Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Roddick declares candidacy in byelection

Longtime Whistler Blackcomb employee aims to 'keep Whistler livable'
news_politics1-1-87ad5d4d09d38d76
In the running Kate Roddick. photo submitted

There was no hesitation on Kate Roddick's part when asked what made her want to run in Whistler's upcoming byelection.

"My son, and what he represents," Roddick said over the phone shortly after announcing her candidacy on Sept. 18.

"I feel so incredibly fortunate to live here in Whistler and be able to raise him here, and the type of childhood that he has ... Ultimately I want to be able to build that further for us who are here now, but also for that next generation, so that those kids, if they so choose, can live here in Whistler and grow their families as well."

Roddick has lived in the Sea to Sky corridor for 12 years and in Whistler for six. She's spent 11 years with Whistler Blackcomb/Vail Resorts, serving as executive assistant to former COO Dave Brownlie, and is now a Senior Administrative Assistant working with new COO Pete Sonntag and his team — a role she plans to keep if elected.

"I don't have plans to resign. I am very proud of my contributions to Whistler Blackcomb's success and the amazing people I work with," she wrote in a follow-up email.

Factor in the time she spent managing her family's Ladner-based agriculture business Noel Roddick Ltd., and Roddick's developed what she describes as a "broad-based skill set."

"I have an entrepreneurial background, I have served on provincial-level boards, I have served on committees of council, I have been director of two different chambers of commerce (in Delta and Prince George), so I understand the governance side, I understand the business side, I understand what small business is going through," she said, adding that she also has a good understanding of what locals are dealing with, being a "Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) waitlister" herself.

She's also the current District Parent Advisory Committee representative at Myrtle Philip Community School.

"I think I've got the governance, I've got the understanding and I would certainly relish the opportunity to be a part of that process," she said.

Whistler's council and staff have a lot on the work plan right now, but the biggest issue facing the community is housing, Roddick said.

The WHA provides a great foundation, "but I think we can start to look at a variety of options that maybe we haven't considered before, or haven't been the right time for our community before — whether we look at co-op housing or (if) there is shared equity opportunities — and really take a look at our existing infrastructure and our footprint and seeing what we might be able to do within that," she said.

And if elected, Roddick will "absolutely" be running again in the full municipal election in October 2018.

"I'm all in," she said. "I'm 100-per-cent committed for sure."

For more on Roddick's campaign, email kate4whistler@gmail.com or check out her Facebook page Kate Roddick 4 Whistler.

The full list of confirmed candidates will be posted to www.whistler.ca/candidates after 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22.

In last week's edition of Pique, an article announcing Steve Andrews' byelection bid incorrectly stated that he has been living in Whistler since 2006. Andrews has been a resort resident since 2004.