Damian Kowalewich is View Royal’s newest councillor.
The Saanich police officer won the byelection to replace Heidi Rast with 518 votes, followed by UVic student Nathan Daisley at 286, and graphic technician Adam Flint at 177. There were six candidates and a total 1,295 votes cast.
“I’m excited to get to work. It’s a shorter term than usual with the byelection but I’ve got some goals,” Kowalewich said Saturday night.
“I’m also looking forward to the future, to the 2018 election.”
The No. 1 issue in View Royal is transportation, said Kowalewich, who supports a long-term transportation solution for the region.
“I’ve been pretty open about trying to get some groundswell to lobby the federal and provincial government for some big money for transportation,” he said. “Our roads are constantly clogged. Residents can’t even drive freely in their own community.”
Over the next 11 months, he’ll try to enhance fairs and family events to increase community spirit in View Royal.
“People are really excited to get that sense of community involvement back,” said Kowalewich, 37, who is father to an eight-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter.
Mayor David Screech welcomed Kowalewich to council.
“He certainly seems to me to be a well balanced, thoughtful person . . . those are the most important skills to have on council.”
