Whistler’s new council probably shouldn’t read too much into their own vote tallies or the fact that less than a third of Whistler’s residents turned out on Nov. 16 to cast their ballots.
On the whole we’re an ungrateful, lazy and apathetic bunch when it comes to local politics, but deep down they know we care.
And who knows? If you could vote by phone, via the Internet, or by dropping coloured marbles into a giant cistern outside the village liquor store, the results of this municipal election could have been very different.
The new council, or what constitutes the new council until judges can rule on a mysterious dot on a ballot, is full of good people. The list of also-rans who didn’t make the cut is also full of good people. And never the twain shall meet.
It seems to me that in a town where the majority is too apathetic to vote, anyone who would even consider running for council – putting in all those hours for a monetary pittance and a parking space, sitting through endless meetings, leafing through the phone-book sized agendas – deserves the opportunity to serve the community. After all, they ran for council because they care about Whistler and they care about us.
Just because these candidates didn’t get in doesn’t mean they didn’t have a few good ideas.
Whatever happens with the one council seat that is still in contention, we should make an effort to keep all the candidates involved, or at the very least to keep their ideas alive.
Take Shane Bennett. He received the fewest votes, 141, of any candidate in this election. He also had one of the best and most original ideas.
To bring council and the community closer together on issues, he suggested the creation of a core of council ambassadors that would be comprised of aspiring and former councillors and representatives from different groups within the community. It would include a youth representative, representatives from groups like WORCA and AWARE, representatives from business and development, and representatives for all of us average Whistler ski bums. It could give input to the council on various issues to help them decide policy.
Take Amar Varma. He received just 161 votes, but had a lot of ideas on how to make Whistler more affordable, and keep long-term employees in town. Like a lot of other candidates, he supported the creation of a kind of local’s card that would give breaks to employees on goods and services.
Take Rick André. He had 162 votes. As a small business owner, he understands the need for employee housing projects for the majority of staff that don’t work on the mountains. He also questioned whether a bed unit that only gets used a few weeks a year should qualify as a bed unit.
Take Shelley Phelan and her 467 votes. She is a competent business woman with a community bent who also understands how affordability and housing issues are killing the economic viability of this town. She supports the idea of a local’s card, and using local talent from the community to plan our future, rather than outside consultants.
Take Bob Calladine, who got 553 votes. He has volunteered his time to serve the needs of youth in this community, and believes Whistler is in serious trouble if the kids that grew up here can’t afford to live here. He would represent the youth perspective on a council that spends a lot of its time on issues related to older and more established community members – a minority in this town.
Take Christopher Quinlan and his 668 votes. One of the main reasons he ran for council was to try and bring some fiscal responsibility back to local government. He is also outspoken on the issue of affordability. He is energetic, intelligent, and although the votes don’t reflect it, a good spokesperson for young adults looking to make Whistler their home.
Take Ralph Forsyth. He received 700 votes without even focussing on the issues, but rather on his own qualities – innovation, enthusiasm and leadership. He pledged to have office days where constituents could drop by and discuss their issues, to publish a monthly newsletter explaining how and why council voted, and to create an affordability task force to tackle that problem.
Take Mitch Rhodes, who took 713 votes. Rhodes is the president of AWARE, is deeply involved with the local health care foundation, and has a background in finance. Few candidates were in the position to understand the unique issues facing Whistler as well as he is. To boot, he is also approachable, reasonable and honest.
Take Tyler Mosher, next up the list with 724 votes. None of the candidates had as many ideas covering as many different areas as Mosher did. He’s young enough to understand the issues facing youth, but is also a homeowner and business owner in Whistler. He is energetic and enthusiastic. He also has a background in environmental planning.
Take Ted Milner, a two-term councillor with 755 votes. Milner was a corporate leader in the real world, but is committed to the environment and social issues. He has kids in school here, and is interested in their future as well. Whistler was lucky to have a guy with so much integrity and knowledge for six years, and we can only hope he’s willing to stay involved.
Take Stephanie Sloan with her 898 votes. She was also on council for the past six years, understands the issues and is involved in the community in a lot of different ways. It would be a shame to lose her energy and commitment to youth, the library, and the arts.
Lastly Marianne Wade and Dave Kirk tied with 1,057 votes apiece. Kirk has nine years more council experience than Wade, but we would be lucky to have either of them on council, whatever happens with the recount.
It’s just too bad there weren’t 18 positions on council. I just hope the six that were elected realize that.
