Candidate Endorsement Pack

1. The Pitch — Why Endorse?

You are a serious candidate running for Mayor or Council in October 2026. You need a platform that is costed, sourced, defensible under attack, and measurable in office. Building one from scratch takes hundreds of hours and a research team. Most candidates do not have those resources. The result, every cycle, is platforms full of slogans and zero numbers. This framework solves that problem.

What you get by endorsing:

• ~101 active commitments (82 original + 12 v1.1 + 5 v1.2 + 1 v1.3), costed and sourced. Use any of them, in whole or in part. Modify the language. Add your own. The framework is open.
• Pre-built rebuttals. The Responses to Critics section is written to defend against the most likely attacks. Read it before debates.
• A peer network. Other candidates may endorse the same measures. Not a coalition — no whips, no caucus discipline — but intellectual peer support.
• A specific accountability framework. The quarterly variance reports give you a concrete answer to "how will voters know if you are delivering?"
• Suggested campaign language. Social drafts, press release templates, debate talking points you can adapt.
• A public endorsement registry. Voters and journalists can see exactly which measures each candidate endorsed.

What you do NOT get: no campaign money, no staff or infrastructure, no exclusivity, no editorial control over the framework, and no promise that the framework will defend you or attack rivals. This is a policy framework, not a campaign organization. The line matters legally and strategically.

2. What You Are Endorsing — And What You Are Not

You ARE endorsing: the specific measures you mark, with their language and budget commitments; the method (costed proposals, root-cause analysis, peer-city evidence); the quarterly variance reporting standard; and the 5-step process for major new capital projects.

You are NOT endorsing: any specific candidate (including other endorsers); any party, slate, or organization; identical implementation (you may refine, expand, or substitute); or measures you do not mark.

If a measure turns out unworkable, you have three options, all of which protect your credibility better than silence: (1) Refine it — keep the goal, change the method; (2) Substitute it — propose a replacement achieving the same outcome; (3) Withdraw it — publicly, if no substitute exists.

3. Three Tiers of Endorsement

Most endorsers will use Tier 2 or Tier 3. Full endorsement is rare and not the goal — the goal is to raise the baseline quality of debate, not produce identical platforms.

4. The Pledge

5. How to Endorse — The Mechanics

1. Read the full framework. Decide which tier and measures you can credibly defend in office.
2. Complete the endorsement form (Section 14). Print, sign, scan — or send by email with electronic signature.
3. Email the form to info@acitythatworks.ca with subject line: "Endorsement — [Your Name] — [Mayor / Councillor]".
4. Within 5 business days, your endorsement is published in the public Endorsement Registry.
5. Use the measure language in your campaign materials with attribution.
6. Once campaign season is underway, your endorsement is permanent and public. Withdrawal is permitted at any time but is also published.

6. What Becomes Public

Full transparency, no surprises. The Registry publishes your name, the office sought, your tier, the specific measures or pillars endorsed, the date, any flagged modifications, and any subsequent withdrawals or substitutions (with date). It does not publish your private contact information, internal communications, or any campaign strategy shared in conversation.

7. The Five Pillars at a Glance

8. Pillar-Level Endorsement Reference

If you are endorsing at the pillar level (Tier 2), endorsing a pillar means accepting its flagship measures as your core platform commitments under that heading. For the full list — every measure with checkbox — see Section 13: Comprehensive Measure-by-Measure Checklist.

For full text and budget detail on each measure, see the Measures section of the framework.

9. Suggested Campaign Language

Short social post (≤280 characters)

"I'm endorsing [the framework / Pillars X, Y / specific measures] of A City That Works — a costed, sourced municipal platform for Victoria 2026. Read the full plan: [URL]. Accountability quarterly, transparently. This is what serious local government looks like."

Longer post (LinkedIn / Facebook)

"Victoria's operating budget is up 29% in three years. The 2026 council draft proposes a 10.44% property tax increase. None of this is sustainable. I'm endorsing [the framework / Pillars X, Y / specific measures] of A City That Works — a citizens' policy framework drafted by residents who care about results, not slogans. Every measure is costed, sourced, and tied to quarterly accountability reporting. [Pick 3 specific measures you've endorsed.] This is not a campaign organization or political party. It's a public policy framework, open for adoption by any candidate who'll defend the math."

