Emails with Livable CRD and partner organizations, show a pattern of evasiveness as to the identity of those involved who will be grading candidates for the 2026 election.

Emails with Livable CRD and partner organizations, show a pattern of evasiveness as to the identity of those involved, who will be grading candidates for the 2026 election.

Email exchanges with Wendy Lidgate
Published August 6, 2026

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2 days ago, Wendy Lidgate wrote the following article that exposed a gross lack of transparency in regard to Livable CRD, a third party election sponsor in the 2026 election, and among its coalition partners. While the media has been trumpeting them as experts prepared to grade candidates, it hasn’t asked the question as to who the people grading the candidates prior to the election actually are.

‘Livable CRD’: Grading candidate answers – what are the names? It’s a secret! – CRD Watch Homepage

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In the article, Lidgate referred to emails she had sent, with few replies received as to who the identities are of the people who would be grading candidates for Livable CRD and its coalition partners.

Only 2 people replied. One was Michael Bassili, the Co-founder of Strong Towns Nanaimo, part of the U.S.-based Strong Towns movement, who is also the Authorized Principal and spokesperson for Livable CRD. The other who replied was urbanist Todd Litman of Better Island Transit, one of the Livable CRD coalition partner organizations.

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On July 31, 2026, at 3:02 p.m., Lidgate sent the following email to Livable CRD and 8 of the other groups who made available an email address.

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Hello,

As a registered voter in Central Saanich, I have some concerns with your Livable CRD candidate scorecard and would appreciate answers to 3 questions.

You state candidates will be graded by subject matter experts from your organization.

Who are these experts? Please provide me the name or names of the experts from your organization who will be grading the subject matter.
How will the candidates be graded? If they meet the criteria of your organization will they be graded – A – Excellent or if they do not meet the criteria of your organization will they then be graded F- Poor?
Where do you get funding for your organization?

I look forward to your response. Thank you.

Sincerely, Wendy Lidgate

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Todd Litman of Better Island Transit responded on July 31, 4:17 p.m.

Better Island Transit is one member of Livable CRD. You’ll find answers to your questions on the webite (https://livablecrd.ca), including the rating methodology (https://livablecrd.ca/scorecard/#methodology). The survey questions are still under development with guidance from member organizations; they should be finalized soon. The website was developed by volunteers with minimal costs, but we are soliciting donations (https://livablecrd.ca/donate) to fund printing and publicizing results.

Does that answer your questions?

Best wishes,

Todd Litman (litman@vtpi.org)

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Wendy replied:

No – I would like the answer to question #1. Thanks, Wendy

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Litman responded on July 31, at 5:26 pm.

Each member organization contributed questions based on their areas of interest. You’ll find a list of those organizations on the website, but I don’t know the names of the individuals and we certainly cannot share addresses.

Best wishes, Todd Litman (litman@vtpi.org)

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Wendy replied:

Hello Todd,

I already have the list and what each organization stands for. I am not asking for addresses. Just names.

Do the Experts in your organization not rate the answers to your questions? If so, I just want the names of the experts. If not, who does rate the responses to your questions?

Why would you hide this kind of information? Don’t you think the candidates who are willing to complete the questionnaire have the right to know who is rating their responses?

I look forward to your response.

Thanks, Wendy

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Litman replied:

The survey questions are still being finalized. I contributed some related to active and public transport but have not seen the final list. Most are Yes/No or ranking question, or open-ended responses, so the analysis will be automated and transparent; no one will perform subjective rating. Does that answer your question?

Best wishes,

Todd Litman (litman@vtpi.org)

Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org)

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Wendy replied:

Hello Todd,

This is from Livable CRD website. It clearly states each group grades candidates’ responses.

Each participating group contributes the questions in its area of focus, and that same group grades candidates’ responses to the questions it submitted.

The coalition relies on experts and advocates from member groups (such as Homes for Living, Walk On Victoria, and Better Transit YYJ) to review and grade the responses.

So, once again Todd, I would appreciate it if you would provide me the name or names of the people who will be grading responses to questions from your organization.

I don’t feel you are being very transparent with me. I fully understand the questions might not be complete yet. Surely you must know, who in your organization, is going to rate the responses. I read some of the sample questions on Livable CRD website and they were not yes/no questions.

Sincerely, Wendy

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Wendy noted: “I have not heard from Todd again so he is not prepared to provide me the names of the people within his organization who will be grading candidate answers. I guess it is a secret.”

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The following is the email exchange that Wendy Lidgate had with Michael Bassili on July 31, 2026 6:09 pm

Hey, Wendy – it’s nice to meet you!

