Nonpartisan Hacks

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 conversation covers what he learned managing a city through the 2008 financial crisis, why infrastructure funding has dried up, and how he got all 10 regional district projects funded when no one else could get one.

Milobar also shares candid advice for anyone thinking of running for local office, explains why councillors shouldn't try to make it a full-time job, and makes the case that fixing a road has nothing to do with how you vote federally.

Listen in for:

How Milobar delivered infrastructure under the rate of inflation during the 2008 economic crisis

The story of getting all 10 regional district projects funded by refusing to re-prioritize the list

Why BC's $13.5 billion deficit concerns him as the province's finance critic

His advice on what voters actually look for — and why single-issue candidates should reconsider

Why councillors showing up with hedge trimmers creates more problems than it solves

The case for staying in your lane at every level of government

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Episode keywords: Peter Milobar, BC Conservative leadership race, MLA Kamloops Centre, local government governance, BC provincial budget deficit, municipal infrastructure funding, running for local government, nonpartisan municipal politics, BC politics podcast, elected officials and staff relationships, civic engagement podcast

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 — break down what public engagement is actually for, what works, what doesn't, and why your strongly worded Facebook post probably isn't moving the needle the way you think it is.

Listen in for:

What public hearings are (and aren't) designed to do, including why council can't correct misinformation on the spot

Why a personal email will always outperform a form letter

The underrated power of just asking your councillor for coffee

The uncomfortable truth about social media as a civic tool

Why "being heard" and "getting your way" are two very different things — and why that's actually okay

We're a representative democracy. That means we elect people to make tough calls on our behalf — even the unpopular ones. This episode is about understanding that system well enough to actually work within it.

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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 surprised her most about the role, and why “mayoring” is less about power and more about facilitation, decorum, and trust. From public hearings with hundreds of residents to regional collaboration across the Comox Valley, the conversation digs into the skills that separate functional councils from dysfunctional ones.

Recorded in Sean’s kitchen (fresh bread included) the discussion ranges from core services and infrastructure financing to Bee City designations, asset management, working with opposition MLAs and MPs, and why most of the mayor’s real work happens far from the spotlight.

Listen in for:

What actually changes when you become mayor

Why facilitation matters more than force at the council table

How to run public hearings without letting them derail

The difference between core services and the “extra” 10–20% that signals values

Why good governance is often invisible until it fails

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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 Fair Care’s work, the conversation uses healthcare as a case study to explore something bigger: how communities organize, how governments actually hear messages, and why meaningful change only happens when voices are aligned across institutions.

Hais draws on years of experience spanning chambers of commerce, port governance, hospital foundations, and grassroots advocacy to explain why isolated pressure fails, how to build credibility across political cycles, and what it takes to speak the language of government without becoming partisan. The discussion moves from relationship-building and message discipline to media strategy, professional risk, and why persistence, not outrage, moves billion-dollar decisions.

🎧 Listen in for:

Why advocacy fails when it happens in isolation

How grassroots organizations build one message across many institutions

What it means to “speak government” without losing community values

Why non-partisan advocacy lasts longer than election cycles

The role of media, lobbying, and public pressure in sustaining momentum

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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 coalitions, and why he believes conviction matters more than triangulation in today’s polarized political landscape.

From cabinet decision-making and the growing power of the premier’s office, to affordability, productivity, reconciliation, and the hollowing out of the middle class, Rustad offers his unfiltered reflections and thoughts on where he believes British Columbia has gone off track.

🎧 Listen in for:

Rustad's leadership takeaways from Campbell to Eby

The fall of the BC Liberals and the rise of the BC Conservatives

Why affordability can’t be fixed without productivity and wage growth

Rustad’s case for “economic reconciliation” and why the current approach is failing

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