Sawatzky won't pursue second term as Vernon mayor

by Staff Writer - Vernon Morning Star posted Jul 17, 2014 at 11:00 AM

The race for Vernon mayor is wide open. Rob Sawazky announced Thursday that he will not seek a second term as mayor. "While I very much appreciate the chance I have had to serve the community, I feel that the demands of the mayor’s position are better suited to someone who is a bit younger than I am," he said. "We have grown to the size where the needs of the community take up many evenings and weekends and involve a considerable time commitment. My decision has been made much easier since I have become aware that a highly qualified candidate is seriously considering running for mayor. I feel that this potential candidate has the full set of skills for the mayor’s role. This person has years of experience in economic development, in dealing with various levels of government, is a skilled facilitator and has the energy, commitment and desire to serve our community well." Currently, the only declared candidate for mayor this November is Klaus Tribes, a former city councillor.
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Sawatzky Won't Run For Second Term
Written by Peter McIntyre107.5 KISSFM Thursday, 17 July 2014 11:25
Vernon mayor Rob Sawatzky will not be running for a second term.Sawatzky, a retired doctor, released the following statement today:
"After discussion with my family, I have decided that I will not be running in the fall election. While I very much appreciate the chance I have had to serve the community, I feel that the demands of the mayor's position are better suited to someone who is a bit younger than I am. We have grown to the size where the needs of the community take up many evenings and weekends and involve a considerable time commitment," reads the statement.

The 62 year old Sawatzky says the position requires a lot of time. "That takes it away from your family, at a time of life when I would like to be slowing down, and the community deserves someone who can put the time and effort into it," he tells Kiss FM. Sawatzky says his decision has been made easier due to what he calls a "highly qualified candidate" who is seriously considering running for mayor. "I feel that this potential candidate has the full set of skills for the mayor's role. This person has years of experience in economic development, in dealing with various levels of government, is a skilled facilitator and has the energy, commitment and desire to serve our community well," he says. Sawatzky declined to say who the candidate is.

He feels he's accomplished his key goals over the last three years. "The three pillars of my platform were to restore a good working relationship with our community neighbors and we've done that. We wanted to do an analysis of the finances at the city of Vernon, and we certainly did that with the core service review, and the other one was to improve the economic growth of our community and I think we've done that. We've started to see a turnaround."