There are eight candidates vying for one councillor seat in the December 2 byelecton in Oliver.
They are Patrick Hampson, David Mattes, Peter McKenna, Charles Pollard, Donald Lawlor, Lutz Stelzner, Susan Kosola, and Aimee Grice.
Running in the byelection will be Pollard’s first stab at public office.
“I figured maybe I’d try my hand at it – there are a few things I’d like to see changed,” he said.
He believes the scattered intersection where McKinney Road meets Tucelnuit Drive could drastically benefit by turning into a roundabout.
“The way it is, people are driving through the hospital parking lot to avoid it,” he said. “I want to make it a little bit simpler if I can.”
Parks are another issue Pollard hopes to address. He doesn’t believe it was wise to allow Centennial RV Park to be developed into a hotel, nor is it a good idea to change locations of the dog park.
Pollard will also apply his energy towards improving the state of local health care, and he has a first-hand experience falling through the cracks.
He found himself taking an emergency trip to the hospital while it was closed, so he required an ambulance ride to the Penticton hospital, where he then had to call on a friend to pick him up and drive him home.
“I had a bad experience.”
But while every town has its problems, he said, he likes everything about the Town.
“Oliver has great weather, it’s small, quaint and it has room to improve – both for the tourists and locals.”
McKenna wants to fill the vacancy on Oliver Town council.
“Oliver’s a small, lovable town – everybody’s friendly and has a smile,” he said. “And I’d like to see us grow, but we might have to take baby steps to make it happen.”
His campaign to replace Jack Bennest in the upcoming by-election will be McKenna’s first time running for office. But before moving to town seven years ago from the Lower Mainland, he was involved behind the scenes with politicians at every level of government.
Here in Oliver, Mckenna has become involved with the community through the local legion, which he serves as president, and he’s also a director on the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce.
And while it’s easy to make a positive impact on the community through those organizations, he wants a seat on council to take on bigger issues.
One of his visions is to see major improvements made to Main Street.
“We need to change it,” he said. “We need it to be cleaned up; more sidewalks, more lighting.”
The other big issue McKenna wants to tackle is policing and community safety.
“If we can’t get more RCMP here maybe we should be looking at security companies in here and doing patrols. That way people will be safer – our seniors, our kids – everybody will be safer.”
McKenna doesn’t have any issues with recent decisions from council. He understands some controversy was caused by the rezoning of Centennial RV Park, but he said the new hotel will only take up one-third of the property, and he wants to explore the option of having another section be used as an RV park.
He says Oliver has significant economic potential and he predicts more private investment will be made in town after the success of Mundi Hotel Enterprises Inc. becomes apparent.
“Slowly Oliver is reaching its economic potential, but I think we can do a lot better.”
Since his move to Oliver, McKenna’s happy about the progress Oliver has made to attract young families, and he wants to take that trend further.
“Kids need something to do in this town – they can’t be sitting at home in front of the TV playing Nintendo.”
Stelzner submitted the following to the Chronicle:
I believe that where a person was born or what their age is has no relevance.
During my Invictus Games journey they explained that we should try to get engaged and involved in our communities. When I found out that there was a by-election and they needed a new member on council I believed that this would be a good fit for me.
As for what Oliver’s biggest challenge would be, I think that you cannot just put your finger on one issue as there are homeless people on our streets, there are elderly people who barely make ends meet, there is empty industrial space, so just to point at one being the biggest issue would be somewhat shortsighted.
I would have to say that my favourite thing about Oliver are the people, how welcoming they were when I arrived and how they would go out of their way to help others.
As for what positive difference I may be able to make, since I am new to the community I bring a detached objectivity to the council and because I am retired I can also spend more time on committee issues.
The following was submitted by Lawlor:
I’ve decided to run for the councillor position in Oliver because I love the town and I want to see it grow in the best conceivable way. Recently Oliver has had numerous spurts and promising projects which will result in growth. The explosive growth of wineries, the future Oliver hotel, Area 27, the jail, Mount Baldy and even the nearby Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory all form a human magnate for people wanting to find an attractive, promising home.
I decided to run as a councillor in Oliver to do what I can to make this growth a healthy one for the Town of Oliver. I’ve heard opinions that I feel are good and others that I see as not beneficial for Oliver and I’d like to help make sure that decisions and paths chosen by Oliver are promising. There are no shortage of issues and everyone needs to be logically evaluated before votes finalize a choice. I’ve always felt strongly about Oliver and when friends of mine urged me to run for councillor because they felt strongly that I could contribute, I agreed and am running as a result.
