Slogan: A strong confident leader who cares about Whistler.
Age: 41
Occupation; Businessman. Co-owns with partner Lauren Wornig, Skitch and Mountain Crests.
Volunteerism: Olympic board member, member of the local business work group the Commerical Core Committee, chairman of One Whistler.
Sports: skier, snowboarder, mountainbiker, squash.
Other hobbies: His two dogs, Jack and Fern.
Web site: www.DaveForMayor.ca
Last book read: The ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken and Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt.
Why are you running for mayor?
I think our future requires a different skill set in order to address some of the daunting challenges that we are facing. I see those specifically as a lack of economic growth, as the resort continues to mature; a lack of funds, due to the inability to generate the revenue we used to be able to get from the development of real estate; and the continued pressure on residents as the cost of living, largely housing costs, continue to rise.
And we are facing all of this in resistance to higher property taxation.
We are also, perhaps, facing an Olympic event in 2010.
I think we need an understanding of fiscal responsibility, that is money in and money out. We need to look at what things we can afford and what things should costs.
There also needs to be a little less hurry to spend money and a little more long term planning. We need more entrepreneurial pro-action so we are ready to do things.
I think we definitely need a more open, transparent government. My background is in customer service. I am not from within the government. I am from outside of it. My connection is more to the people on the outside and I think we could all do very well by that.
And finally there is the issue of leadership. I have that through my experience with all my businesses, and my experience with organizations that I chair and I sit on. I think we need to get council focused on being proactive, being organized, being able to take advantage of opportunities, and most importantly getting back out to the public and really being driven to do that. That takes leadership.
What are the major accomplishments/failures of the last council?
I think we have to show due respect for the things the last council has done. The one thing that I think people don’t give credit for is just the basic things that Whistler’s government is required to do. That’s water, sewer, fire protection, policing, looking after the parks and so on. I don’t think we can ignore the fact that those things tick along.
Another major accomplishment is the amount of trail construction that has gone on.
But the major accomplishment that I have seen in the last six years is the raising of environmental awareness. It is finally part of our psyche. It is really on its way to being integrated into everything we do.
On the failure side the first issue I would point to is the lack of recognition of the economic reality we are facing in this resort, and in the world, and amongst the people who live here. The resorts around us are cutting back. They are falling apart and trying to find things to put them back where they used to be. I think we are failing to recognize that we are probably on the crest and we might even be on the down cycle and we need to start doing things to make sure it is a soft landing. And we need to recognize, as a government, that it is tough out there to live in this community. The government should be as frugal and operating just as efficiently as you need to in your house.
The next failure is with the affordable housing initiative. It lost steam exactly as the funding they had was spent and this council is failing to recognize that the problem still exists and it still has to be solved. Now we have to work even harder and be even more creative about how we are going to solve it.
But the huge failure, and it is becoming more apparent everyday, is that we have lost our politics and by doing that we have lost our public and our openness with the public.
Everyday we become more bureaucratic and more process oriented.
Instead we should reach out more to the community. There are so many people, and so many good ideas, and they have to be asked, they have to be heard. The decisions would be so much better and so much more trusted if we stopped being bureaucratic and started being more public.
Finally, we have to start replacing the broad statements we make and use regarding the community with firmer priority setting and more strategic planning. Things like the Guiding Principles and the Vision Statement are too broad and not meaningful when it comes right down to making the right decision at the right time.
What are the key issues facing the next council?
The mayor’s job is a different job in some respects so the first key issue I am going to address when I get in is to find out who I have and how I can organize and start working in a more focused, proactive, community-minded way. That is going to be my first job.
The second job is to then reconnect those people with the community. Get them out there, get us all out there. Just because you have lived here for a long time doesn’t mean you can stop going out every day and reconnecting, especially outside your area of knowledge.
The next thing we all have to do is get a hold of the budget and put it in the context of the economy we find ourselves in and be firm and be diligent and be efficient. It is going to garner us more respect with senior government, more respect with the business community, more respect with taxpayers, and it is also going to allow to set some priorities. Right now our priority setting is non-existent because we just write cheques.
The next thing is to get on with affordable housing in an entrepreneurial and creative way and I know that the business community is ready to help. They just need to be facilitated and treated well. They are waiting, but they are waiting for a change in government.
And we have to get on with our long term strategic planning. We need specific land use plans, specific financial plans, and specific priority setting.
I would suggest three things that we need to get onto right away – affordability for the population we need to reside here, the cost of running the municipality, and build out.
Can we be successful at 52,500 [bed units]? No other council has had to face hitting 52,500. This next council will and we are completely unprepared in proper land use planning to deal with that inevitability.
I don’t believe this next council should touch the bed cap. But I think drawing that line in the sand may not address the problems of affordability and may not address the problems of the kind of money it may take to provide the community the benefits that they want.
Now I am fully comfortable that I can deliver enough affordable housing and make this town run in a fiscally responsible manner in order that we can control the bed cap and stay at 52,500. But my suspicion is that a community having seen that plan might come up with a better land use plan than just the line in the sand that we call the bed cap. But I think we have to show the community that we can do it, what it looks like, and then we can run on it three years from now.
We must address the affordable housing issue. People are very concerned about growth but I am very concerned about loss. I am very concerned about the 10,000 or 11,000 people in the community who are needed to make it function. I think we spend a lot of time being very concerned about adding room for people when we should really be concerned about making the situation here better so the people who live here can stay here.
The community is looking for someone who can facilitate the community coming to the hard decisions. They are looking for an action-oriented facilitator far more than an autocrat.
Why should people vote for you?
I bring skills that are needed to address the future challenges. I have a business background; an education and success which show that I have the financial understanding to work in a less growth-oriented resort.
I have a history of action and of being an entrepreneur that will lead to better planning and better ability to act on opportunities.
I have an open and engaging attitude that is steeped in years of customer service.
I believe that people should always be encouraged to express their opinions and those opinions should be respected long after the leadership vote.
I know how to motivate skilled individuals to focus on tasks and I am diligent and hardworking.
