Three Way Race For Vernon Mayor

Written by Peter McIntyre Wednesday, 16 November 2011 01:25

Vernon voters have to decide if they stick with the current mayor, or put their vote behind one of two newcomers to the political scene. The city's candidates are the final feature in a KISS FM series on the North Okanagan mayoralty races.  Businessman Patrick Davies says he's had a good response to his 'We Need Change' slogan.  "It seems like with the other two candidates, that's what they're going to get, another three years of what they've had previously, so yes, I'm the change candidate, and I look at it in a positive view because we really do need to change to save our city." Retired doctor Rob Sawatzky wants to improve regional relations, which he feels is hurting the local economy.  "We can't really change the governance process. That's not the issue here. The issue is how do we work with the governance process we have, and the only way we can do that is change some of the personalities that are there that seem to be involved in the breakdown of our progress." Incumbent two term mayor Wayne Lippert feels the city has worked well with its partners, with agreements on economic development, police and sewer.  "And Mayor Garlick (of Coldstream) has said they couldn't survive without Vernon with these agreements, so yes we've had discussions, but when you're working with a number of partners, it's like a family, and you don't always agree all the time." Davies says the 'change' he talks about would be right across the board.  "We're talking change in accountability at City Hall and this is starting from the top, so the mayor would be posting his expenses online every month, as well as who he meets  with online every month." Sawatzky would like to see a service review at City Hall. "We need to address the feeling in the community that the  budget has grown faster than our economy, and we need to do that in a way that's fair to everyone. The people that work at City Hall need to be treated fairly and with respect." Lippert says adding 54 city employees during his six year tenure, is justified. "Yes, staff have gone up and our budgets have gone up, but so have our revenues, and our revenues have offset those costs. I think the biggest thing you have to look at is a 0.24 percent tax increase in 2011. If we weren't managing our budget, it would be much, much higher." About 30-thousand city residents are eligible to vote. Voter turnout was 26 percent in 2008.