A new format for last week’s Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce all-candidates forum allowed the three mayoral candidates to question each other directly on topics of their choosing.
Incumbent Bruce Milne, Darnelda Siegers and Al Holt were given time at the Oct. 11 event to put a question to one of the others and time for a rebuttal of the response.
Holt put his first question to Milne: “Looking back, what could you have done differently to ensure a better working relationship between the SCRD [Sunshine Coast Regional District] and the District of Sechelt?”
Milne responded, “Probably not becoming chair,” before outlining how the vote that made him chair played out later as a divide over the water issue.
“It was necessary. A majority of the board wanted [me as chair], and we had a minority of the board react in very interesting ways,” Milne said. “The relationship is fairly good, but as you know it went sideways on water. Sechelt needs water and they need the support of the SCRD to move that forward and we have four rural area directors that are absolutely recalcitrant on moving forward on water supply.”
Milne’s first question picked up on the water theme and was directed at Siegers.
“In the last three months you’ve changed your position on water three times,” said Milne, claiming that [Siegers] went from public support for the SCRD plan, to saying at her campaign launch that there wasn’t enough information to choose the best priorities, and at a different all-candidates forum that she wasn’t in favour of water meters or the SCRD plan and wanted supply first. “I’d just like to know if you do have a coherent understanding of the water plan and what that might be?”
Siegers replied that she did vote for the SCRD’s four-point water plan, which includes the Chapman Lake drawdown, metering, groundwater sources and a reservoir, while sitting as director for Sechelt in 2013. She also said she is in favour of water meters, but she’s been hearing residents won’t support metering until the supply issue is settled.
“Every door that I’ve knocked on, they were not against water meters either… Most people are actually in favour of water meters, they just don’t want them now. They want to see that the regional district is actually moving forward on having water to meter,” she said. “Supply first? Yes. And I think if we move that forward we will actually have support from the community.”
Milne’s response was that moving ahead on metering is key to getting federal and provincial grants for water infrastructure. “We need meters in place before we get those grants, and I’ve heard you say many, many times that you don’t want to see a single grant overlooked or overturned, you want to make sure we get all the grants possible. How will we do that without putting in meters?”
Siegers said it’s not clear whether those grants would depend on meters being in place, or just the SCRD being able to show it has a plan for metering. “I think there’s a big distinction,” she said, adding that the recent defeat of a borrowing bylaw through an Alternate Approval Process showed the public isn’t ready to support a meters-first approach. “We don’t have support for water meters at this point, so we need to listen to the community and do what the community wants us to.”
When her turn for a question came, Siegers also brought up the water issue in asking Milne about comments made by SCRD director Mark Lebbell in a recent public letter in which Lebbell claimed Milne has been misrepresenting the voting pattern of some rural directors on the water plan.
“I don’t believe we’re getting the straight goods from you as our mayor and our representative on the regional board – how can we believe that you are operating from a high level of integrity when your actions say otherwise?” Seigers asked.
Milne noted that Lebbell is supporting Siegers’ mayoralty bid, and denied misrepresenting what has happened at the SCRD. He also acknowledged Siegers has enjoyed the support of some SCRD directors, including the former chair, and suggested it was because she did not challenge their stance.
“She was cooperative, she fit in exactly with their model. It’s not a model that works well, and it’s not a model that’s worked well for the District of Sechelt,” he said.
Milne used his second question to ask Holt about a comment he made to Coast Reporter shortly after declaring his candidacy when he said, “A blind squirrel could cut taxes. If you can’t find government waste, you’re not looking.”
Milne asked Holt for three examples of that government waste. Holt cited two cases, one of a Sechelt works truck that was spending time in Halfmoon Bay and one of an SCRD truck sent all the way from Sechelt to Pender Harbour for maintenance at a park. “We sent this truck, this guy, this lawnmower, this trailer, this insurance up there to do nothing and come back again. That’s probably seven hours. That’s a waste of taxpayer’s money – there’s lots of waste.”
The debate between the mayoral candidates followed a session with 12 of the 13 candidates for council.
Video of the full all-candidates meeting, including the segment with council candidates, is available on the Sechelt Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
Coast Reporter is including the mayoral candidates debate segment in the episode of Coast Reporter Radio that will be available at www.coastreporter.net/audio late Thursday.
