Candidate for the Office of Councillor
+1 (778) 512-4721
My name is Alex Jurgensen, and I am seeking re-election as a Councillor for Bowen Island Municipality—apparently because four years of agendas, ferry problems, infrastructure reports, budget deliberations, and politely worded emails have not yet cured me of the optimism that, when we come together as an island, we can get things done in remarkable ways.
Bowen has been part of my life for 28 summers. I have worked and volunteered extensively here for 17 years and lived here full-time for seven, which means I have spent enough time on the island to understand that every simple proposal contains at least six complications, three historical grievances, one water-system question, and somebody asking whether the ferry was consulted.
I was elected in 2022. Since then, I have learned how to make difficult decisions, withstand pressure, read exceptionally long reports, and say “I have a follow-up question” when everyone thought the discussion was nearly over. Early in the term, I opposed a proposed Metro Vancouver campground despite considerable pressure. That helped establish an important principle: outside organizations do not get to decide Bowen’s future merely because they arrive with a polished presentation.
I am blind and have no functional vision. I read agendas using screen readers, speech synthesis, and a Braille display. I usually memorize agendas and reports but occasionally, I attend meetings via Zoom so that I can leave the agenda and reports open on my computer so I can follow along without distracting anyone—an entirely different way of doing the job, not an inability to do it. I also chair the Municipality’s Accessibility Advisory Committee, where we work toward a Bowen on which participation does not depend upon fitting a narrow definition of how people move, communicate, or access information.
Outside Council, I am President and Director of Operations and Community Engagement for the Canadian Organization of the Blind and DeafBlind. My work includes Camp Bowen, accessible programming, transportation, partnerships, and regularly discovering that one job description can, in fact, contain seventeen jobs.
My priorities for another term are decidedly unglamorous: finish the water treatment plant, address infrastructure, improve financial transparency, pursue attainable and diverse housing, advocate for fair ferry arrangements, and resist launching expensive new projects without substantial grant funding. In municipal government, “successfully completed necessary infrastructure” may not sound thrilling, but neither does turning on a tap and receiving an exciting surprise.
The Official Community Plan will help define Bowen’s future. I support thoughtful land use that respects neighbourhood character, community input, environmental limits, and actual infrastructure—not changes that make elegant sense on a map while disregarding the people who live there.
I am running again because Bowen deserves representatives who listen carefully, ask inconvenient questions, keep the island affordable for those who have built our community, finish necessary work, and remain willing to laugh—including at themselves—while doing it.