So, what’s it like being the head honcho of a boom town?
Patricia Heintzman has been a fixture on the local political scene since 2005, first as a municipal councillor and currently as the mayor. Like most public figures, she garners her share of praise and condemnation. Her detractors have accused her of being a latter-day hippie, singing and strumming her ukulele while the town goes up in smoke.
Five months after she was sworn in, a stubborn blaze broke out at the Squamish Terminals docks and festered for three days. From the beginning of her term in office she has been busy putting out obstinate fires of one sort or another, including the ongoing affordable housing crisis. In a recent email exchange, she said ironically, affordability is a problem that afflicts successful communities. “It’s a product of positive branding, desirability, economic development and growth in human capital.”
She acknowledges that Squamish is going through the most challenging period in its history. “I give huge kudos to our staff who have stepped up and delivered during a very demanding year and a half in a municipality of our size,” she says.
To cope with the workload, over the past two years, the district has added 10 new administrative positions. That proliferation of staff and the associated budget hit of $672,708 has not gone over well with some council watchers.
This past January, the announcement that our municipal taxes/utilities were being hiked substantially, yet again, lead to a fusillade of disgruntled responses on social media and in the coffee shop universe.
Last July, the untimely exit of the district’s chief administrative officer, Corien Becker, and the resulting $180,000 severance package caused some observers to conclude there may have been personality conflicts at muni hall.
But Heintzman appears to be more of a “people person” than other recent occupants of the big chair at muni hall. The open-mic style monthly community breakfast meetings with the mayor have become one of her hallmarks. And she says her schedule is so packed, she rarely takes time off. In retrospect, her administration’s most notable achievement so far has been the Squamish Oceanfront Development deal, which she calls “a monumental milestone... the realization of a community dream.”
Does she have any regrets or second thoughts about her overall performance?
“I would definitely focus more on work/life balance. As mayor, you want to honour the great work going on in your community, and you want to be a positive force and lend your support as much as possible, but it’s important and a challenge to find that balance,” she says.