I feel I can make a positive difference to help Oliver wade through many issues decided by council because I’ve been in positions where multiple issues were a fact of life. In positions with Lush Cosmetics in Vancouver, with Toronto Transit Commission, pharmaceutical manufacturing organizations and nutraceutical health organizations I’ve used methods I’ve learned in engineering and finance and working with people to make good business and social decisions.
I was born in 1951 on the kitchen table of a Quonset hut beside the River Erne in Ballyshannon, Ireland, where my father was engineering construction of a dam that would bring electricity to a large part of Donegal for the first time. That river is where Brendan, a monk at the time set sail around 520 AD to where it is rumored they found North America. For that reason, my father chose Brendan as my middle name; my first is Donald, my surname Lawlor.
I participate in running, cycling, skiing and snowboarding and I want to see these activities as well as wine tasting, baseball and even golf grow in Oliver. Oliver relies heavily on tourism; these activities are great for both tourists and the people of Oliver, Osoyoos and the area. As a councillor I can help them happen.
The following was submitted by Kosola:
I moved to Oliver on April 30 of this year. It is beautiful.
My first foray into politics was when I was 12 years old. I was elected mayor of our playground. All the kid mayors got to sit in chambers for a day with the mayor of Thunder Bay and a group shot made the paper.
My dream career was in show business. I started in professional theatre at age 16. That led to classes in Toronto at Second City. John Candy was my teacher and Mike Myers and The Kids In The Hall were classmates. We didn’t all become stars, but I learned to think on my feet.
I found my way into set decoration in the film industry. Eventually, I was nominated twice as department chairperson. I declined both times. The third time, I decided to view it as an opportunity. It was. I chaired monthly meetings, represented the department on council, sat on many committees and interviewed prospective permittees.
Four years later, I was hired as a roving steward, visiting film and television productions, usually four per day.
I saw to political announcements and votes, contractual issues and mediated on personality issues. We represented all of BC and Yukon with a membership just under 5000, similar to Oliver’s population. I also represented at conferences, film festivals, member funerals and took courses: labour law, union, computer, supervisory, work safety and more.
I visited Vancouver Island, Kamloops and scouted film locations from Keremeos to Coldstream.
As beautiful as it is here, I am learning of local concerns, such as high crime, traffic safety, housing, lack of public transit and invisible house numbers, making it challenging for emergency vehicles and pizza delivery.
This is a byelection. Choose me for town councillor and let me prove my worth in the coming year. I love my new home in Oliver and aspire to make it even better. I believe I can bring energy, action, ideas and humour to our Town council.
The following was submitted by Mattes:
I have decided to run in this election because I believe I can help council move Oliver forward.
We are facing many challenges in the near future, planning and action need to be taken now. My previous four years’ experience as a councillor means there is no learning curve. I can go to work with council immediately.
There are several challenges facing Oliver right now. We have finally gotten a hotel.
Congratulations to the councils of the last 20 years who have all worked hard to make this happen.
In the process we lost a campground. It would be nice to get back something to replace it.
A hotel and a campground both bring positive benefits to our downtown business. We need to create reasons for locals and tourists alike to stop in our town and visit our businesses.
The town has an opportunity to contribute to the development of the empty lots on Main Street. I bring experience to contribute to this effort. Oliver is also under considerable financial pressure. We can expect a large tax increase to cover upcoming police costs. I think there are some unexplored ideas to help control this tax increase.
While I was on council I had a reputation for working to keep taxes lower. We also have aging services that continue to need to be replaced or upgraded. This will require innovative thinking and a strong financial background. I believe I bring both of these to council.
All this being said, I love Oliver. I was born in Oliver in 1957 and have lived here most of my life. We offer an Okanagan lifestyle that is different from every other town in the valley. We have outstanding recreation facilities and opportunities. We have a huge community of volunteers and service clubs that make us the envy of many places.
I believe it is the role of council to look after what has been built, to help the people of Oliver define our future and assist those that are willing to build that future. On November 22 and December 2 I am asking for your support in keeping and making Oliver a great place to live.
The Oliver Chronicle will continue its by-election coverage.
