His Worship Dean Fortin |
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Fortin in 2011
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Mayor of Victoria, British Columbia | |
In office December 2, 2008 – December 4, 2014 |
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Preceded by | Alan Lowe |
Succeeded by | Lisa Helps |
Personal details | |
Born |
Kamloops, British Columbia |
March 1, 1959
Nationality | Canadian |
Alma mater | University of Victoria |
Occupation | lawyer, executive director |
Website | http://www.deanfortin.com/ |
Dean Fortin (born March 1, 1959) served as mayor of Victoria, British Columbia, from 2008 to 2014.
Dean Fortin was first elected to city council in 2002 and became the 51st Mayor of Victoria on November 15, 2008. He was sworn into office for a second term on December 8, 2011. He was defeated by Victoria city councillor Lisa Helps on November 15, 2014.
Fortin has a B.A.(Geography), JD (law) and M Ed (Counselling). He was Executive Director of the Burnside Gorge Community Association for 17 years before being elected Mayor. Previously, he helped establish and operate the Victoria Association for Street Kids for seven years. He has practiced as a lawyer in both Whitehorse and Victoria.
Fortin's priority was building affordable housing and tackling the issue of homelessness. Other priorities included encouraging sustainable development, enhancing downtown safety and vibrancy, and advancing a green transportation strategy.
Affordable Housing and Homelessness
During the 2008-2011 term, affordable housing and homelessness was identified as a top priority. As a result, 447 units of affordable housing were created with City funding from 2008 -10. This includes 91 units within the Capital Region but outside of Victoria.
Highlights of the 2008-2010 Affordable Housing Initiatives:
Downtown Disorder
In 2009, Mayor Fortin launched a Task Force to address the growing social disorder in the downtown core. The task force was entitled "Late Night – Great Night" and addressed the issues of excessive intoxication and the associated vandalism, fighting and aggressive behaviour, crowded streets after bar closing time, noise, public urination, and a lack of coordinated late night transportation.
The Downtown Late Night Task Force consisted of Mayor Dean Fortin, Councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe, and Chief Constable Jamie Graham of the Victoria Police Department. The task force members interviewed downtown business owners and workers, transportation providers, and security personnel. The task force also sought input from late night downtown users including students and youth.
The Task Force recommended and Council endorsed a variety of interventions, which led to the introduction of late night weekend public bus service and late night taxi stands with security. Bar Watch was introduced as well as dedicated weekend night police patrols in the downtown. The City introduced portable urinals, which were eventually replaced by permanent outside facilities.
Results of the task force show that calls for service downtown between Thursday evening and Sunday morning dropped by 26%, property crime in downtown Victoria was decreased 50%, and disturbances, drug offences and violent crimes decreased by 33%.