Revelstoke Mayor Gary Sulz joined Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine and revelstokemountaineer.com editor Aaron Orlando on the Revelstoke Mountaineer Podcast on October 8 to discuss delays in the city’s by-election.
In January, former Councillor Steven Cross resigned, citing ethics concerns over a council self-pay raise controversy.
Starting on September 23, revelstokemountaineer.com has published two stories, one with an extended update, about the by-election delay issue.
While 11 other municipalities have scheduled and even completed their post-COVID-19 pause by-elections, Revelstoke City Council has yet to appoint a chief elections officer, nor has the matter of the by-election been on a council agenda or discussed at any official council meeting.
For essential background, see our first story here:
UPDATED: Eight months after councillor resignation, no word from City of Revelstoke on by-election
Then, see our update story, which was published on October 2:
Elections BC contradicts City of Revelstoke explanation for by-election delay
In our October 8 interview with Mayor Sulz, we discussed the by-election delay issue, including its intersection with the provincial election, where city councillor Nicole Cherlet is running for the NDP in the riding of Columbia River–Revelstoke.
Key topics in the podcast:
Listen to our podcast here by clicking the play button. Note there is sometimes a five-second lag between clicking play and the start of the podcast:
-Sulz said the city is having capacity issues with holding a by-election.
-The mayor walked back previous statements that Elections BC had given the City of Revelstoke permission to delay the by-election until after the provincial election, saying he owns the error rooted in communications.
-He declined to comment on absences in the two key city hall staff positions responsible for administering elections.
-Sulz said he talked to Cherlet about her provincial election candidacy, but said he felt delaying the by-election didn’t favour her candidacy.
-He talked about improving communications with the news media.
-He wouldn’t commit to having the by-election on the Revelstoke City Council agenda for their next meeting on Oct. 13, the last meeting scheduled before the Oct. 24 provincial election. Additionally, about an hour after the recording was made, the City of Revelstoke sent out a notice that the Oct. 13 city council meeting was cancelled entirely.