekeepers, Canadian peacekeepers, to organise a domestic humanitarian mission, not only to Victoria’s downtown core but all the downtown cores, affected by homelessness, mental health, and addiction.” |
| Legal name: | Christopher Mark Coleman |
| Marital status: | Married to Judith Coleman |
| Office phone number: | 250.361.0222 |
| Office phone email: | ccoleman@victoria.ca |
| Home address: | 1197 Tolmie Avenue, Victoria, BC V8X 2H7 |
| Personal phone number: | 250.360.1000 |
| Personal email address: | thecmcs@telus.net |
| Alternate email address: | ccoleman@crd.bc.ca |
| Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/p/Chris-Coleman-100005830635663/ |
| Linkedin: | https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-coleman-26655b19/ |
| Education: | Master of Business Administration at the University of Victoria Bachelor of Law at the University of British Columbia |
| Profile: | Career politician. Public safety advocate. Strong affinity with law enforcement officers. Founding member of the Parks and Recreating Foundation of Victoria, consistent with his voting record of closing parks to sheltering. Holds the balance of power on the council by maintaining a low key presence at meetings. Although not as boorish as Caradonna or Hammond, his agenda and voting record on homelessness strongly correlate with theirs. |
| Quote: | “I hope we can find some indoor sheltering and housing for the people identified by April 18th, but if we’re going to do this, then we have to think about the other areas and the impact on our bylaw folks.” |
| Legal name: | Margaret Norma Gardiner |
| Marital status: | Married (as of 2003) |
| Office phone number: | 250.532.1610 |
| Office email address: | mgardiner@victoria.ca |
| Home address: | 416-21 Dallas Road, Victoria, BC V8V 4Z9 |
| Personal phone number: | 250.360.0300 |
| Personal email address: | mar.gardiner@shaw.ca |
| Website: | https://www.marggardiner.ca/ |
| Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567622094690 |
| Linkedin: | https://www.linkedin.com/in/marg-gardiner-719a53199/ |
| Twitter: | https://x.com/marg_gardiner |
| Education: | Master of Business Administration at the University of Alberta |
| Work experience: | President, treasurer of the James Bay Neighbourhood Association |
| Profile: | Rambling idiot extraordinaire, with a habit of digressing ad nauseam during council meetings. Easily swayed by complaints from James Bay constituents. Hates the unhoused, whom she indiscriminately lumps all together with drug addicts and criminals. Promotes treatment first instead of Housing First, and calls for stigma against drug users. Long history of controversial motions, which are usually voted down or ignored. Fears exposure to urban problems and the opprobrium of neighbours. |
| Quote: | “There is stigma. I want there to be stigma, because I don’t want everyone to think that the use of drugs is normalised, for us and our children and grandchildren.” |
| Legal name: | Stephen Douglas Hammond |
| Marital status: | Married to Jack Boomer |
| Office phone number: | 250.361.0216 |
| Office email address: | shammond@victoria.ca |
| Home address: | 1311 Rockland Avenue, Victoria, BC V8S 1S4 |
| Personal phone number: | 250.721.9545 |
| Website: | https://www.stephenhammond.ca/ |
| Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/stephen.hammond.737 |
| Instagram: | https://www.instagram.com/stephendhammond/ |
| Linkedin: | https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephendhammond/ |
| Education: | Law degree at York University |
| Work experience: | Workplace harassment counsellor |
| Profile: | Founded NIMBY neighbourhood group Mad As Hell in response to Victoria courthouse encampment. Ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Victoria in 2018. Strongly aligned with Caradonna. Has been very aggressive in voting to fence off the unhoused from this city, although wary of crossing the line from a legal standpoint. Could use some anti-harassment training himself to address his own prejudice. Hates red tape and pointless discussion. Fears social disorder and looking like a fool. |
| Quote: | “I’m sure people have seen The Life of Brian, and The Life of Brian was, you know, they’re going to hang Brian, we’ve got to do something about it, and John Cleese with his troops says alright, let’s form a subcommittee right now! As, you know, Brian was being hanged, in Jesus’ place. The difficulty with this is why don’t just include the United Nations.” |
| Legal name: | Susan Kim (김수잔) |
| Office phone number: | 250.361.0218 |
| Office email address: | skim@victoria.ca |
| Home address: | 10-624 Fisgard Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1R6 |
| Personal phone number: | 250.361.0218 |
| Work experience: | Director of operations for the Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group |
