Greg Gardner was first elected to the District of Squamish's council in a 2006 byelection, called after popular Coun. Ray Peters lost his long struggle with cancer. Both times he ran for office, Gardner was the clear winner. In 2006 he garnered 49 per cent of the vote in a seven-candidate race, with second-place finisher Ted Prior gleaning just 15.7 per cent. In a three-candidate race for the mayor's job in 2008, Gardner snagged an impressive 80 per cent of the vote, easily outpolling fellow candidates Terrill Patterson and John Erickson.
There's little question, then, that Squamoleans have great respect for the skills, intellect and dedication that the car dealer, lawyer and community activist has brought to municipal hall.
A few months ago, this writer opined in this space that Gardner "is a pretty safe bet to win a second term in the mayor's chair, provided he wants it." Had he decided to run again, we believe that would still be true. With him out of the picture, it's a wide-open race.
When he was seeking the mayor's post, Gardner highlighted four key issues in his campaign materials: communication, community development, financial management and pride in our community. In general, we'd say the District of Squamish under his leadership has done a decent job on all four fronts - council recently adopted a new communication strategy that is less centered on the person in the mayor's chair; taxation levels have not increased significantly in spite of the economic downturn; the Oceanfront development has moved forward with the adoption of the SODC sub-area plan; Squamish residents generally feel good about their community.
But significant challenges remain: improvements to roads, water delivery systems and flood protection improvements are in their early stages and will require careful management if the progress is to continue; our landfill is at the end of its life and requires a significant upgrade; there's a strong need for leaders to take steps to retain businesses that currently provide employment and attract new ones; the downtown core requires significant revitalization; development of the Oceanfront needs to move rapidly to the next step; more could be done to encourage the development of affordable housing options.
Squamish's next leader needs to be someone who, as described by Gardner in his 2008 campaign materials, has "the ability to listen to people's ideas and concerns and form opinions on what is in the best interest of the community based on that input," is "extremely passionate about the community," and has "the ability to build consensus on the many important issues that we are facing."
As the 2011 municipal election campaign approaches, it's important that we all think ahead to the kind of Squamish we want for ourselves and our children in 10, 20, 30 years' time, and become engaged in the process. We should set a goal of achieving at least 60 per cent voter turnout: It was an abysmal 41.9 per cent the last time around.
In the meantime, we should all be thankful that someone as dedicated and talented as Greg Gardner has stepped up to provide service to and leadership for the community for the past five years.
- David Burke
