Charles Jeanes has lived in Nelson since 1987. It’s his ninth run for City Council and he says this time he only has one issue he wants to focus on.
“Nelson has an affordability housing crisis [sic] and I’m sure it’s not anything like any other town in the West Kootenay faces. We’re just that kind of place where everybody wants to live and our vacancy rate is zero and has been for the past five years in a row apparently, according to something I’ve read.”
He says he understands it’s something that municipal governments don’t have a lot of power to change, but still thinks more could be done.
“I don’t care that the market says that they can get it. I wish landlords and wage payers, the businesses of this town, could get together and work out some sort of covenant that would make it possible for people to work here to afford the rents here.”
Jeanes is semi-retired but has worked as a teacher on call, a journalist, taxi driver and now a security guard.
