A former Squamish councillor hopes to use his political experience to fill the vacant seat on Qualicum Beach town council.
“I really like to involve myself in the town, I love this place. The feel of it, the community spirit, the village,” said Peter Kent, who will run in the byelection.
Kent said he values strong communication, public consultation and transparency in a council. “I think we always have to keep in mind why we are elected, why we are in that seat. And I am not one to point any fingers, I am just going to say we have to remember why we are in that chair and we are in that chair to be of service.”
Kent said his vision for Qualicum Beach is to keep the look and feel of the town and promote growth that residents want to see.
“We want to maintain that sense of community that we have, but we also want to be forward thinking and look to ideas of how we can continue to be attractive to the younger families that come here,” he said.
Kent said he would like to see pieces of the town’s Official Community Plan (OCP) updated to reflect public opinion.
“Public consultation is a very key piece, making sure that we involve you. We want you to know that we want your feedback, we respect your feedback and we intend to make use of that feedback in our decisions in the future,” he said.
Having prior experience as a councillor will be a benefit since council is part way through the term, he said. “I just felt you really need somebody, I think, that has some prior experience so I don’t have to get up to speed. It’s a tough learning curve as it is just to understand how the machine works.”
Though COVID-19 makes campaigning challenging, Kent said he is available to talk with voters on the phone or email.
Read more Qualicum Beach byelection news here.
