Opinion

Dear Editor, I have decided to leave public life as of December 1, which marks the end of my term on Bowen Island Municipal Council. I will continue to be active on matters that I know are critical to our survival as an island and a region.

I only heard later about the buttons that our Mayor, Jack Adelaar, was handing out at this year’s Bowfest. The slogan, “We are all Bowen Islanders,” it stuck in my head immediately.

When I was teaching at UBC and living on Bowen, I tried to get an early ferry to Horseshoe Bay and then drive to UBC where Joan and I would breakfast at the now defunct Faculty Club.

Dear Editor, Municipal Election time is not my favourite season. There’s a kind of hysteria that ensues that belies our bucolic life on Bowen. But being an optimistic person, I’d like to think we’re slowly getting better at being a municipality.

Dear Editor, With this election, we will finally move on to a new chapter in the history of Bowen Island.

There’s a powerful song written by Michel Conte, sung passionately by Sandra Le Couteur, which is often heard in my home. It’s called “Shippagan” and it tells the story of a man who has left his homeland in New Brunswick.

Last Friday I might have updated the municipalities ever-growing list of electoral candidates, forty-five times, maybe more.

Dear Editor, Once again on Thanksgiving Sunday, Applefest dodged the storm gods, but it was close! We had more visitors than ever, and we raised almost $2,000 for our heritage programs. That’s terrific.

Dear Editor, Our ferry service, and its many failings, will come up during the Council election campaign.

Both kids and teachers are back in school and for the next few years at least, it looks as though that will be the status quo. This is no-doubt a relief to all parties, including the government.