Former Penticton councillor eyes mayor’s seat

JOHN MOORHOUSE Wednesday, September 14, 2011
 Katie Robinson says she simply got tired of cringing every time she opened the newspaper.  The former Penticton city councillor has ended months of speculation by announcing she will be running for mayor in this November‘s civic election.  Robinson served three terms on council from 1990 to 1999. This marks her first attempt at the mayor‘s position.  “I have such a passionate love for this city that I just don‘t like the direction we‘re heading in. It‘s as simple as that,” she said.  While calling for serious fiscal responsibility, Robinson also questioned council‘s decision to lay off some 30 city employees over the past two years.  Robinson said council needs to show more appreciation for the work staff do. She pointed to the Garnet forest fire which threatened the city in 1994.  “I saw city employees who were on their personal holidays, who turned around and came home and dealt with the largest evacuation in B.C.‘s history (later surpassed by the Okanagan Mountain fire in 2003).”  Robinson noted an ongoing community concern has been the lack of good-paying jobs in Penticton.  “Well, we just got rid of at least 30 good-paying jobs,” she said. “When the cutbacks come, as they will do, you have to treat people fairly.”  “I think morale is at an all-time low.”  Robinson criticized what she sees as a lack of communication between council and staff.  On the other hand, she said, while the world continues face the lingering impacts of the recession, council is spending freely.  “That‘s going to be my first and primary focus, to make sure the bleeding stops financially for this city and to get it back on track.” Robinson pointed to ongoing operating expenses for the South Okanagan Events Centre and the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, while council opted to pay a Vancouver-based media firm up to $30,000 a year to write press releases.  Council needs to put projects like sidewalk upgrades on hold, she said, until the city is able to get on a more stable fiscal footing.  Robinson said health and safety are other key issues in the city. She noted she entered local politics at a time when Penticton was establishing a 911 service. Now the city faces the pending loss of its fire dispatchers to Kelowna. "If we want to create jobs in this town and we‘re going to spend money, then let‘s spend it on technology so we can keep our dispatchers here,” she said. “Create more good-paying jobs instead of shipping them out to Kelowna.”  Robinson has been working in the Okanagan wine industry over the past few years. She was a founding member of the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan, is a past-president of the Peach Festival Society, and a founding member of the Fest-of-Ale Society.  Although Mayor Dan Ashton has yet to formally announce his election plans, he is widely expected to seek a second term in the mayor‘s office.  Ashton had been considering a bid to seek the Liberal nomination in Penticton if incumbent MLA Bill Barisoff opts to retire. However, with Premier Christy Clark recently ruling out a fall election after the HST referendum defeat, a provincial vote now isn‘t likely until May 2013. Benny Wolfe, who finished a distant fifth in the 2008 election, has also indicated he plans to run again for mayor.