The 2005 general municipal election is in full swing throughout the Sea to Sky corridor, with all candidates meetings and other campaign events planned in each community.
But while the official election is not until Nov. 19, some voters may choose to cast their votes in advance – possibly as early as this week.
Whistler
Whistler has three all-candidates meetings and a mayors meeting planned:
• WORCA All Candidates Meeting – Thursday Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Spring Creek Elementary School. Members of the community are invited to come out and meet the candidates for mayor and council in a relaxed setting. Participants will sit at tables as candidates make the rounds to address each group. Non-WORCA members are asked to bring a donation for the Whistler Food Bank.
• Whistler Chamber of Commerce All Candidates Meeting – Saturday, Nov. 5, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Myrtle Philip Community School. This year the candidates will each get five minutes to present to the audience, which will be followed by a "mix and mingle" with the candidates. Organizers decided to do away with the traditional question period in light of the large number of candidates (24) and the fact it would be impossible to give all candidates equal time.
• Whistler Arts Council All Candidates Meeting – Monday, Nov. 14, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Millennium Place. Also sponsored by the Whistler Museum and Archives, Whistler Public Library, MY Millennium Place and the Whistler Film Festival Society. Each candidate will get two minutes to make a presentation, followed by a moderated question and answer period. The doors will be open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to give participants a chance to meet the candidates.
• Whistler Forum Mayor Forum – Sunday, Nov. 13 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Millennium Place. This is for Whistler’s seven mayor candidates only, and each candidate will get a set amount of time to make a presentation before moderator William Roberts opens the floor to oral and written questions from the audience. A volunteer $10 donation is asked to cover the facility rental.
For Whistler the advance voting will take place this Wednesday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 12 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday’s vote will be at both Whistler Municipal Hall at 4325 Blackcomb Way and at West Vancouver Municipal Hall at 750-17 th Street. Saturday’s advance vote is at Whistler Municipal Hall only.
The general election will take place on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Myrtle Philip school, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Pemberton
Pemberton has one all-candidates meeting planned:
• Pemberton Chamber of Commerce All Candidates Meeting – Monday, Nov. 7 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Pemberton Community Centre. Mediated by Dr. Hugh Fisher, the evening will start with an informal reception before candidates take the stage to introduce themselves and their platforms. The introductions will be followed by a mediated question and answer period.
Pemberton’s advance voting is available on Wednesday, Nov. 9 and Wednesday Nov. 16, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the Village of Pemberton offices. The general election will take place at Signal Hill Elementary from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Squamish
Squamish has one all-candidates meeting planned:
• Squamish Chamber of Commerce All Candidates Meeting – Monday, Nov. 7 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Brennan Park Civic Centre. The format is similar to Pemberton, with opportunity for each candidate to make a presentation, followed by a question period mediated by Greg Gardner.
There are four advance vote dates for Squamish, all at Municipal Hall on Second Avenue. They are Friday, Nov. 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Nov. 9 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 12 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Wednesday, Nov. 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The election will take place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Brennan Park Recreation Centre Auditorium.
For more information on the candidates Pique is keeping all election content online at www.piquenewsmagazine.com . For additional information on Whistler candidates visit www.votewhistler.com , which includes links to candidate websites and other contact information, a chat board, and calendar of election events, and more. According to Duane Perrett, who created the website, VoteWhistler.com is getting between 100 and 150 new unique visits every day since it first went online.
For more on the election visit municipal websites – www.whistler.ca , www.pemberton.ca , and www.squamish.ca . Voter registration information is available at Elections B.C. at www.elections.bc.ca.
