Five candidates are running to fill the two trustee seats for Gambier Island Local Trust Area in the Nov. 19 election.
Bill Baines, Joyce Clegg, Kathy McTaggart and Ken White join incumbent Kim Benson as the confirmed final candidates.
The area covers Gambier Island, Alexandra Island, Anvil Island, Bertha Island, Bowyer Island, Christie Islet, Defence Islands, Franklin Island, Grace Islands, Grant Island, Grebe Islets, Hermit Island, Home Island, Jack Tolmie Island, Keats Island, Little Popham Island, Merry Island, Mickey Island, New Islet, Pasley Island, Passage Island, Popham Island, Preston Island, Ragged Island, Shelter Islets, Small Island, Surrey Islands, North and South Thormanby Islands, Tiki Island, Trail Island, Turnagain Island, White Islets, Woolridge Island and Worlcombe Island.The trust committee handles land use decisions on the islands. The Sunshine Coast Regional District runs the election administration for the trust area.
Baines is a Gambier resident. "I believe that Gambier needs to continue to be a more vibrant community," he said. Baines said he is not against island development, but that it should be monitored and supervised for community acceptance. He would also like to see continued environmental protection. From talking to people in the community, he has heard the island could use some additional services. He would also like to follow ferry issues. He is an independent consultant in both aviation and computers. His campaign website should be up soon at www.billbaines.ca.
Benson, the incumbent candidate, first became a trustee in 1993 and served two terms on the Islands Trust Executive Committee and two terms on the Islands Trust Funds board. She has also served on the Keats/Gambier Ferry Advisory Committee. She is a Keats Island resident.
"I have an interest in making sure the smaller islands also get served," Benson said. She would like to continue exploring the trust area's governance structure to make it more effective for islanders. Other island issues she sees are improving Eastbourne road safety and access, SCRD wharves, access to the Langdale ferry dock and long-term parking.
"I really believe in island-wide consultations before decisions are made," Benson said. "I would like to work co-operatively with individuals and community groups to make the islands a better place to live."
As submitted in the Oct. 21 Coast Reporter, Gambier resident Clegg is also running. Clegg is president of the Gambier Island Community Association, the chair of the Keats/Gambier Ferry Advisory Committee and a member of the plan monitoring advisory committee for solid waste management at the SCRD.
McTaggart currently sits as the SCRD's alternate director for Area F (West Howe Sound) and is advocate for the SCRD's Public Wharves Advisory Committee. She is also director of the Gambier Island Community Association. She fundraises for the Gambier Community Centre Society and helped found the local conservancy. She has also been with the Gambier Local Trust Area's advisory planning commission (APC), the Area F APC and the SCRD's water user's advisory committee.
"I plan to be an easy-to-reach trustee who works proactively with other levels of government to serve the islands, mindful of the Trust mandate to preserve and protect Ð both the natural environment and the character of our island communities," McTaggart said in a press release.
White lives both on Passage Island and in Gibsons. He takes issue with the small islands being taxed at the same rate as the bigger islands, the lack of a trust office within the area, the lack of emergency procedures, the appointed trust chair coming from outside the area and the current trust's financial system.
"I'd like to see more local control," White said.
He is a retired professor of economics from UBC. "I know how to interpret budgets," he said.
Voters can attend all-candidates' meetings Nov. 5 on Passage Island and Nov. 6 on Gambier Island.
