Just in case anyone was unaware, there's a job opening down at city hall.
For this particular position, you need to be a sound decision maker, have organizational skills, be an effective communicator, reflect the goals of Squamish and possess strong leadership abilities.
Anybody want to be the mayor? Anybody?!
Yes, we're less than two months away from a municipal election and a grand total of zero candidates have declared their intent to run for mayor.
Anyone else a little concerned?
Unlike in past years, no one has stepped up to the plate early and it's left me shaking my head. In the 2008 election, current mayor Greg Gardner declared his intention to run in June and in 2005, then-mayor Ian Sutherland made it well known months in advance that he would be seeking the job.
Where have all the candidates gone?
Perhaps those wanting to run are waiting for someone else to declare so they can appear to be the most "fresh" candidate in the voting public's mind come November. However, history seems to say that declaring early in Squamish can be a good thing. In 2008 and 2005, the candidate who declared earliest won. Granted, no one else entered the race and local council watchdog Terrill Patterson declared only to provide competition, but the point remains that getting your message out early and often can be a good thing.
The lack of candidates declaring this late into the game does nothing but create apathy among Squamish residents. The more we know about a particular candidate and his or her ideas, the more likely we are to head to the polls and get interested in the election. Waiting until the last minute to declare is irresponsible and unfair to the community.
Take a look at our friends in Whistler. Two candidates have already declared and it seems to have created a buzz for November. Even Pemberton has at least one candidate set to run. Meanwhile, in Squamish, we can hear the crickets chirping from Valleycliffe all the way to Brackendale.
Kudos to Susan Chapelle, Bryan Raiser, Phil Audet, Nate Dolha and Brad Hodge for getting the word out early and letting citizens in Squamish know of their intention to run for council. It's nice to have a bit of an idea of what to expect on the ballot come November.
I'm hopeful that several candidates will step up in the coming weeks but if no one does, it could finally answer a question I've been asking myself these past few weeks.
Would Patterson step down if he's running against only himself? Or would him doing so create a hole in the space-time continuum that we would never be able to repair?
On second thought, this could potentially be one of the most interesting elections we've ever seen.
