Ron Bahm is not happy with Squamish's leadership.
"This administration has wasted millions of dollars from developers," Bahm said last Friday (Oct. 14), the same day that the nomination period closed.
For that reason, and many others, the Squamish resident of 14 years has entered his name as a mayoral candidate in the Nov. 19 municipal election.
Bahm said he is running for all the people in Squamish who don't usually vote. The people he aims to help are the ones who don't go to polling stations. For the last decade, taxes have continuously increased while jobs have dwindled, he said.
"Taxes are going up and up and up," Bahm said. "A hundred dollars may not look like a lot of money to politicians, but it takes food off people's tables."
As work disappears, the town's drug problems have become more apparent, he added. Bahm wants the RCMP to target dealers, most of whom are known to many locals, he said.
"We are paying police to protect us, not give tickets out to people who can afford them," Bahm said.
The district continues to dig itself into a financial hole, as it pours money into the Oceanfront development, he said.
"They have borrowed way too much and there is no progress," Bahm said.
Squamish needs to shed its image of being anti-development, he continued, noting that could start with the district's Information, Licences and Permits Department. Having spent most of his time in Squamish in the construction industry as a cement mason, Bahm said it is not uncommon to hear from developers who have waited two months to get a building permit. If a builder's papers and information is in order, a building permit could be issued in a week, he said.
"The system is not made for the way things work today," he said.
With construction in Squamish at a standstill, Bahm said he has opened an auto repair shop in Brackendale. For years, Bahm said he was known in the construction industry as the guy to fix other people's problems. Now it's time for him to do the same thing in city hall, Bahm said.
"There is a lot of fixing that needs to be done," he said.
