Neis seeks Mayor's chair -- again

  by Wayne Moore - Castanet Jun 22, 2011 / 5:00 am
There will be a race for the mayor's chair in West Kelowna.

Former Mayor and current Councillor Rosalind Neis is throwing her hat in the ring.  Neis, who sat in the mayor's chair immediately after incorporation in 2007 and current mayor, Doug Findlater will go head-to-head when voters go to the polls to elect a new council November 19.  She decided against running for a second term in 2008 in order to spend more time with her family and concentrate on her nursing career.  "I am ready to get back into politics full time," says Neis of her decision. "Two of my boys graduated last year so things have settled down. I feel I have a lot more to give back to the community."

Neis says she believes Premier Christy Clark has the right focus with a 'Families First' philosophy and believes that approach can work in West Kelowna.  "We all want the same things. We all want a community that's safe, that we can afford to live in, that provides a future for our children and I think sometimes those things get missed. Really focus on the people that live here. we don't have every amenity known to man just because it's out there."  She says that is the type of leadership she hopes to bring.  Neis was an unknown political entity when she vaulted onto the scene four years ago.  Running on a platform of disincorporation, Neis won a five person race to become the first mayor of the newly incorporated municipality.  One year later in the first three term municipal election, Neis again topped the polls, winning one of six Councillor seats.  Neis says the municipality has changed dramatically since she last served as mayor.  She says in a lot of ways the municipality is now run by city employees who are "very good at what they do."