1. What triggered you to make this step and run for municipal office?
A shift in direction seemed necessary to bring council more into alignment with community expectations and values around communication, consultation, and transparent process.
I then thought about what I could bring to council if elected. I have strong skills (people, projects, budgets) and a track record of municipal appointments and volunteer work in the community. I’m also a woman, 56 years old, with a recently retired husband and a full-time job off-island to which I commute. I haven’t seen anything close to that mix of characteristics in others running for or elected to municipal office on the island. I thought my perspective would have value in a more diverse council and the time was right.
2. What common ground do you share with the other candidates running in this election?
We probably all care passionately about Bowen Island, we worry about its sustainability (economic and environmental), and we consider the restoration of civility in public discourse as a priority for effective municipal governance.
3. What are your top three priorities for Bowen?
My top three priorities are civility, mobility, and flexibility.
Bowen Islanders need opportunities to speak and be heard, and to be involved in the municipal decisions that affect their lives. I would help provide and protect those opportunities.
As for transportation, it’s about the ferry, of course, but it’s not all about the ferry. Transportation is also about walkability and safety, better bus service, bicycling, trails, passenger ferries. I would help develop a broader approach to transportation planning and delivery.
And more flexibility may be needed in our approach to community initiatives. Too many projects are left unfinished, and that’s spiritually and fiscally draining. And too many projects are out of scale with the resources available. What’s needed may be some re-imagining, improved project management, political will, or a clear, convincing argument that a project is beyond our reach. I’m interested in assessing our unfinished project business and establishing achievable deliverables.
4. Tell me about the community work you have done that you are most proud of?
The Annie Laurie Wood Annex is a high point. I’m delighted to have served as library board vice-chair during the planning of this project. Applefests are always fun, especially for the kids. I’m pleased with the lively contribution these events have made to Island life, especially for the little kids. The National Park Community Advisory Committee experience in 2011 was unprecedented as a democratic exercise and as an intense introduction to 32 Bowen Islanders of all stripes and spots. I learned a great deal from taking the lead in the community online survey.
I’m also proud of my recent advocacy and communication work as a member of the planning group for Stop The Docks and as a founding member of Bowen Islanders for Ferry Fairness. This involvement was outside my comfort zone and usual methods, but it filled a gap in protecting the public interest in the foreshore and protesting the ferry service cuts and rate hikes.
5. How will you work to make council open to the concerns and ideas of all Bowen Islanders?
I’ll insist on it, and if it’s not happening, I’ll ask why and help set things right. If the will is there, the tactics are not complicated: welcoming public comments at council; establishing an improved meeting schedule; holding regular town halls; facilitating special-focus meetings; scheduling regular, open-door office hours; intentionally reaching out to different groups on the island; employing various social media channels; using plain language for technical matters; ensuring greater diversity when appointing community members to municipal committees; actively looking for opportunities to increase responsiveness; talking openly about what leadership means in a small, passionate community like Bowen Island.
6. What do you love most about living on Bowen Island?
I love the scale of the place. I love knowing my neighbours. I love that you can be very alone or very social. I love the ravine and the Crown land at the back of our property. I love that there is always something more to do and endure or enjoy. I love when the snow comes. I have lived here for almost 10 years now. I’ve never lived anywhere for that long. I have a strong sense of being home.
