Brief: Gary Starling drops out of election

Gary Starling has announced he will no longer be running in the upcoming municipal election due to health problems. Starling withdrew his name as a candidate for city council prior to the deadline of Friday, Sept. 21, but did not announce his decision publicly until Sunday,Sept. 23.

In a public post on his Facebook page Starling, who is currently recovering from surgery in Vernon Jubilee Hospital, said he felt the public was owed an explanation.

“Many of you already know that I have pulled my name from the election campaign. I truly felt going into this election that Revelstoke has some terrific candidates and going forward there will be a new but effective council,” he wrote.

While Starling is no longer running for a seat on council, he says he hopes that going forward he will be able to help improve the community.

“This was always my agenda, nothing else. I have a great passion for Revelstoke that I hope has always shone through. I also want to thank current council for their service. I’m sure they understand now that being a councillor is a difficult task,” he said.

Starling ends his post by encouraging the public to get out and vote, saying this is an opportunity for voters to put the best people in place for the job.

You can read Starling’s entire post below.