Not many politicians win by campaigning to raise taxes.
Oak Bay鈥檚 new mayor, Kevin Murdoch, did just that, in a municipality that has already earned a reputation for higher-than-average property taxes.
Not only did he win, Murdoch crushed it, out-polling incumbent Mayor Nils Jensen by more than two to one, with 5,042聽votes compared with Jensen鈥檚 2,138.
鈥淚t was a little humbling,鈥� said the 48-year-old Murdoch, an engineering IT specialist and a two-term Oak Bay councillor. 鈥淏ut now there鈥檚 an expectation of me. I鈥檝e got to do some stuff.鈥�
Much of that 鈥渟tuff鈥� will be getting a start on repairing and rebuilding the district鈥檚 sidewalks, roads and sewers 鈥� which Murdoch says are falling apart after years of neglect.
鈥淲e have to spend more money on our roads and our sidewalks. That鈥檚 just a reality,鈥� he said.
Murdoch, who for months has been putting in many hours meeting with more than 500 residents in small coffee groups, said tax increases are needed to do that, and most residents understand that. Their feedback helped inform his platform.
鈥淧eople in Oak Bay really love our community. They feel a sense of ownership of it,鈥� he said.
鈥淔rankly, people understood that the cost of this maintenance is so much lower than replacement that this is smart financial management more than everything else.
鈥淵es, we have to pay more in taxes, but it鈥檚 pay 10 per cent more now or 50 per cent more later.鈥�
It鈥檚 not as if the municipality has been a tax haven for property owners. The average property tax bill in Oak Bay is $6,015 鈥� more than 155 per cent of the Victoria average. And over the past seven years, Oak Bay鈥檚 taxes have increased 35聽per cent and water bills have risen about 80聽per cent.
The deferred infrastructure maintenance deficit is 鈥渨ell over $200 million for the pipes alone,鈥� Murdoch said.
鈥淏ut there鈥檚 no single bullet of how we do it. You change the culture of how we fund it so that there鈥檚 certainty and you prioritize the projects and then scale projects so you get the maximum bang for the bucks,鈥� he said, noting that property taxes will have to increase four to five per cent just to cover needed work on roads and sidewalks.
Every decision, he said, has to be looked at 鈥渋n the context of how do we get the maximum benefit of those dollars spent.鈥�
Those who have worked with him have little doubt Murdoch will succeed.
鈥淸He鈥檚 got a] tech background. He鈥檚 very disciplined, very organized, knows the subjects inside out,鈥� said former mayor Christopher Causton, who acted as聽Murdoch鈥檚 financial agent during the mayoral campaign.
鈥淜evin can鈥檛 wait to get to work,鈥� said Causton, adding that at the same time, he鈥檚 got his priorities straight.
鈥淚 was impressed that he鈥檚 a family guy. Even on election day I think he was out coaching his son. I think he was coaching soccer,鈥� Causton said.
Retiring Victoria Coun. Chris Coleman, who worked with Murdoch on the Greater Victoria Labour Relations Association, agrees.
Coleman describes Oak Bay鈥檚 incoming mayor as 鈥渢houghtful and with an engaging sense of humour.鈥�
鈥淗e seems to be a consensus builder,鈥� Coleman said. 鈥淪o I think he will be an interesting person to watch.鈥�
Consensus seems likely. The mayor-elect jokingly says 鈥渋t鈥檚 a bit of a curse鈥� that he always sees all sides of every issue.
鈥淎nd, I don鈥檛 see the mayor鈥檚 job as being right. I see the job as one of trying to bring out the best of all of the council and the staff so that we鈥檙e all being effective at our jobs and enjoying our jobs.鈥�
Murdoch鈥檚 ties to Oak Bay run deep. His grandfather, George Murdoch, served as Oak Bay councillor and reeve from 1946 to 1963, and he notes on his website that his two young children, Harper, eight, and Everest, 11, are the family鈥檚 fourth generation to be raised in Oak Bay.
A triathlete, until he blew out a knee, Murdoch said he still enjoys cycling and golf. He coaches soccer and is an avid reader, having just finished Daniel Kahneman鈥檚 Thinking Fast and Slow and a biography of Abraham Lincoln.
He and his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Swiggum, a cardiologist at Royal Jubilee Hospital, and family live in a 1912 heritage house that they renovated beginning about 11聽years ago.
That project, finished about two years ago, began in much the same way the new council will have to approach the district.
鈥淚t was a beautiful 1912 house that had a leaking basement,鈥� Murdoch said.
They hired an architect to develop a sympathetic design that would accommodate future family needs and then did the foundation work, pre-plumbing pipes where they knew they were going to need them in the future.
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of in that stage right now with [Oak Bay] having to do all that foundational work. We鈥檝e got to do it because you can鈥檛 build on top of it unless it鈥檚 structurally sound,鈥� Murdoch said.
