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Kirkham launches mayoral campaign

'Power of unified passion' touted in councillor's bid for top job

It's all about aligning and focusing forces, Coun. Rob Kirkham said this week at the launch of his mayoral campaign run.

On Monday (Oct. 3), approximately 40 supporters filled the Garibaldi Room at the Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Co. to witness Kirkham's announcement of his intentions to run for mayor in the November municipal election. When Kirkham stepped up to the microphone, he made two things clear the role would be his full-time commitment, if elected, and he wants harness the "power of unified passion."

Kirkham unveiled his plan to take an early retirement from his job as manager of the Squamish branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia to dedicate his time to the mayor's position. One of his first priorities would be to maintain and enhance district infrastructure water, sewage, roads, he told the crowd. Like most municipalities throughout the country, Squamish is faced with a significant infrastructure gap, he noted. The district must have a five-year financial plan in place to ensure that funding is ready to meet those needs, Kirkham said.

The district has to encourage homegrown business if it wants to create stable jobs, he said. Catching a "big fish" would be nice, but many of the economy's building blocks are already in town, Kirkham noted.

"The driver of Canadian economy is small business, that is no secret," he said, adding that there remain significant opportunities for growth in the education sector.

Kirkham said he supports the Squamish Oceanfront development, but warned that the district is not a developer. It's time to get the project to the market and turn it over to those who are in that business, either by selling off the land in individual portions or leasing separate lots, Kirkham continued.

As for transit, it fell under the umbrella that Kirkham stressed throughout the evening collaborative, inclusive processes. The district needs to draw on resources, organizations and its residents to come up with creative, innovative solutions, he said.

"We can do great things as a community if we align forces and pull in the same direction," Kirkham said.

The district's current work on compiling an economic strategy plan under the guidance of economic sustainability coordinator Dan McRae is an example of the direction Kirkham said he wants to go.

In creating the plan, McRae is meeting with organizations such as the Squamish Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Squamish, the Inside Edge and Downtown Squamish Business Improvement Association.

"[McRae] is also going out and talking to individual businesses in Squamish," Kirkham told The Chief. "I would like to take that exact model and duplicate that with other groups."

As of yesterday (Thursday, Oct. 6), Kirkham who is just completing his first term on Squamish council was the only declared mayoral candidate. Before being elected to council in 2008, Kirkham sat as the Squamish Community Foundation's chair and as president of the Squamish Chamber of Commerce.

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