| Profile: | Works part time for the Fernwood RNG. Board member of the Alliance to End Homelessness in the Capital Region, which didn’t stop her from voting in favour of closing parks to sheltering and cracking down on Pandora Avenue. No active social media presence since acute backlash for signing a letter supporting Palestine back in fall 2023, which compelled her to issue two apologies; narrowly escaped censure in the aftermath of the scandal. Adept at playing to the crowd, even as she disowns her own statements. Obfuscates her thinking with cryptic speech only one with insider knowledge can decipher. Fears negative public exposure, and keeps her cards close to her chest. |
| Quote: | “I’m actually going to be voting against this. I was in support at first, but recent conversations I’ve had with folks have sufficiently changed my mind because my understanding is that the Relocation Coordinator and working law [?] being done still does not not currently address some of the bureaucratic hurdles that some of these residents are facing.” |
| Legal name: | Krista Loughton |
| Office phone number: | 778.535.2620 |
| Office email address: | kloughton@victoria.ca |
| Home address: | 1505 Denman Street, Victoria, BC V8R 1X7 |
| Personal phone number: | 250.889.1232 |
| Personal email address: | krista@usandthemthefilm.ca |
| Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/kloughton/ |
| Instagram: | https://www.instagram.com/krista.loughton/ |
| Linkedin: | https://www.linkedin.com/in/krista-loughton-bb8b1313/ |
| Threads: | https://www.threads.net/@krista.loughton |
| Youtube: | https://www.youtube.com/c/KristaLoughton |
| Education: | Bachelor of Arts, Brandon University |
| Work experience: | Documentary filmmaker |
| Profile: | Ran on a platform of homelessness advocacy, starkly contrasting with her voting record of closing parks to sheltering and shutting down Tiny Town. Loves flashing her vanity documentary 940 Caledonia about a sanctioned encampment; one of her own she has yet to deliver after years of vain promises. Seeks credit for others’ achievements while assigning blame to everyone but herself. Fears being exposed as a fraud. |
| Quote: | “Sheltering has continued in city parks since that time. It was not a policy made by elected officials; this is a decision thrust upon the system by the courts. There was no thoughtfulness about which sheltering could happen, and fifteen years later we continue to grapple with the situation that has become particularly untenable during and following the pandemic. It’s time to change the system, and to think differently about sheltering in Victoria.” |
| Legal name: | David Scott Thompson |
| Office phone number: | 778.535.2621 |
| Office email address: | dave.thompson@victoria.ca |
| Personal phone number: | 778.400.1553 |
| Personal email address: | dave@davethompsonvictoria.ca |
| Alternate email address: | dthompson@crd.bc.ca |
| Website: | https://davethompsonvictoria.ca/ |
| Bluesky: | https://bsky.app/profile/davethompsonvic.bsky.social |
| Instagram: | https://www.instagram.com/davethompsonvictoria/ |
| Linkedin: | https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-thompson-32864211/ |
| Reddit: | https://www.reddit.com/user/DaveThompsonVictoria/ |
| Threads: | https://www.threads.net/@davethompsonvictoria |
| Education: | Master in Law at King’s College London |
| Work experience: | Principal at research and consulting firm |
| Profile: | Stereotypical green party personality, down to his commuting on bike. Very close relationship with law and bylaw enforcement officers. Supports motions to reign in the unhoused, although wary of crossing the legal threshold; mirrors Stephen Hammond, another council member with a law degree. Fears legal recourse against the city. |
| Quote: | “I speak to police officers at least a couple times a month, usually much more often than that, I speak with bylaw officers on a weekly basis, and every one of them is very realistic about the fact that we cannot arrest our way out of this. Pushing people around, all the bylaw officers know that pushing people around, playing the game of whack-a-mole, is not a solution to homelessness.” |
If you’ve had enough of the City of Victoria’s illegal agenda of forced displacement against its unhoused constituents, add your signature to this letter urging council members to uphold the legal requirements of their office. It only takes a few seconds, and you don’t even have to live in this city, only to care about the plight of the most vulnerable near and far.
(Or if you think they’re not NIMBY enough on the contrary, there’s a change.org petition demanding the mayor’s resignation, and another calling for the whole council to resign, over the public safety crisis. I can work with that!)
Send letter to Victoria council members using New/Mode.
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