My Vote, My Future: Steve Rio on BC Election 2017

Apr 21 2017, 1:07 am

Ahead of the BC election, Daily Hive is profiling young voters from across the province. Want to join in and share your thoughts? Email [email protected], subject line: My Future.


Who are you?

Steve Rio.

How old are you?

36.

What do you do?

Founder and CEO of Briteweb, a branding and digital agency focused exclusively in the social impact sector. ​

Where do you live?

​Bowen Island and New York​.

Have you voted before?

Yes.

Do you plan on voting this time?

Yes.

Does your family influence how you vote?

​My wife does, But my parents? ​Not really, they have very different positions on politics, so we usually all just end up arguing about politics if it comes up at the dinner table. ​I think I’ve had an influence on my Mom’s thinking around social issues.

How closely do you follow BC politics?

Only enough to be repulsed by Christy Clark​.

Do you know who your local candidates are?

We just moved to Bowen last year, so we’re in West Van district. Our MLA is a Liberal, and a woman. I couldn’t ID her or name her.​ I can do better.

[For the record, MLA was a man, BC Liberal Jordan Sturdy, who is running again, the BC NDP candidate is Michelle Livaja, and the BC Greens candidate is Dana Taylor.]

Can you name the three party leaders?

Yes. (Google is pretty awesome.)

Would you ever consider running for office?

The government is fairly broken at this point and is in desperate need of disruption and overhaul (or dismantling?) so I don’t think so. Perhaps if I found a new level of patience, and then only on the municipal level where the future of politics has the most promise.

What issues do you care most about?

Jobs and the economy/the environment

Canada, in general, is missing the greatest opportunity of our generation to get ahead of the renewable energy curve. We’re entrenched in our extractionist past and need to rethink our relationship with the environment and economy.

To me, jobs, the economy and the environment are the same issue and opportunity. Whichever countries really decide to invest now will be incredibly prosperous.

On a micro level, this affects us because we’re looking at more f**king tankers in our inlets and pipelines through our forests and water ways, which is a dangerous, short term approach.

We need to decide if our future world is ​for all of us, or only a small number of people that are wealthy enough to survive the climate disasters we’re choosing by continuing to invest in the tar sands.

Unless we think radically about resource extraction and consumption, we’re in trouble. I hate the idea of reflecting on Canada’s legacy in 50 years if we continue down the path we’ve been on.

​I’d like to see a government that thinks beyond their next election cycle and makes long-term choices (even if they are politically hard) that have the best interests of our current and future generations in mind. And while I’m at it, a magic unicorn that can fly. ​


Are you a young British Columbian and eligible to vote in the BC election? We would love to profile you. Email [email protected], subject line: My Future, to find out more.

Daily Hive is your home for BC Election coverage throughout the campaign period. To access our full BC Election coverage click here: Battleground BC.

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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