By Danielle Pope, Monday Magazine, 29 December 2010
Media coverage in Monday Magazine, 2005 and 2010
When Monday interviewed Ben Isitt five years ago, he was closing in on a challenge to beat out incumbent Mayor Alan Lowe in the 2005 municipal election. While Isitt lost that race, he’s maintained his sense of political purpose.
“Ask Isitt where he sees himself in 20 years, and he answers quickly: ‘I’ll either be a tweedy history professor leading a modest life on a cozy campus somewhere in Canada, or I’ll be prime minister,’ he says, without a hint of arrogance,” wrote Russ Francis in the October 2005 cover story.
While Isitt hasn’t made it to PM status just yet, he does have the professor thing going strong—he’s currently teaching history courses at the University of British Columbia, with a focus on western Canadiana, peace movements and left-leaning labour policies.
“Back then, a lot of people were encouraging me to run for city council and mayor, and I had come to the conclusion that it was easier to get into politics than academia—but it would have only been a temporary change at that time,” he says, adding that he’s pleased to see many progressive politicians in today’s council. “Politics in general have become more progressive than back when I ran, but that doesn’t mean grassroots movements are no longer necessary.”
The role of Victoria mayor may not have been in Isitt’s grasp back in 2005, but that doesn’t mean he’s been stagnant since. Isitt worked as a researcher for the Ministry of Advanced Education from 2007 to 2008, then, this past July, he completed a postdoctoral history fellowship at UVic and has been teaching since. Oh, and he had a daughter six weeks after that municipal election bid. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s also finished writing two books with UBC and University of Toronto presses and published multiple journal articles.
In terms of raising awareness around local issues that matter, Isitt says council and the City still have a long way to go when it comes to dealing with homelessness, the environment, urban sprawl and land use.
“There’s more awareness now on a variety of issues, but we still need to see a much greater role from the provincial and federal governments,” he says.
While Isitt thinks running for mayor again would be unlikely for him now, he would consider dedicating his time to council come the next election. Some of his pet issues would focus on a fixed-site needle exchange, cycling routes in the city and implementing municipal fair-wage guidelines.
“In terms of meeting my career goals, with my daughter, being able to live in Victoria and doing the work I’m doing now, I’m happy for all of that. But there is still so much to be done,” he says. “If anything, I’ve noticed my views have become more radical in the last five years. I actually think that’s essential for us in running the world now.”
