Campaign slogan: Give Whistler back to the locals.
Age: 25
Occupation: Owner and Operator of Esquires Coffee House
Volunteerism: Still too busy in Whistler, but organized youth soccer programs in the Okanagan.
Skier, snowboarder and biker
Hobbies: Soccer, football, rugby, hockey
Web site: No Web site yet.
Last book read: A business manual for Esquires.
Why are you running for council?
I feel I’m in a perfect position to provide the community with a speaker on council. People come in here and relate problems to me all the time, and I want to be able to represent them, provide them with a voice.
It started when a friend was booted out of staff housing to make room for someone else. The housing issue has to be addressed, we have yet to put something in place for local business owners that is affordable because of our huge rents. I’ve heard of other proposal that were shot out of the water because someone else wanted bed units.
Two years ago, Vision Pacific wanted to build employee housing and half would go to the housing authority and the other half would go to employers, which would have been perfect for me, to put their own employees, and other business feel the same. The municipality, before the first reading, shut it down. It’s great that Intrawest got more staff housing for their employees, but there’s nothing out there for the rest of us. We would have had another 160, 180 bed units for staff and a couple of homes.
What are the major accomplishments/failures of council since last election?
Allowing Spring Creek to go through, and putting Vision Pacific’s plans down under after spending $20,000. Intrawest is a big company here, but they shouldn’t have all the breaks. That’s what’s happened in Aspen and Vail, and they’ve had to build outside communities for their employees to sustain the resort.
The opportunity to host the Olympics is great, it will really put Whistler on the international stage.
I’m also concerned that council has built so much Valley Trail without lights; there are other small issues like that.
Affordability is a problem. Business owners and locals are being forced to move because of high rents. I have neighbours that want to retire here, but the only way they can retire is to sell out and move to another community – people that have been here 20 to 25 years, back when Whistler was just a twinkle in anyone’s eye. More should be done to keep these people here.
I think this council’s failure is that they have lost touch, and by this I mean they do not care about local businesses, only corporations. I feel an equal balance must be found.
What are the key issues facing next council?
The big ones are the Olympics and the housing issue. There is another issue of safety that has been kept under wraps to protect Whistler’s reputation; that has to be acknowledged and dealt with. This is a special concern for me. I want to work with the front line people at the bars and the police to solve these issues, create more education.
The location of the Olympic Village is also important. We have to think about size, wetlands, environmental impacts.
I don’t think it should be in the Callaghan, which is 15 minutes south of Function, and half an hour to 45 minutes from the village. People have to wake up earlier, get home later, get less sleep, and they’re not as happy.
Function is better, because it is still part of the community. It’s cheaper to build there, near the landfill, and it’s my understanding that there is going to be a ski lift there one day. You could also build a little bigger… the happier employees are, the more productive they are going to be.
Council has to work together to organize the community, and make sure that everything is addressed at once, not left around to get worse – like the TA issue.
There are issues that have taken three years to resolve. If we can solve these issues right away, it makes things easier later on.
I live in Alta Vista where we had an issue of tour companies using the roads and access for canoes. We successfully got them to move to Rainbow Park, but the only reason I think anything got accomplished is because the election was coming up.
(Another issue) is the people who own the trophy homes. It’s great they want to buy a place in Whistler, but they don’t contribute anything to the community, besides property tax.
Some of these places are empty nine or 10 months out of the year, putting a strain on the bed unit cap.
I know one lady from Hong Kong who has an apartment for her son, who comes up once every three months. That’s three bed units which could be better used as three more beds for employees, that aren’t being utilized.
We wouldn’t need to increase the bed unit cap, if we only utilized the bed units we have. Maybe we could count the bed units that aren’t being used, and add those bed units to employee housing.
Why should people vote for you?
I’m a good listener, I’m tactful in solving problems in my business and home, and I enjoy working with the community and my neighbourhood.
I helped move those tourism companies from Alta Vista to Rainbow Park to relieve congestion in the neighbourhood. I’m reliable – when I say I’m going to do something, I do my damnedest to make sure it gets done.
For instance, with the sustainability thing, Shane Bennett and I were the only two people to share signs. Out of us all, we are the only two trying to reduce our impact on the environment.
I’m a great team player. When elected I will do my best to serve the community to the best of my abilities. Also, to find ways to ensure that Whistler stays affordable for the locals.
We have to make Whistler more affordable for the people who want to retire here, people trying to start a family, buy a place to live.