Press release template

Debate / town hall talking points

On the framework generally: "I built my platform on a foundation drafted by Victoria residents. Every commitment I'm making tonight is costed, sourced, and tied to quarterly public reporting. If I'm elected, you'll know within 90 days whether I'm delivering."

On housing: "The current council's Missing Middle program produced 61 permits in 2024 against a target of 150. I'm promising 12,000 homes by 2030 with the composition the city actually needs: 25% missing middle, 20% three-bedroom or larger, 15% non-market. Composition, not just count."

On safety: "I support phased, capacity-first enforcement. We extend bylaw hours to 10 PM, seven days. We build a unified Downtown Public Order Team. And before we move anyone along, we make sure there is somewhere for them to go. Compassion without enforcement is performance; enforcement without capacity is cruelty. We do both."

On taxes: "The council's 2026 draft proposes 10.44%. I'm committing to a glide path: 6.5% Year 1, 5% Year 2, roughly inflation plus population growth thereafter. That requires real efficiency — managed competition, zero-based reviews, attrition. Not service cuts. Better operations."

On the surveillance question: "This framework explicitly rejects audio surveillance, behavioural AI, and any 'directed brightness at suspect' technology on streetlights. We deploy modern LED with outage detection. That's it. The crime-reduction benefit of good lighting itself is about 21% per peer-reviewed evidence — captured without crossing into surveillance."

On "you're running on someone else's platform": "This framework is open to every candidate in this race. My opponent could endorse the same measures tomorrow. The fact that they haven't is informative. I'm not embarrassed to use rigorous research. I'm embarrassed that we usually don't."

10. FAQ — Candidate Questions

Does endorsing mean I caucus with other endorsers? No. No caucus, no whip, no required collective action. Endorsers vote independently.

What if I'm an incumbent? Welcome. Several measures — GIS modernization, quarterly dashboards, Citizens' Assembly, Indigenous working tables — are politically neutral. Tier 3 is designed for this.

Does this trigger Elections BC third-party advertiser rules? The framework itself does not engage in election advertising or spend money to promote candidates. It publishes a passive registry. Confirm your specific use of framework language with your campaign's Elections BC compliance lead.

Can I modify a measure when I endorse? Yes — use the Modifications section of the form. Your modification is published alongside your endorsement.

Can I endorse some measures and publicly oppose others? Yes. The framework is a menu. The framework does not require silence on what you reject.

What if I win and a measure becomes unworkable? Refine, substitute, or withdraw with explanation (Section 2).

Will the framework endorse me back? No. The framework endorses no candidates. The relationship is one-way — this is what keeps it a policy framework rather than a political organization.

11. Legal & Elections BC Notes

This framework is a policy document authored by residents. It is not a political party, slate, candidate organization, or registered third-party advertiser. It does not raise or spend funds to support or oppose candidates. The Endorsement Registry is a passive public record — informational, not promotional. It does not rank, recommend, or rate candidates.

Candidates using framework language should: (1) attribute it; (2) confirm with their Elections BC compliance lead that their use complies with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act; (3) track any in-kind contributions if applicable. The framework has no opinion on which candidates win. It has every opinion on which policies win.

12. What Happens After the Election

If you endorse and you win: within 90 days of taking office, publish your first quarterly variance report against your endorsed measures, in plain language, with budget actuals — and every quarter thereafter. If you encounter genuine obstacles, use the refine / substitute / withdraw protocol. The framework will publish a scorecard every quarter showing which endorsers are reporting and which are not. Reporting is the test. Talking is not.

13. Comprehensive Measure-by-Measure Checklist

For Tier 3 endorsers. Mark each measure you endorse. The full text and budget detail for each measure is on the Measures section of the framework.

14. The Endorsement Form

Copy this into your endorsement email. Fill in your details. Sign.

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