Incumbent councillors King and Rhodes want to return to finish what they started

Two incumbents, Jim King and C.J. Rhodes, are hoping to be returned as councillors after the Oct. 20 municipal election.

They face seven challengers, who have never before served on Osoyoos Town Council, as a total of nine candidates fight for four councillor positions.

The other candidates were profiled in the Sept. 19 and 26 Osoyoos Times. This week we look at the two incumbents.

Jim King

Jim King, 69, who is just completing his first four-year term on council, says he’s running again because of unfinished projects.

The three he mentions are a regional swimming pool, completion of a pier at Gyro Park and downtown revitalization.

While the town has been moving forward with consultations on a Town Centre Renewal Action Plan, the other two have stalled.

King says the death a year ago of Alain Cunningham, then director of planning and development, left the Gyro Park pier on the back burner.

King said if he’s re-elected he plans to lobby for a regional swimming pool. That project, proposed last year, was initially envisioned as a jointly funded project of Osoyoos, Oliver, the Osoyoos Indian Band, and the surrounding rural areas of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.

He also wants to see more progress made on year-round affordable housing as well as housing for seasonal workers.

Asked why people should vote for him, King points to his community involvement.

“Since I moved here 10 years ago, I’ve been involved in the community,” he said.

This includes being a past director of the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce, sitting on the board of Community Futures, volunteering with different organizations including Desert Valley Hospice Society and Desert Park Exhibition Society, and serving as an active member of the Rotary Club of Osoyoos.

“I feel nonprofits are very important in a community,” he said. “It makes a community very balanced with the business side and the nonprofits working together for the betterment of the town.”

King was born and raised in Vancouver. While he also spent 10 years in Langley and 30 in Surrey, he had never lived outside of Greater Vancouver until he moved to Osoyoos with his wife Cheryle in 2008.

For more than 25 years, he ran his own successful business in the amusement industry, bringing games and rides to locations in the four Western provinces.

“My objective in life was to retire at 45,” he said, adding that he became semi-retired at 42.

At that point, he got involved with Surrey Crime Prevention, serving as its executive director for 12 years, with 10 staff and 150 volunteers.

“So I have a pretty balanced life and can see both sides,” he said.

While he stresses he’s concerned about safety, he also says he doesn’t think crime is as bad in Osoyoos as some people think.

The growth in the town’s population beyond 5,000 people has meant the town is having to pay more for policing, but it’s also a positive indication that more people are moving to Osoyoos and driving the economy, he said.

The town succeeded in keeping its schools open two years ago, he adds, and says they are doing well, attendance is up and there’s money in the bank.

C.J. Rhodes

C.J. Rhodes, first elected in 2008, is the longest-serving member of the present council.

He was elected to three-year terms in 2008 and 2011 and a four-year term in 2014 for a total of 10 years.

“I think I’ve been a positive influence on the community over the last 10 years,” he said when asked why he’s running again. “I want to continue on with that. The second reason is, and it’s a bit of a cliché, there a number of projects that I started in the community. I would like to finish them.”

Rhodes is starting his eighth year as chair of the waterfront steering committee.

“We’re doing lots of good things on our waterfront at the Gyro Beach area,” he said. “And very positive things for our residents and our tourists that come here every year.”

Rhodes says he hopes to see that finished in the coming term.

There’s also his pet project, so to speak, the off-leash dog park for which he’s been the council representative.

If he’s re-elected, he hopes to see funding to further develop that project with dog activity areas.

“That’s a real feel-good project,” said Rhodes. “It’s something that I really have enjoyed.”

It’s also important for councillors to be very aware of infrastructure in the community, he said. This includes sewer and water and related work.

“They do have some challenges, but we’re plugging away at them,” he said. “It’s something that I’m very interested in.”

Rhodes and his wife Lisa came to Osoyoos from Alberta in 1999. Not long after, they opened RnR Rentals, first at the site of the present carwash, and later at a house on 74th Avenue. Town residents know they can drop by the shop to speak about local politics.

“I have experience on my side,” said Rhodes when asked why people should vote for him. “I feel that I’ve done a good job over the last 10 years. And you know I’m approachable. I have conversations with the residents and people that are engaged in our community.”

Rhodes said he prides himself in being fiscally responsible and keenly looks over the town budget every year.

Experience is good, he said, because of the long learning curve councillors go through.

He was born in Calgary, but his family moved to the Edmonton area when he was still young. He lived for years just outside Stony Plain to the west of Edmonton before coming to Osoyoos.

Prior to his election to council in 2008, he served three terms as president of what was then the Osoyoos Chamber of Commerce.

His father was a long-time mayor of Alberta Beach, a village west of Edmonton, and that taught him something about local politics.

In 2006, Rhodes ran for Osoyoos council in a by-election, but was defeated by Tom Shields for the only position. After that, and until the 2008 election, he sat in on council meetings to learn the ropes.

Rhodes says he remains motivated after 10 years.

“I don’t think I’m jaded yet,” he said. “I still feel pretty good about meetings … I’ve always liked to debate. I don’t like to argue. I like to debate and that is a good quality to have on council, a respectful debate.”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times