MY PLATFORM

About Jeremy

Jeremy lives in Fernwood with his wife, Hannah, their two teenage children, two cats, and a dozen hens. He is proud to serve Victoria and the Capital Region as a first-term Councillor and CRD Director.

I was born in 1979 to parents from New York City and spent my early childhood in Seattle, Washington. I immigrated to Canada in my 20s after completing my Masters and PhD in History from the Johns Hopkins University. I first moved to Edmonton, where I taught as an Assistant and then a tenured Associate Professor of History. My research focused on cultural, scientific, and political history, and later on the history and practice of sustainability in Europe and North America. I have published many articles and three books, including Sustainability: A History. I have also written for, or appeared on, CNN, The Atlantic, The History News Network, CBC, The Guardian, and many other outlets.

In addition to working most of my career as a professor, first in History and then in Environmental Studies, I have also owned a small business (an organic food delivery service called Share Organics, based out of Rock Bay) and worked for the Province as a policymaker in Climate Action and then in Jobs.

I grew up visiting Victoria, since my step-father’s parents lived in Brentwood Bay. I moved to Victoria in 2012 and have lived in Fernwood ever since, first as a renter, and then later as a homeowner. Fernwood is definitely my homebase in life, and I feel more comfortable in this neighbourhood than anywhere else on the planet. My wife, Hannah, is a clinical counsellor and our two daughters, Stella and Mia, attend Vic High. We have two cats, including a gigantic, charming Maine coon named Leo.

My hobbies are many. I play several musical instruments, including the guitar, the mandolin, and more recently the cello, which I learned through the Conservatory of Music. I am now in a cello troupe called Pancellica. I am an avid gardener and forager, and keep both hens and bees on my property. Urban food systems are near and dear to my heart. Between 2014 and 2016, I (mostly) took a break from academia and ran an organic food company in Victoria, which greatly increased my knowledge of food systems. My wife is a dahlia enthusiast and I grow the fruits and vegetables for the family.

I jog twice a week, usually running 10km with my running partner. I am also an avid cyclist, and get around mostly by e-bike. I have a longstanding interest in learning languages. I am a fluent French speaker and spent close to two years studying in France. I have also spent considerable time learning Latin, Spanish, German, Italian, and more recently Japanese. As a trained historian, I read quite a lot of history, and often about the history of cities, which is a lifelong interest of mine. I am keenly inspired by how cities solve problems and increase liveability.

I am very connected to my local community. I attend a lot of arts, music, and theatre events and enjoy eating in Victoria restaurants. Prior to serving on Council, I was actively involved in the Fernwood Community Association, the PACs at my kids’ schools, and various social and environmental causes around town. I continue to view Fernwood as a model of successful, sustainable urbanism, with its public plazas and pocket parks, its small and independent businesses, and its human-scale mixed-use density. Replicating versions of Fernwood Square across the city is part of my vision for Victoria.

I first decided to run for Council and the CRD because I wanted to give back to my community — a community that welcomed me in and showed me what a vibrant democracy looks like. Having lived in the US and seen the decline of American democracy, I am highly motivated and honoured to be part of a functional, largely non-partisan democratic system. While it’s not perfect, Canadian democracy is one of the few remaining models of effective democratic governance anywhere in the world. I am consistently amazed at the thoughtfulness, dedication, leadership, and collaborativeness that I experience with my fellow councillors and mayors across the CRD. We certainly have our disagreements, but this region is generally led by highly competent people with genuine commitments to affordability, sustainability, good governance, and Reconciliation. My desire to remain an elected official is motivated by an enduring commitment to serve my community with honesty, transparency, and accountability — to do what I can to keep Canadian democracy strong and keep our community moving forward.

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