My name is Michael Bassili and I’m one of the volunteers working on Livable CRD.

I’ll try to answer your questions:

“Experts”: All questions are created by community organizations, advocates, and experienced people in the community, since they are the ones who typically work with residents on community issues. For instance, Family Doctors For Saanich is one of our partner organizations and they provided healthcare-related questions, not because they are doctors, but because they have been on the ground with residents working to advocate for healthcare access in the CRD.

Grades: All partner organizations will grade their own questions based on letter grades, A for “fully in support/sympathetic” all the way to F for “does not support at all/is not sympathetic”.
Funding: We are a registered electoral sponsor with Elections BC which means we can collect donations on our website to fund our initiative. It also means that we are legally obligated to disclose our financials after the election. [/]You can click here to read more about the restrictions and donation parameters we follow.

I hope I addressed all of your questions – if you have any more, feel free to reach back out!

All the best, Michael Bassili

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Wendy received another email from Bassili 2 minutes later on July 31, 6:11 p.m:

Hey, Wendy! As I mentioned in my other email:

All questions are created by community organizations, advocates, and experienced people in the community, since they are the ones who typically work with residents on community issues. For instance, Family Doctors For Saanich is one of our partner organizations and they provided healthcare-related questions, not because they are doctors, but because they have been on the ground with residents working to advocate for healthcare access in the CRD.

Each participating organization has members and volunteers, and they will be creating questions for their respective categories and providing grades for them.

I hope this helps – if not, feel free to let me know and I’ll be happy to chat further.

Regards, Michael Bassili

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Wendy replied to Bassili on August 3, 2026

Hello Michael,

Thank you for your response. However, you did not provide me with the names of the people (experts) in your organization who will be rating the responses from candidates.

I feel, to be transparent, this is important information for the candidates to know.

Sincerely, Wendy Lidgate

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Bassili replied the same day:

Hey Wendy 👋 Happy long weekend. As I mentioned before, all questions are graded by those who operate the many partner organisations listed on our website. You can find the most up to date list of organizations on the homepage of our website. These groups are large and diverse, so we don’t have a list of individual names to provide you.

If you have any questions pertaining to other topics about the initiative, please check our website or feel free to send me another email.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Michael Bassili

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Wendy replied:

Hello Michael,

I noted this morning the Livable CRD website no longer states the candidate questions will be graded by experts. So, I am requesting, once again, the name or names of the people in your organization who will be grading the responses from the candidates. The voters and candidates deserve to have this information.

Thank you. Wendy Lidgate

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Bassili replied:

If you have any questions pertaining to other topics about the initiative, please check our website or feel free to send me another email.

Hope this helps. Regards, Michael Bassili

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Wendy sent a final response to Bassili adding in her notes “It is apparent he is refusing to give me names“.

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Michael you are still not answering my question. I am certain you know the names of the people in the Livable CRD organization who will be grading the answers to your questions.

Sure leads me to believe you are not being transparent. I will be passing this information on to my groups on Facebook.

I also note you took down from your website the term “experts”. wow!

If you and the other 11 groups believe in your questionnaire and the manner in which you are grading candidates, why not put their names out there. Must have something to hide I guess.

So disappointing.

Wendy

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Wendy noted: “As of today – August 4^th, I have not heard from any other focus groups.”

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Wendy’s conclusion:

In conclusion, the email exchanges I had with two of the groups, shows you how evasive they were with me. As well, not one other organization in the group has responded to my emails.

Please vote in the upcoming election. Do your homework and talk to candidates. Do not rely on candidates grades from organizations who may have ulterior motives.

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See also:

Index of articles and other resources regarding the organization: ‘Livable CRD’ and its coalition partners. – CRD Watch Homepage

‘Livable CRD’: Grading candidate answers – what are the names? It’s a secret! – CRD Watch Homepage

‘Livable CRD’, and its alliance of astroturfing organizations, seeking to influence the outcome of the 2026 local government election. – CRD Watch Homepage

Greater Victoria Acting Together (GVAT) appears to be run by a member of the political pressure group Homes For Living. – CRD Watch Homepage

2 Sentence Constitution of the Homes For Living Foundation removes any doubt that Homes For Living (HFL) is a purpose-built pressure group designed to influence municipal politicians. – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of Articles and other Media Coverage about Homes For Living – CRD Watch Homepage

Dogwood Wants Your Name, Phone Number and Postal Code. Here Is What That Buys Them. – CRD Watch Homepage