Cowichan Valley Citizen Report On Mark Anderson Candidacy And Platform

Here is the Cowichan Valley Citizen report of my candidacy for Duncan Council in the 17 October 2026 election.

Mark Anderson is running for a seat on Duncan city council.

I have been a Duncan resident and taxpayer since 2007 and I own a successful small business which operates in the Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo and Greater Victoria.

I think the City of Duncan needs to change course from the direction Mayor Staples’s administration has taken us over the last eight years. Here are some examples:

Housing

Mayor Staples has focussed on new housing for addicts and recovering addicts. The City now has three housing facilities for addicts and recovering addicts: The Village on Trunk Road, the modular apartments on White Road and the former Ramada Inn building on the Trans-Canada Highway.

I think the City needs to change this direction and instead prioritize new rental housing for workers, families and seniors.

Livability And Public Safety

I see these issues as being linked. We need to prioritize maintaining a safe, attractive downtown to attract residents, visitors and shoppers along with maintain residential neighbourhoods that are, and remain, desirable places to live.

At the same time, Duncan has gained a very undesirable reputation for high crime rates. One can argue about whether that is justified by crime statistics but Duncan is still perceived has having a crime problem. Crime adversely affects livability so Council needs to prioritize Public Safety issues. I don’t think Mayor Staples shared that opinion.

Municipal Taxes

Fiscal prudence and discipline are essential in any government. Taxpayers are taxed out and cannot afford higher than inflation tax increases. But over the Mayor Staples years, the majority of Council have not been Duncan taxpayers and have not been personally affected by the tax increases they have voted in. I have seen the present Council split between the taxpayers (the minority) and the non taxpayers (the majority) on votes dealing with new taxes and spending, with the taxpayers on Council voting against and the non taxpayers voting for new taxes and spending. I encourage Duncan voters to change this situation and elect a Council with a majority of members who are Duncan taxpayers and thus directly affected by any taxes they vote for.

Strategic Voting

Finally, I encourage voters to vote strategically. In the 2022 election, Councillor Gary Bruce was the most popular candidate among Duncan voters, receiving far more votes than any other candidate. I was one of those who voted for him in 2022 and I will vote for him again in this election.

But since 2022, Councillor Bruce has been effectively isolated on Council, with the majority of Council consistently voting against him. I ask voters to consider electing a new Council with a majority of members who are ideologically aligned with Councillor Bruce. Please consider voting for Gary Bruce, Mark Anderson, Jessica Fetchko and Bradley Humenick.