By Alison Taylor and Andrew Mitchell
With just a couple of months to go before the municipal election two more people have declared their intention of running for council and two incumbents have joined them.
Councillors Ted Milner and Grant Lamont have both said they will run again.
That leaves Councillor Eckhard Zeidler and Mayor Ken Melamed as the only two members of council still to make public their plans for the future.
Lamont said he had been seriously considering running for mayor in November's election.
"I was this close to doing it," said the one-term council member.
"I still feel I have a few things to learn on council."
He said in the first few months at the council table he felt like Indiana Jones, running through the underground temple with the "big ball" slowly gaining speed. He said they came out of the tunnel safely but the ball then crashed all over the community.
There were increased property taxes, new parking rates, an asphalt plant plaguing residents, a court battle lost, another ongoing.
But there were some heady times too, seeing the Olympics and Paralympics come to town in 2010 and hosting the world.
"We've done a lot of good work," said Lamont, pointing specifically to the municipal organization review nearly complete.
Looking forward he wants to get people coming back to Whistler.
"If we don't do something cohesive ... we're not going to have much of an economy here," said the father of two.
Ted Milner is seeking re-election for a fourth time. He served two consecutive terms from 1996 to 2002 and then again on the most recent council.
He said there's some unfinished business he'd like to settle and, after getting the blessing of his family members, he decided to run again.
Among that unfinished business is an asphalt plant that he said needs to move, transit service and bus depot costs that have to be studied and justified and provincial funding that has to be negotiated.
"We're on course to do some really good things," he said. "And I'd like to finish it up."
Reflecting on his most recent term Milner takes credit for fighting the location of the asphalt plant at the Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood.
"I stood up to get the legal action initiated," he said, referring to the ongoing legal battle with the plant's operator. The case will be going to a judge in November immediately after the election.
Milner also fought to have the pay parking structure sent back to the drawing board. That kick-started more public consultation and a new pay parking fee schedule. Though there will still be pay parking, the fees are reduced from the initial proposal.
Milner has 25 years business experience in finance, banking and investment banking in Vancouver, Toronto, New York and Los Angeles.
"We must work toward creating a positive environment for our business community to flourish by taking meaningful and innovative steps to achieve Whistler's vision of sustainability," he said. "This calls for greater fiscal accountability and transparency in decision-making and taking a hard look at our Whistler 2020 vision to see where in fact we need to focus most."
Transparency and fiscal responsibility are also top of the list for 28-year-old entrepreneur Jay Rolston.
"I'd like to know everything (the municipality) is doing," he said. "What's their plan for parking? Or to bring in more revenue? Are we bringing in more World Cup events to our Olympic venues? What's the plan for growing tourism in Whistler? And what can we do? What can businesses do? Is there a way we can do something together?
"It just seems like the decisions are being made, and the public and businesses are getting involved after the fact."
As an entrepreneur, the red tape and obstacles to starting a business in Whistler concern him. As a homeowner, he's concerned by the rising property taxes and growing costs, and believes that taxes should only be raised as a last resort. As a resort worker, he's concerned that not enough is being done to fill the resort and capitalize on Olympic exposure. As a citizen, he's concerned by the number of decisions and policies being made behind closed doors - often to the detriment of locals.
Rolston said he's wanted to get more involved in local politics, but one of his hot button issues came when he started up a business in the resort - Mum'z Kitchen, which fed hundreds of hungry construction workers building the athletes' village.
"Starting a business is such a hassle," he said. "It's literally one hurdle after another. Then you hand in all your paperwork, pay your fees and ask if you're good and then somebody tells you, 'We'll see what else comes up.'"
One of the planks of his platform would involve streamlining the process for entrepreneurs and waiving fees and business licence costs for the first year. He believes that would give companies a better chance out of the gate, and create more revenues for the municipality - and more jobs for resort employees - in the long term.
Rolston hails from the Muskoka region of Ontario, and holds a Tourism Management Diploma with specialization in Ski Resorts. He has been a small business owner and is an active member of his strata.
He's also an enthusiastic snowboarder and has performed in the 7/11 Fire and Ice Show since 2004 - including nightly shows during the Olympics. He currently operates a taxi for Resort Cabs.
Jen Ford, the first woman to throw her hat into the ring for council, is concerned that council as it stands does not represent ordinary working Whistlerites like herself.
"I work a regular job at Whistler Blackcomb," she said. "I've lived in six different rental places in as many years and I do what I have to do to live here. I want to be here for the long haul, buy a house and raise a family here.
"Council does not represent me, a thirty-something woman without a vested interest."
Ford's story is a familiar Whistler story. She moved here from Ontario to satisfy that itch to live and play in the mountains. She arrived with two bags, nowhere to live and a pair of skinny skis. She began working for Whistler Blackcomb and has stayed on in the company for the past nine years.
As part of the conference and incentive group sales team at Whistler Blackcomb, Ford works closely with Tourism Whistler and the sales teams in the hotel community.
The municipality, she said, also has a role to play in helping fill the resort's empty beds.
"Without a unified directive, and strong lobbying from the municipality to the federal government with issues like open skies, we continue to struggle with high airfare as one of the biggest challenges to our tourism revenue," she said.
But closer to home, Ford is concerned about the high costs of living. She has been paying off her student loans and saving for her first house with her husband. Affordability is a key indicator, she said, of the livability of Whistler.
She wants to make it easier for people to live here in the longiterm by removing the barriers to small businesses and encouraging retail and commercial opportunities to serve the needs of the residents.
Ford also wants to make sure that Whistler's seasonal workers are enthusiastic about selling the resort with great customer service. Businesses, she said, should be accountable for their customer service levels. And the community should ensure there is affordable seasonal housing for staff - $700/ room on average is not affordable or sustainable, she added.
Ford studied political science at York University for four years before moving to Whistler. In that time she was a volunteer patroller at Mansfield Ski Club in Ontario.
Councillors Chris Quinlan and Tom Thomson are also running again for their second terms and Councillor Ralph Forsyth is running for mayor.
• A two-day campaign workshop for women looking to enter the political arena in the upcoming municipal election will be held in Squamish. Hosted by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), an organization looking to close the gender gap in politics, the workshop will cover things such as: deciding to run, financing the campaign, campaign ethics, canvassing, public speaking and media training.
On average, 24 per cent of mayors and councillors in Canada are women. The United Nations defines 30 per cent as the minimal percentage of women required for government to reflect women's concerns.
The workshop will take place September 24-25.
For more information and to register go to www.fcm.ca.
