Brian Fillmore Post Election Comments

I wish to thank our community for the warm welcome and tremendous support that I have received in the short time that I have lived here. In only a few short years, My wife, Anna, and I have come to feel completely at home here in Nanaimo. 

We are both employed at amazing organizations and we have met so many wonderful friends and acquaintances that it feels like we have lived here for most of our lives. We belong to a wonderful church that is a tremendous support to us and to many other families throughout our city. As a member of the North Nanaimo Rotary club, I invite any aging members of the YPN to give us a call as they approach their mandatory retirement age of 40. We would like you to consider Rotary as your next step. Think of us as the OPN.

I have three more years to continue contributing to making Nanaimo an even better place to live and work. I am looking forward to new challenges and to continuing to hold your confidence. I have not earned my seat at your council yet, but I promise to keep working at it.

I know I have a lot to learn, and based on some of the emails I have received, a lot of false perceptions to clear up. I am not sure how a guy who grew up in social housing until I was eight years old has been pegged as someone who is against social housing. I will not back down from my position that community consultation needs to take place before major decisions are made that affect our neighbourhoods and our tax dollars.

This election seems to have come down to one issue and there was apparently no room for discussion. You were either for low barrier housing of any sort at any location, or were against all social housing. My only position on that issue was that we needed to talk about it. When one group decided to endorse some candidates whom they felt would actually open this issue up for discussion, their understandably reactive campaign made some serious mistakes which became fodder for editorials that blew this issue completely out of proportion. Too bad, there were a lot of important issues that really needed to be addressed. 

My name is Brian Fillmore and I will work hard for the next three years to earn your confidence, and hopefully your support to represent you on city council in 2014.