Four newly-announced candidates were added to the council hopefuls list in Gibsons as nominations closed Sept. 14, bringing the total to eight.
David Croal, 71, has run for council before, in 2008, and he told Coast Reporter that he decided to run again, because with retirement from his work at the CBC on the horizon he feels he has more time to devote to the job.
“I don’t think my reasons for wanting to run have changed to any great extent, it’s just that now I feel I can devote the attention to the job that it needs.”
Croal, who first came to Gibsons in 1979 to work on The Beachcombers, bought a home in the town with his partner in the ’90s but, as he put it in a release announcing his candidacy, “now past retirement age we wonder can we afford to live here?”
Croal said one way to tackle the affordability issue is for the Town to encourage businesses that can offer a stable work environment and living wages.
“We need to find a way we can invite, and encourage and stimulate business in the community,” he said. “When I first came to Gibsons everything was a ‘ma and pa’ business and people worked in the stores and it was a thriving situation. The business demographic has changed … and it doesn’t necessarily employ people and give them a living wage.”
Croal’s other experience includes property management and freelance film and commercial production. He’s been active as a crew member with Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Station 14 and the Gibsons Marine Rescue Society.
“I have great respect for the work the current Mayor and Council have achieved and wish to participate and help facilitate this movement in a positive direction,” Croal said in his announcement. “There are huge challenges ahead, such as the protection of our natural resources, financial sustainability for the town, economic growth for our local businesses, affordable housing, and the protection for our community, both policing and fire.”
Also joining the race for council is Verna Chan.
Chan, 60, lives in neighbouring Elphinstone where her business, The Garage fitness studio, is also located and has coordinated the Music in the Landing program over the past two years and served on the boards of the Coast Cultural Alliance and Sunshine Coast Art Crawl.
She has also been a representative for the Gibsons Visitor Centre and a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
“I am concerned that Gibsons appears to be losing its unique seaside village character and that Council is constantly in a state of confrontation with its residents. I want to ensure our new Council takes the time to meaningfully consult with the community and work together with them to guide Gibsons growth in a responsible manner,” Chan said in the release announcing her candidacy.
She said her major priorities are “affordable housing, sticking to the official community plan, increased support for arts and tourism, zero waste management, community consultation, support for seniors, and improved transportation.”
Chan also said she plans to be proactive with community engagement.
“We need a new paradigm to tackle the affordable housing shortage in Gibsons,” she said. “Over the past few years virtually no affordable homes were built and the opportunities to do so were not capitalized upon. If elected I would propose the creation of a citizens’ advisory committee to assess the numerous options available and to actively work with the Sunshine Coast Affordable Housing Society to get it done.”
Forty-year-old Angie August, a resident of Roberts Creek, said she believes she’s the first member of the Squamish Nation ever to run for council in Gibsons, which is in traditional Squamish territory.
“It was important for me as a Squamish Nation member to start serving the community where my ancestors had called home for thousands of years,” she said in an email to Coast Reporter. “It is essential that we all bring our unique and diverse backgrounds together to keep building this beautiful community in a way that respects the environment and all of us as inhabitants.”
August, her husband Chris and their children have lived on the Coast of the past six years after living and working in Squamish and North Vancouver previously.
August said her experience includes time in frontline positions in recreation and education with the Squamish Nation, as well as work in event coordination, retail, hospitality and tourism.
Her current job in employment and training involves leading a team of seven staff.
She said the issues she wants to work on include affordable housing, employment, and responsible economic development.
“I feel that is the responsibility of an elected official to be multifaceted in what they bring to the table. They must be the connection between the community and the Town.”
Annemarie De Andrade was born in Canada and raised in Brazil and has studied and worked in both countries, experience she says has prepared her well to take on a role with Gibsons council.
Her work has included time with government organizations, non-profits and working in sustainability, economic development and with Indigenous groups.
“I think the community of Gibsons is really interested in participating in decisions that affect their lives and I think we should invest in good governance,” she told Coast Reporter this week.
“In my 12 years in Brazil working in government it was all about collaboration … involving the community, working with foundations, different parties and a lot of time to make things happen that’s the approach you have to take.”
De Andrade, 58, said in the six years she’s lived in Gibsons the Town hasn’t been using the tools it could be to follow that approach.
“The role of council is to manage the resources of the community for the community, and therefore we need to hear the values of the community and what they want,” she said.
De Andrade has released a five-point platform promising a focus on: protecting the aquifer; proactively addressing affordable housing by using “expertise in participatory decision-making and partnership development to create win-win solutions to the affordability and seniors’ care crises;” preserving the seaside village character of Gibsons “through good governance and ethical leadership;” fostering an inclusive, diverse and resilient economy, including advocating “for Gibsons’ existing business sectors and industries, such as the arts, tourism/ecotourism, hospitality, retail, home-based, info-tech, professional services, etc.” and encouraging active participation by residents in decision-making.
