North Saanich Mayor Geoff Orr said it is a positive sign that residents will be choosing from a large field of hopefuls to fill a vacant council seat next Saturday.
The eight candidates vying for the job vacated by Joscelyn Barnard shortly after last year’s municipal election bring an impressive array of credentials to the race, Orr said. He was surprised by the number of people who stepped forward.
Everyone has their reasons for running in the byelection, he added. “I think a lot of it was timing and what they were up to in their lives.”
The size of the field could mean that some of those who aren’t elected this time will consider running in the next full election in 2022, Orr said. “It’s good for democracy and good for the community.”
All six council seats in 2018 were won by acclamation.
The second of two advance polls will be held on Wednesday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at North Saanich Municipal Hall (1620 Mills Rd.). The first advance poll was on March 27.
Polls on election day, April 6, will also be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at municipal hall.
Meet the candidates:
Rosemarie (Romi) Bongers: Bongers is a business owner who said she has been interested in politics for much of her life. She said municipal office is a great way to get to know people in the community and to address the issues that concern them.
Del Elgersma: Elgersma, a lawyer, said his children are older and he now has the time to dedicate to municipal office. He said he has always wanted to serve on council and to give back to the municipality he has called home for 20 years.
Dorothy Hartshorne: Hartshorne, an administrator for start-up companies via the Internet, served two terms on council from 1999-2005 and ran second to Geoff Orr in last fall’s mayoral race. She said the byelection presents her with an opportunity that doesn’t come around too often in politics — a chance to try again.
Arturo Huerta: Huerta, a carpenter, said he didn’t run in the main election last fall because he is new to the municipality and wanted to get to know it better. He said people he knows suggested it would be a good idea for him to put his name forward in the byelection. “I’m new, I bring a new perspective,” he said.
Tiffany Joseph: Joseph said the reason she is running is that as a WSANEC person who is doing land restoration at Tod Inlet, she is hopeful that it can also be done on the entire Saanich Peninsula. She supports the municipality’s agricultural areas and wants to promote the growing of indigenous plants.
Scott McEachern: McEachern, a sales representative for a pair of furniture-manufacturing companies, said he has been thinking about running for municipal office for a long time and has decided the time is now. He said he has waited long enough and wants to take advantage of the current opportunity.
Cam McLennan: McLennan, owner of a property-maintenance company, is a North Saanich resident who served on Sidney council from 2014-18. He said he was “a councillor without a home” and decided to run in the North Saanich byelection at the urging of many people.
Patricia Pearson: Pearson, who works for Level Ground Trading, said she considers North Saanich “the most beautiful, magical little place” and wants to do what she can to preserve it for her daughter and for generations to come. Pearson said she enjoys the rural, agricultural feel of the municipality.
