Susan Chapelle says she believes what she calls the "new demographic" is underrepresented on Squamish council, but that her Squamish is one in which the voices of both "new" and "old" carry equal value and weight.
Chapelle, an 11-year resident, massage therapist and small business owner, announced her candidacy for a seat on council in a statement issued on Monday (Aug. 8). While she said she had been thinking for some time about running, sitting Coun. Bryan Raiser - the only other person to have declared his intention to seek a council seat in the Nov. 19 election - finally convinced her to throw her hat into the ring.
"A lot of people have been asking me to run and I've been sitting on boards and committees for so long," said Chapelle, who serves on the boards of the Downtown Business Improvement Association (BIA), the Chamber of Commerce and the Squamish Hospice Society, to name three.
She said she's giving up her seat on the Chamber board to seek election, in accordance with the Chamber's bylaws. If elected, Chapelle said she also plans to step down from the BIA board.
Chapelle grew up in Toronto and spent her early adulthood travelling the world working on international musical and theatre productions. An avid climber, she moved to Squamish for the lifestyle, earned her massage therapist's certification, and started the successful Squamish Therapeutics clinic.
Chapelle, 43, is the mother of two children. She has been in business since age 17 and said she thinks helping small businesses thrive while attracting new ones is one of the keys to Squamish's future.
"There's a new demographic in Squamish and it's not so much reflected in our political representation," she said. "The new demographic is basically people that are moving here for lifestyle - healthy lifestyles. They move here to raise their families and want to live here for the lifestyle.
"I think economic development is important, but I also believe in sensible decision making. In that sense, I talk a lot about the old and the new both being here in Squamish and I think old and new both have valid opinions to offer."
Chapelle said her own struggles as a small businessperson have given her an intimate understanding of the challenges small business owners face. She said she thinks the District of Squamish needs to work with existing businesses to make doing business here more attractive and affordable and establish clear development and zoning regulations to attract new businesses that can increase the town's base of decent-paying jobs.
"For developers, there has to be clear guidelines on what the land-use requirements are," Chapelle said. "You can't expect a developer to come in here and be told what's expected and then get to third reading and then be turned down."
She cited the Inside Edge, an association of knowledge- and technology-based business that aims to facilitate growth of that business segment in Squamish, as an example of the sort of initiatives that need to have the district's full support.
"We need to have foresight and better understand global economics and the ways that Squamish has to change in order to keep up," Chapelle said.
The nomination period for the 2011 municipal election runs from Oct. 4 to 14.
