Q&A: Kim Capri, City Councillor

Q: You were born in New Jersey and raised in
Edmonton. How did you end up here?

A: My dad was a grad student at Princeton and, surprise, kids came along. We lived there until I was two, and then he got a job teaching physics at the University of Alberta. Years later, in my first year at U of A, I met my husband, Erin. We got married right after we graduated in 1988, and then he got accepted into UBC med school. Since we were newlyweds, I figured I should probably go with him.

Q: Your childhood dream was to be a cop. But when you moved to Vancouver there was a yearlong wait to get into the VPD, so you took a job as a federal parole officer. Any scary incidents?

A: One day, at a halfway house, I was involved in a shooting. One fellow and myself were at the kitchen table playing cards, and this other guy went downstairs to use the phone. The next thing we heard was, Bang! Bang! Bang! The guy who’d been shot came up the stairs, holding his face, blood gushing out his hands. And then he went, Splat!, right on the floor in front of me. I hit the panic button and hid behind the couch until the police arrived. The guy took four bullets, but lived.

Q: In 2005, after leadership stints at the John Howard Society, Elizabeth Fry Society and B.C. Crime Prevention Association, you were courted to run for city council—first by Larry Campbell, and then, successfully, by the NPA. How are you finding political life?

A: When I came into office, I was green. I found out that there was this thing called partisanship, and caucusing—and honestly, I had no idea that happened. It was very disappointing—though when I made the decision in my first year to vote differently than my party in supporting the police, nobody gave me grief for it.

Q: You’re the point person for the mayor’s Project Civil City initiative. Besides cracking down on panhandlers and open drug use, what are you hoping to accomplish?

A: Our public spaces need to be safe and livable. How do we, as a local government, make that happen? Our role traditionally has been to provide land and allow zoning that provides for special-needs residential facilities. In Civil City, the foundation is the housing piece, with the target of a minimum 50 percent reduction in homelessness by 2010. If you give people a home, they can start to deal with the other stuff.

Q: But to build those homes you need money from the province.

A: True, but one of the things I like about our premier is that he values people who are a source of information. Be somebody who provides solutions. Don’t be someone who says, “Why can’t we do this, or give me that, or what about this?” Come forward and say, “Here’s a great opportunity, and here’s why I think you should be a part of it.”

Q: Your husband is a plastic surgeon. What one thing would you have him fix to make the city look better?

A: I’d love more sports fields. Right now, we have a shortage of playing fields, and getting playing time for kids, youth and adults is really tough.

Q: I hear you’re an avid football player.

A: I play on two teams—a women’s team and a co-ed team.

Q: Have you ever wanted to jump across council chambers and tackle one of your opponents?

A: I’m a non-violent person.

Q: Do you want to run again for council?

A: Yeah, I do. I don’t think three years is enough.—Matt O’Grady

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