Joe Keithley may best be known as the outrageous frontman for the Vancouver hardcore punk band DOA but he isn’t all show business.
In fact, “Joey Shithead” — as punk fans know him — has a serious business side, too, as a record label owner, road manager, music consultant and teacher.
And it’s a side the father of three hopes to parlay into politics during this byelection in the provincial riding of Coquitlam-Burke Mountain.
His candidacy brings some star power to the campaign, which he joined last fall after being acclaimed by the Green Party of BC. He has run for the party twice in the past and says it is more centrist for local voters than the opposing BC NDP and BC Liberals.
Those two factions aren’t resonating right now, he said, and since Nov. 1, when he began knocking on doors, he has heard plenty of gripes.
People are tired of Premier Christy Clark and the BC Liberals, he said he's being told, and former Liberal MLA Doug Horne didn’t deliver on promises.
The riding that’s made up of many young families also hasn’t had any new schools and they find the area unaffordable, often having to live with relatives or take in renters to pay the mortgage and ever-increasing bills.
Public transit is also a joke, he said, and they wonder how they’re going to get to the Evergreen Line when it opens at the bottom of the hill next year.
But Keithley is keen on finding solutions. Already, he has met with Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart and newly elected Liberal MP Ron McKinnon to look for answers.
Keithley has come up with two immediate ideas: Build a secure park-and-ride near the Pinetree Way terminus and fund more bus routes.
“For the first 14 months [as MLA], I’m going to make noise about it and I’ll press to get some money into buses to get to SkyTrain.”
In the meantime, TransLink needs to be fixed. His plan? Have Metro residents elect a board made up of qualified citizens — not mayors.
On the school front, the Burnaby resident also wants to rock the boat. Coquitlam school district is underfunded, Keithley said, and with the population booming on Burke, more cash is needed to keep pace.
When pressed on how he would work to get a middle school built on Burke, he said: “It’s the same thing about how we’re going to get buses: We’re just going to have to make enough noise and agitate.”
Electing in another BC Liberal MLA won’t work, he added. Keithley believes the Greens will be more effective as their representatives don’t have to toe the line like the BC Liberal and NDP members.
Keithley feels constituents will do better with the alternate party, which he believes can win a minority government come May 2017.
The party also believes it has a “decent shot” at winning Coquitlam-Burke Mountain and is sinking$20,000 in Keithley’s campaign.
“For me and the Green Party, we try to strike the middle ground and I think that appeals to a lot of residents in this riding,” he said.
[email protected]
@jwarrenTC
•••••••••••
Twitter: @DOAJoe
Instagram: @joe.keithley
Facebook: /joe.keithley.green.party
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.votejoekeithley.com
Phone: 604-474-0301
