Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Electoral Area B candidates introduce themselves

For the first time since the early 1990s, Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Area B is getting a new director. Loni Parker, who has been the electoral director for Area B since 1993, is not running in the Oct. 20 municipal election, paving the way for a new director to take her place.

As part of the Mountaineer’s coverage of the upcoming election we asked Area B director candidates a series of questions covering a wide-variety of issues likely to be central in the upcoming election. The series features verbatim answers written by the candidates.

In this first edition of the Mountaineer’s question and answer series, we asked Electoral Area B director candidates to consider the following:

Why are you running for the CSRD Area B director position? What are your qualifications for the position?

George Buhler

George Buhler is running for CSRD Electoral Area B Director. Photo: George Buhler.

I am running for CSRD area B  so the constituents will have a stronger voice. My 40 plus years in business. and manager and owner of numerous companies will give me the tools that I require to represent the residents in area B. During this time I worked with all levels of government. I also served on the city economic development board.

David Brooks-Hill

David Brooks-Hill is running for CSRD Electoral Area B director. Photo: David Brooks-Hill.

I am running to be elected as the Director of CSRD Area B because I think I can do some good for the residents of Area B. The previous Director did a good job in many ways in my view but made some serious mistakes. This probably stems from being in the job for too long and as a result no longer listening to the people. The prime example of this was bringing in the requirement for building inspections and permits in spite of the fact that the residents clearly did not want it. The former Director thought she knew better what was good for the people. I will do my best to get rid of the requirements for building inspections and permits and make sure to respect the wishes of residents in the future by using online polling extensively.

I am qualified for this position mainly due to my professional work as a lawyer. I have spent years now working with beaurocracies to achieve my clients’ goals including in local government systems. I will use the skills and experience I have gained from this to achieve the goals of residents.

Doug Stuart

Doug Stuart is running for CSRD Electoral Area B Director. Photo: Doug Stuart.

I am running for director because I think I can make a positive difference. I have been an Alternate Director for the past 12 years and have a good understanding of the issues.

Having lived in the CSRD for 35 years I have a real respect for the people that live here and I wish to preserve the quality of life we enjoy.