By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: October 16, 2008
With the federal election wrapped up, focus will now turn to the race for Vernon city hall. There are six people pursuing the mayor’s chair, while 14 candidates are vying for the six councillors’ positions. Among the six looking to be mayor is realtor Steve Campbell. “I’ve been actively involved in politics by attending public meetings and asking questions,” he said. And a letter to the editor Campbell wrote about the civic complex project generated some public interest. “I had many people encourage me to run. They think there needs to be a change at the top,” he said. If elected mayor, Campbell believes there needs to be a focus on meeting the space requirements of the library, art gallery and museum. “It could be done with little expense to taxpayers, and I’m looking at the Coldstream Hotel site for it,” he said. Campbell envisions a three or four-storey building for the cultural facilities as well as residential units. “It would increase the vibrancy of downtown by bringing more people into the area,” he said. Campbell also wants more action on affordable housing as a way of supporting families and the economy. “It’s difficult for young people to afford to live in the area and as a result, there are not enough people to fill jobs,” he said. As a way of encouraging more affordable housing, Campbell says the city must look at development cost charges. The 49-year-old Campbell has been in the Vernon area since 1981 and he recently purchased property in Enderby for development purposes.
Also on the ballot for mayor are Juliette Cunningham, Floyd Edwards, Wayne Lippert, Tony Stamboulieh and Rick Thorburn. Among those wanting to be councillor is Mike Smith. “I heard a lot of people complaining about council and they asked me to give it a shot,” said Smith, who is a plumber and has lived in Vernon for four years. Smith believes there is a need to preserve a corridor for a highway bypass. “Traffic is horrible in Vernon,” he said, adding that there’s a need for more public debate.“I want to hold one last forum and see what people think about it and possibly go to referendum.” Smith is also interested in pursuing low-cost housing and updating the downtown core. Also running for councillor is Steve DeBella, a physician who has lived in Vernon since 1981. “I believe in the ideal of service and I want to serve my community as a councillor,” he said. “One of my priorities is staff funding for our hospital. I plan to be relentless in lobbying for more funding.” DeBella also wants an audit to see how city hall spends taxpayers’ money. “I believe that people know what their neighbourhoods need and the city staff needs to listen. If they say they need a stop sign or a traffic light, they need to be listened to. If they say they don’t want a roundabout, their wishes need to be listened to.”
Gordon Thomas says he decided to seek a council seat because he’s interested in serving the community. “I’m somewhat of a political junkie,” said Thomas, a bobcat operator who has lived in Vernon since 1970. Thomas insists that there is a need for council and city staff to start listening to the wishes of residents and not to place roadblocks in front of the public. “When they try and pass a bylaw to stop someone from cooking a wiener over a backyard fire, what’s next?” he said. “If there is an element that stops people’s freedoms, I struggle with that.” Thomas also wants to see an escalated effort to deal with criminal activity. “A lot more could be done to stop crime,” he said.
Also running for councillor is Buffy Baumbrough, Ray Carling, Jack Gilroy, Peter Greening, Eric Kowalski, Shawn Lee, Douglas MacAulay, Patrick Nicol, Mary-Jo O’Keefe, Brian Quiring and Bob Spiers.
