John French is the first candidate to announce his campaign for one of six council seats in the upcoming municipal election.
In an announcement Thursday, French said his main focus during the election campaign will be strong economic development, housing affordability, and regional transportation.
French said his work as a board member with the Squamish Chamber of Commerce and role in events like the Test of Metal and the Squamish Triathlon are the foundation of his campaign.
“I dedicate a lot of my time to community causes and volunteer initiatives, and having a run at council and being on council is going to be bigger than anything I’ve ever done before,” he said.
Born and raised in Squamish, he said he is supportive of continued growth — as long as it is balanced with considerations like density and parking.
“I was born here and raised here, and I’m also progressive in my thinking and young enough that I’m not a person who wants development to stop. People want to live in Squamish because it’s an amazing place to live. They are going to come, and we need to plan intelligently,” he said.
French graduated from Howe Sound Secondary School in 1987 and attended broadcast school before working at various radio stations around the province. He eventually returned to Squamish and worked as a reporter for Mountain FM and The Squamish Chief newspaper until 2005.
French later returned to the paper as a columnist and videographer, before leaving to serve as Woodfibre LNG’s community relations manager from 2015 to 2017. He currently works for Pacific West building supplies.
As a former news reporter, French said he has had plenty of opportunities to observe council and committee meetings.
Most recently, he said he was disappointed by how the current council handled the possibility of a Brennan Park renovation. He suggested more private-public partnerships need to be explored.
“I thought the options being presented were a bit narrow, and the vision was not large enough,” he said.
“There is going to be a theme to my campaign around partnerships, not just with the private sector, but also with other levels of government — Squamish Nation, the provincial and federal levels of government.”
So far, French is the only candidate to announce his campaign. Sitting councillors Ted Prior and Peter Kent have said they will not run for re-election.
French said he is still considering whether or not he will endorse a particular candidate for mayor.
Coun. Susan Chapelle has announced she is running against current Mayor Patricia Heintzman. A third contender is still expected to announce.
The municipal election is Oct. 20.
