Nonpartisan Hacks

Your city council raised taxes 5.8% this year. So why did your bill go up 13%? In this episode of  Nonpartisan Hacks , Joel Grenz and Sean Wood pull apart the property tax bill that lands in every homeowner's mailbox each spring, and explain why it's really six or seven different bills stapled into one. Recorded on Sean's deck in Parksville, BC, the two councillors walk through who actually sets e...

What happens when the province doesn't move fast enough and people in your city can't wait? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks , Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Marianne Alto , Mayor of the City of Victoria, recorded live at the AVICC convention. Victoria isn't just BC's capital city, it's a mid-sized municipality shouldering an outsized share of the region's housing pressures, homelessne...

What happens when serving your community means risking your personal safety? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks , recorded live at the AVICC convention in Victoria, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Marianne Meed Ward — Mayor of Burlington, Ontario and co-founder of Elect Respect — to talk about the growing crisis of harassment, abuse, and outright threats facing elected officials at every...

What happens when a government starts blocking bills before anyone gets to read them? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks , Joel Grenz and Sean Wood welcome back BC political reporter Rob Shaw — host of Political Capital and co-author of the bestselling A Matter of Confidence — for the "Criterion Edition" of his rant on first reading at the BC Legislature. They unpack what first reading actually...

Nobody teaches you how to vote well. Maybe they should. You already know how to mark an X on a ballot. But do you know what you're actually voting for? Joel Grenz and Sean Wood — two City of Parksville councillors — break down the overlooked civics of actually choosing who to vote for. From how party slates and vetting work, to why big campaign promises are often a red flag, to the real reason pol...

In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks , Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with George Anderson, MLA for Nanaimo-Lantzville, former Nanaimo city councillor, commercial lawyer, and Parliamentary Secretary for Transit. Anderson shares what it was like being the youngest person at the council table by four decades, how he went from door-knocking to Treasury Board, and what he believes is the most expen...

What does it actually take to get something into a government budget? In this episode of  Nonpartisan Hacks , Joel Grenz and Sean Wood go behind the scenes on Sean’s multi-year advocacy journey to increase the Volunteer First Responder Tax Credit — first at the federal level, then provincially in British Columbia. From jogging past the fire hall in Parksville to sitting in the legislature on...

20 Years of Lessons from Local Government to the Legislature In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks , Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Peter Milobar, MLA for Kamloops Centre and BC Conservative leadership candidate. Milobar's political résumé spans city councillor, three-term mayor, regional district chair, and provincial legislator — what Sean calls "a full political bingo card." The conversa...

Two city councillors break down how public hearings, emails, and civic engagement actually work Public hearings, council emails, Facebook rants — everyone has an opinion on how to make their voice heard in local government. But most people have no idea how any of it actually works from the other side of the table. Joel Grenz and Sean Wood — both three years into life as Parksville city councillors...

What does it actually mean to be mayor? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Mayor Nicole Minions of Comox to talk about leadership at the municipal level, and how governing really works when you move from being one vote at the table to chairing the meeting. Minions reflects on becoming mayor by acclamation in 2022 under extraordinary circumstances, what sur...

How do citizens turn frustration into outcomes, without picking a party or burning bridges? Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Donna Hais, longtime community leader, business executive, and chair of the Fair Care Alliance, to unpack how advocacy really works inside complex municipal, provincial, and federal systems. Recorded in Nanaimo, just steps from the regional hospital at the centre of Fa...

Lessons on leadership inside British Columbia politics after 20 years in the Legislature. Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with former Conservative Party of BC leader and longtime MLA John Rustad for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, governance, and the forces reshaping provincial politics. Rustad reflects on serving under multiple leaders, the rise and collapse of centre-right coalition...

How does effective chairing turn a room full of strong opinions into real decisions ? Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Nanaimo councillor and former Regional District of Nanaimo board chair Tyler Brown to unpack what it really takes to run meetings that work, keep a 19-member board aligned, and steer governance without theatrics, gavels, or power plays. Brown traces how Nanaimo moved from na...

