MAYORAL CANDIDATE SMITH UNVEILS PLATFORM

The race for mayor is beginning to gain steam, as Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe
was expected to announce Tuesday whether he'll run again, an announcement
scheduled for after the Victoria News' deadline.

Yet on Monday, medical marijuana advocate Leon 'Ted' Smith became the first
candidate to officially declare his intention to seek the city's top
political post.

Officially unveiling his political platform outside Victoria City Hall, a
platform he claims is based on 'thoughtful economic development', Smith
declared there will be a number of changes within the city if he's elected
mayor in November.

'I am here... to declare that municipal politics will no longer be strictly
about buildings, but will be about human issues,' he said.

At the top of Smith's list of priorities are plans to develop a downtown
youth centre to keep kids out of trouble. As well, he would like to
rejuvenate former mayor Bob Cross' task force on safety and the quality of
life.

'Right now, we're putting out 21 platforms and issues based upon
sustainable communities, sound economic policies that will reinvigorate
housing in the downtown, give youth better things to do with their time
than hang out on the streets and bring both the social and the serving
agencies together more,' Smith says of what he'll offer Victoria voters as
a platform. He confidently declared that he 'shall be mayor'.

'There will be thousands of people who will be changing their minds and
deciding to vote for someone who's willing to put their life on the line to
make this city a safer and better place for everyone,' he said.