As election enthusiasts checked daily to see who would join the race in Sechelt, an unexpected name came forward late last week.
School trustee Christine Younghusband filed her papers to run for mayor of Sechelt on Oct. 3, after reconsidering an earlier decision to run for councillor.
Younghusband said that originally she felt it was “a rite of passage to be a councillor first before mayor,” but later decided the role of mayor “just seemed like a better fit.”
“I wanted to be mayor but I deliberated what path to take, truthfully, and in the end I just realized why I put my name for mayor is that I feel I have the skill set to provide the leadership to coalesce a diverse set of voices to create sound decision making that reflects our community,” she said.
“And certainly, I could be there as a councillor projecting a point of view, but I just feel like where my strength would be would be able to listen to that, to be able to create a leadership for that and to build a trust and relations with not just the council but with the staff and also our community so that we as Sechelt can move forward.”
The one-term school trustee will also run for school trustee again in November, which is allowed under the election act.
If elected for both positions, Young-husband said she’s up for the challenge.
“I wouldn’t have put my name forward for both offices if I didn’t think I could do it,” she said.
As of press time this week, no other candidates had handed in their paperwork to run for mayor in Sechelt, although Bruce Milne has announced his intention to run, and so has current mayor John Henderson.
The final date that candidates can file to be in November’s municipal election is this Friday, Oct. 10, by 4 p.m.
Check for a finalized list after 4 p.m. on Sechelt’s website at www.sechelt.ca