What happens when short-term politics collides with long-term obligations? Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with former MLA Adam Olsen to break down what the Cowichan Tribes decision actually means for British Columbia and why the province keeps deferring the same structural problems. The conversation traces the pattern: governments chasing headlines, grant cycles built for ribbon-cutting, and a...

What’s the difference between shaming people and shaming harmful behaviour? Parksville councillors Joel Grenz and Sean Wood take on one of the trickiest words in modern politics: stigma. From anti-smoking campaigns and seatbelts to vaping, littering, and impaired driving, this episode explores how culture and policy have worked together to steer society, using stigma as a tool for good. And with B...

From street disorder and involuntary care to a record-setting provincial deficit and party leadership reviews, this year’s UBCM had no shortage of debate …or drama. Hosts Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down on the deck (yes, with fingerless gloves) to unpack the biggest stories and sessions from the 2025 Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria. They dig into the shifting tone on addictio...

What separates functional government from frustrated government? In this special episode recorded amongst the hustle and bustle of the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria, hosts Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with political reporter Rob Shaw ( CHEK News , Business in Vancouver , Political Capital ) to explore what makes governments succeed or stumble. From the tension between lo...

What do speed-dating meetings with ministers, lobbyist myths, and Shania Twain’s brother have in common? Government relations. In this second of three special episodes recorded live at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Victoria, hosts Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with strategist Jeff Ferrier to talk about the “Super Bowl of advocacy.” From how to frame a winning ask in just ten min...

What do 275 resolutions, municipal downloading, and a possible mayoral race have in common? Councillor Pete Fry. This is the first of three special episodes recorded live at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Victoria. In this installment, hosts Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Vancouver Councillor Pete Fry on a patio next to a beautiful but somewhat noisy fountain. Discussion rang...

In this milestone 10th episode, Parksville councillors Sean Wood and Joel Grenz break down one of the most talked-about issues in local government: housing. What’s the difference between market and non-market housing? Why is non-market housing so hard (and slow) to build? Who actually pays for it? And what does the “Vienna Model” have to do with any of this? From permissive tax exemptions to proje...

The BC Green Party is about to pick a new leader, and the three candidates joined Joel and Sean on the deck to make their case. Adam Bremner-Akins (political science student and party secretary), Dr. Jonathan Kerr (Comox councillor and family doctor), and Emily Lowan (climate organizer and researcher) sat down for an unfiltered conversation about strategy, ideology, and what it takes to grow beyon...

What’s next for Vancouver Island’s rail corridor? Is just a relic of the past, or the backbone of its future? In this episode of Non-Partisan Hacks , hosts Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Thomas Bevan, CEO of the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF), to talk trains, trestles, and the tangled politics of one of Vancouver Island’s most unique public assets. Bevan shares what it’s like to work wit...

BC’s political landscape seems to change by the week... new parties, shifting allegiances, and plenty of noise. But what about the voters in the middle who just want good government? In this episode of Non-Partisan Hacks , Parksville councillors Joel Grenz and Sean Wood welcome Karin Kirkpatrick, leader of CentreBC and former MLA for West Vancouver–Capilano. From her time as Shadow Minister for Ho...

Thinking about throwing your hat in the ring for local office? Or maybe someone told you you should run ? In this episode, we pull back the curtain on what it really takes to run — and serve — in local government. Joel and Sean share candid reflections on why people run, what the job actually involves, and what they wish they knew before signing up. From campaign prep and council dynamics to emoti...

Can provincial housing targets be a smarter way to plan future housing across the province? In this no-guest episode of Non-Partisan Hacks , Joel and Sean unpack a new Parksville resolution headed to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) that seeks to uplevel how the Province sets housing targets for local governments. It’s a call for smarter, more climate-resilient, infrastructure-ready planning...