If Squamish voters sent any sort of message in Saturday's (Nov. 19) municipal election, it was certainly a mixed one - if not just a tad confusing. On the one hand, all four members of the current council who were seeking election were successful - and the top two vote-getters in the council race were incumbents. That certainly makes it seem as though voters are generally contented with the direction the community is headed, right?
Well, yes and no. The same voters almost elected a rank newcomer with no political experience as mayor against a 25-year resident and current member of council. The latter result is undoubtedly a credit to the energy and communication skills Auli Parviainen brought to the campaign, not to mention the campaign signs that, instead of simply featuring the candidate's smiling face and the (heretofore) obligatory check mark, asked voters to ponder a series of intriguing questions dealing with the town's future. All of those factors gave the Parviainen campaign a freshness that almost won out over the more traditional (and less Internet-savvy) campaign run by Rob Kirkham and his supporters.
The comment from Parviainen, to the effect that she might have won had Whistler Blackcomb not decided to move up the opening of ski season seems, at least on its surface, a bit dismissive. But we all know that external factors can influence voter turnout, and when the difference is a mere 179 votes in an election with more than 4,500 votes cast, one never knows. Assuming that Parviainen's support base was younger than Kirkham's, it's entirely possible that more of them decided to skip the trip to the polling station in favour of an early start to their skiing and riding season than did Kirkham's backers.
Either way, Parviainen and her supporters are to be congratulated for a race well run.
The voter turnout of just 39.2 per cent is a big disappointment, given the fact that we had a lively and tight race for mayor when, in 2008, 41.9 per cent of voters turned out during an election that included a mayor's race that was more of a coronation than a contest.
The stylistic contrast between the two mayoral candidates this time around was striking, and points to a challenge facing Kirkham, and to a lesser degree the community, as we enter the 2011-'14 council term. Kirkham's reticence in speaking to the media and in front of an audience is certainly a liability, but one that can be overcome with practice. Given time and perhaps a bit of coaching, we expect he'll be a capable spokesman for the council and the community as a whole.
More importantly, the new council needs to work together if it's to accomplish the goals of moving the Oceanfront forward, improving infrastructure with minimal increases in taxes and fees, throwing down the welcome mat for new, job-creating businesses and running an efficient and effective local government. Given the experience factor, there's reason to hope that after being sworn in on Dec. 6, Squamish's new leadership team will be able to hit the ground running.
- David Burke
