The five candidates vying to replace John Turner, who has represented the vast area of Electoral Area D on the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District board for the past nine years, each got the chance to tell voters why they should replace him at a community gathering in Britannia Beach on Thursday (Nov. 10).
Some members of the audience of 60 made a considerable drive to hear the candidates. For two hours, Nancy Hamilton, Lisa Ames and Deb McBride, all of Squamish, along with Bruce Bessie of Furry Creek and Maurice Freitag of Britannia Beach, answered 13 wide-ranging questions on local boundaries, the arts, power relationships within the regional district, caps on population density, and their own visions for Area D.
Potential changes to the boundary was the first and hottest topic, with a new region "Howe Sound East" being, if anything, a buzzword for the night. The idea of an amalgamation of the communities running from Britannia Beach to Furry Creek was a popular one for those worried about the former being swallowed up by future changes to the District of Squamish boundaries.
Squamish realtor Hamilton, who has long-time ties in Britannia Beach, said she believed in the communities staying distinct within the regional district.
"Not having Squamish swallowing up Britannia Beach, not Whistler swallowing up Black Tusk Howe Sound East will come together," she said, citing the ongoing development of the communities resulting in increases to their populations.
Ames, a realtor and councillor in Pemberton, said she believes Howe Sound East is not viable for the moment, but may become so in the future.
"There are two ideas, either Squamish District expands to swallow Furry Creek and Britannia Beach or there is the creation of Howe Sound East," Ames said. "A few years down the road I can see Howe Sound East as viable, but not right now."
McBride, an environmental activist and regular at Squamish council meetings, felt the communities like Britannia Beach had done a better job of maintaining their traditional character compared with larger communities in the regional district, like Squamish. She said she felt that would make it more difficult to make Britannia Beach part of Squamish.
"The SLRD seems to want to preserve tradition. Squamish is very influenced by the idea of high density, also Whistler," she said.
While Bessie, a retired dentist, felt that there was "no support for an expansion of the boundaries" as they currently exist, Freitag, a stone mason who, like Hamilton, is a member of the Squamish Chamber of Commerce, said he believes the new region will one day be a reality.
"Howe Sound East will one day be a community of its own," Freitag said.
Local resident Brenda Dixon asked what she called "a devil's advocate question": "Why are you the best person to represent Area D?"
Ames said her previous community involvement was a key attribute, citing her Rotary Club membership and her "attitude is that it's not just your problem, it's mine, too." Her vision for Area D, she said, would included managed growth, adding that "it is hard to have one vision for such a diverse community."
Hamilton cited her family and business connections, including, until recently, family ownership of the Makin Lands, just south of Britannia Beach. She said she would approach the job like a three-year project.
"I would sit down with representatives from all the areas and have a list of goals that we'd like to accomplish within the term. I would want you [the voters] to tell me what you want," she said.
Freiberg said having left Saskatchewan, first moving to Squamish and then to Britannia Beach four years ago, had allowed him to get to know the community well, along with mineral stakes in the region that got him out and talking to residents, along with his "conscious decision to live, work and play here."
In terms of a personal vision, he said that would come from voters.
"It depends on their vision; it's not my vision. I know Britannia Beach would like steady and stable growth."
Bessie said his greatest attribute is his available time and that he would be fully committed to the job, and not distracted by other commitments. As for his vision, he wanted steady growth in the number of homes and businesses to build a bigger tax base, adding that he looked forward to working with entrepreneurs, citizens and developers to improve the region.
McBride said having reached 60, she had learned much from candidates over the past 30 years. She said her focus is on protecting the region's natural resources, and she felt she could play a role of "official opposition," having run for local office eight times over the years.
