Vernon’s presence on a valley-wide committee won’t have the same strength as other large cities. Both Kelowna and Penticton have two representatives on the committee looking at Okanagan governance, but Vernon only has one — Mayor Wayne Lippert. That situation arose after the North Okanagan Regional District named Area D director Rick Fairbairn as its fourth member at the committee table Wednesday. “Vernon is totally left out in the cold,” said Barry Beardsell, a Vernon councillor. “NORD smacks Vernon in the face any chance it gets.” NORD’s representatives include Lippert, Armstrong Mayor Jerry Oglow, Fairbairn and Area F director Herman Halvorson.
Lippert urged his NORD colleagues to consider adding another politician from Vernon. “I don’t have a problem with two electoral area directors but both the Central Okanagan and Okanagan-Similkameen (regional districts) have two from the cities — a councillor and a mayor,” he said. 
The ministry (of community services) has tried to keep parity on 
representation.” However, Area C director Stan Field insisted there is a need for more rural politicians because they are under-represented through the process. “This will affect the rural areas more than the municipal areas because there’s talk of electoral areas disappearing,” he said. The decision to send another electoral area director to the committee was divisive at NORD, ending in a 7-6 vote. Opposing another rural appointment were Vernon’s three directors, as well as those from Lumby, Armstrong and Coldstream.
Beyond NORD’s actions, Beardsell is also concerned that Lippert does not live in Vernon, but in Area C.“Vernon doesn’t have anyone truly representing it (on the committee),” said Beardsell. But Lippert disagrees with Beardsell’s views.“I was voted in by residents of Vernon, I have property in the city and I pay taxes in Vernon,” he said.
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Rural voice must be heard Dec 7 Editorial Morningstar
Bigger doesn’t necessarily make you more important. And that is something the City of Vernon needs to understand when it comes to its participation in valley-wide discussions on governance. Just because Kelowna and Penticton have two representatives at the table doesn’t automatically mean Vernon should. And the reason is simple. Any potential changes in governance for water, transportation, air quality or other regional issues will have little impact on individual municipalities. They will, though, potentially impact how regional districts operate and what services they provide. As an example, there has been some speculation that rural electoral areas could disappear under any new model. That would be a radical change for regional districts — which oversee electoral areas — and their rural constituents.
Because of that, it made sense for the North Okanagan Regional District to send another electoral area director to the committee table instead of a municipal politician. Also keep in mind that NORD was the only regional district that followed the provincial government’s wishes when it appointed Vernon’s mayor to the committee. The valley’s other two regional districts didn’t do that with Kelowna and Penticton so that ultimately led to more seats being added to accommodate the mayors of those cities. Through that process, NORD was allotted a fourth seat, but there was nothing that specified it had to be given to Vernon. Obviously Vernon’s interests in future governance of the valley are important, but it must realize that other communities potentially have more at risk and those voices need to be heard.
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