After more than a quarter of a century in public life, Corinne Lonsdale will soon be throwing in the towel. What can we say about a woman who has been a three-term mayor and councillor during one of the most formative periods in this community's history?
For 25 years she did more than just hold her own in the topsy-turvy local political arena. For the most part she dominated. Some critics accused her of being too closely connected to the local logging establishment. They said she was a relic from a bygone era, saddled with a narrow, out-of-touch view of the future.
But her agenda for the community was never that blinkered. During her nine years as mayor, three-quarters of the business park and Squamish Station was developed. The West Coast Railway Heritage Park opened and expanded. Residential projects, including the Eagle Grove and Marina Estates, were completed. The Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Co., Canadian Tire, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken opened for business.
As a councillor she was involved in the establishment of Quest University, Wal Mart, the Home Depot and London Drugs. Her most recent two terms on council also corresponded with the mothballing of Woodfibre and the exodus of many high-paying jobs that have yet to be replaced locally.
She could be petty and cantankerous. At times her verbal jousts with former mayor Ian Sutherland got so animated that political pundits wondered whether she should be required to register under the Boilers and Pressure Vessels Act.
During a council discussion about ongoing traffic congestion problems at the Tim Hortons drive-thru, she said, "I'm concerned that we're being nice and friendly about it," and suggested stronger measures were required, including revoking the offender's business licence. Meanwhile, the proprietor of the doughnut emporium, who was surprised by council's confrontational approach, revealed that he had recently submitted four possible entrance alternatives to district planners. As a result, she subsequently apologized, adding that her threatening stance was ill advised and based on a lack of information. Instead of having all the details, "we attacked our taxpayer," she acknowledged.
Her longevity in municipal politics gave an air of stability to a council chamber with a high turnover rate. She had the knack of sniffing out boondoggles with the tenacity of a bloodhound and challenged the pet hobby horses advanced by the burgeoning collection of special-interest groups sprouting up from one end of the valley to the other.
Invariably, she told us what was on her mind. When she spoke, people listened, even if they didn't agree with her viewpoint.
Her feistiness came through loud and clear when the RCMP requested a funding top-up from the district after the provincial government estimated our population had eclipsed the census-derived 15,000 mark. When Coun. Doug Race asked what would happen if the district failed to pay the tab, he was informed by an RCMP representative in attendance at a council meeting that no community had ever refused to pay. Whereupon Coun. Lonsdale responded with: "Well we like being first, quite frankly."
With the next municipal election on the immediate horizon, anyone aspiring to get a handle on the pitfalls and pratfalls of a career in local politics should seek her advice. Who would be better than Corinne Lonsdale to offer an insider's take on muni hall over a cup of java?
