Two new candidates, from quite different backgrounds, have tossed their names into the ring for the upcoming November municipal elections.
Ron Sander has had an extensive career in the lumber and marine terminal businesses, while Peter Kent works in the film industry. Both Squamish residents announced their intention to run for Squamish council on Friday (Sept. 30).
Sander has lived in Squamish for 15 years. The father of two sons and a stepdaughter originally worked as the manager for Interfor Squamish Lumber. After the sawmill closed and following a five-year stint as the Resort Municipality of Whistler's manager of operations leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics, Sander now works at Neptune Terminals in North Vancouver.
If elected, Sander said he would take the Squamish Oceanfront development off the district's table. Sander said he fears the municipality will end up selling the prime land in parcels to residential developers simply to cover mounting costs.
The district could instead turn the land into a port corporation, allowing the property to be leased to port-oriented businesses. This would not only provide construction jobs, but unlike residential units, would maintain work opportunities as companies grow, Sander said. In addition, if the Squamish leased out the land, rather than sell it, the district would be able to continually make a profit off of it, he noted.
On similar-sized land in North Vancouver, Neptune Terminals is the city's largest employer with more than 250 people on its payroll and contributes hundreds of thousands toward the community, Sander said.
"Residential development doesn't provide jobs," he said.
Although Sander said he supports adventure and recreational tourism industries, they just haven't created the work Squamish was hoping for. People have had to leave town and residential and commercial buildings have been left vacant.
"I don't see the plan that is in place changing that," Sander said.
Kent moved to Squamish five years ago. "I came up here, took one look and we bought our house," the father of two-year-old twin boys said.
Kent worked as Arnold Schwarzenegger's stunt double in 14 movies. He is also the creator of the awarding-winning TV series Stuntdawgs and, last year, founded the first stunt school in Western Canada.
Squamish is at a tipping point and can't continue down the same old path if it hopes to be a sustainable economy, Kent warned. Business picked up during the 2010 Olympics, but local politicians didn't seem to have a plan to keep that momentum going, Kent said.
He wants to see the district put together ready-to-go marketing packages for different industry sectors, which would include information such as tax incentives and properties available.
Many Lower Mainland municipalities have such advertising kits for the film industry, Kent said. Squamish was recently beaten out by Aldergrove as a location to film a television series featuring a small town recovering from the recession, he noted. People in the industry told him Aldergrove was selected because the municipality was more prepared, he noted.
"This town has to fight for itself to stay alive," Kent said.
With approximately four million people travelling up Highway 99 each year, Squamish has to draw more people into downtown, he said. Projects, such as the Sea to Sky Gondola, will aid in attaining this goal, Kent noted.
Kent admitted he doesn't have all the answers to fix the local economy. If Squamish ends up with a more transparent council and politicians willing to seek residents voices, it's a good first step, he said.
"We can't be business as usual anymore," he said.
Previously declared candidates for Squamish council include incumbents Bryan Raiser, Patricia Heintzman and Doug Race and newcomers Susan Chapelle, Phil Audet, Nate Dolha, Brad Hodge, Rob Weys and Douglas Neville. Coun. Rob Kirkham is so far the only declared candidate for mayor. The nomination period for the Nov. 19 election runs from Oct. 4 to 14.
