Veteran council eager to get to work
Editor’s note: This article appeared in its entirety in Monday’s edition, starting on A1 and continuing on A4. However, that may not have been clear to all readers as there was nothing at the bottom of the A1 portion indicating it was being carried to A4. Here then is the entire story in one piece for those who missed the back half.
Jake Kimberley admits the new Penticton city council, which will be sworn in Tuesday, is old.
“We were at a conference and looking around the room, we may have the oldest average age of any place in the valley,” he said, referencing a councillor boot camp held last week in West Kelowna. But, that’s not a bad thing. “I’m very optimistic,” Kimberley said. “We have a good working council and a very experienced council. Five of us have been there before. Frank (Regehr) has tremendous experience with budgets in having worked for the school board and Julius (Bloomfield) has a solid understanding of civic affairs and the business community.”
Kimberley, who served three terms as mayor of Penticton before retiring from politics in 2008, topped the polls in the Oct. 20 municipal election. He finished first of 24 candidates.
“To come back after all this time away and to top the polls, it was quite a reward, I’m overwhelmed,” he said.
The controversy over proposed waterslides at Skaha Lake Park brought him out of retirement. He believes it’s a dead issue . . . almost.
“I think the marina needs to be looked into, there’s the issue of bringing it up to grade. I feel it’s a necessity.”
He enjoyed his 10 years away from public life, but did stay in tune to what was happening in the city.
Also returning to council after a four-year break is Katie Robinson, who finished fifth in last month’s election.
“I’m very humbled, it’s a good feeling knowing that my past work has been appreciated,” she said.
Entering the race, many considered Robinson a wild card and she too was somewhat surprised to be elected.
“There were a lot of good candidates. I think because I’ve lived here since 1985 and I was on council for many years before, people remember me as an old-school councillor. When we were on committees, back in the day, we were working members of the committee. We’d wash chairs, move tables, we took an active role.”
Robinson said she’s pleased with the makeup of the council, promising “one of the most solid councils in a long time. To put it in a nutshell, it’s going to be solid as a rock.”
She said her working relationship with Mayor-Elect John Vassilaki is strong.
“He’s Greek and I’m Irish,” she joked of the occasional jousting which went on between the two when they served together in 2013-14.
“John’s heart is in the right place, nobody can ever question that. He has Penticton’s best interests at heart . . . always” Robinson said.
Judy Sentes, who won the sixth and final spot, is the veteran having served for 10 years uninterrupted.
“I’m very honoured with the win and it’s encouraging that the effort that I make to be involved, to look for what’s best, is being recognized,” she said.
Sentes said she added a new element to her campaign this time — social media — but believes she excels at one-on-one engagement.
“I did campaign hard and I’m always at the market, I attend community functions, and I feel people can approach me.”
Campbell Watt, the other incumbent, finished in second spot, the same position he had when he ran for the first time in 2014 as part of an unofficial youth movement.
“I feel very privileged and honoured to have been re-elected,” Watt said. “I’m very flattered and pleased that the public supported my ideas and the way that I went about doing things.”
At 46, Watt is not only the youngest member of council, he’s the only one with a child still in school and the only councillor under the age of 60.
“I’m super excited to be working with so many people with experience. We definitely have a lot of knowledge around the council table,” Watt said.
Sentes shares his excitement about the seven people elected to council.
“We have a balanced council,” she said. “There are incumbents who bring continuity, but you also need new ideas. If you went with an entirely new council, I think things would slow down because it does take awhile.”
The two newcomers, Regehr and Bloomfield, finished third and fourth respectively. Their two campaigns were polar opposites.
Bloomfield purchased print ads, put up a handful of signs and spoke to small groups. Regehr worked with a campaign team and was far more visible, something he admits was awkward for him.
“I’m not that extrovert personality, but I certainly feel comfortable with campaigning and I’ve grown into that over the years. Campaigning is something that is a necessity and it exposed me to a lot of new people in the community who I hadn’t met. I had an excellent campaign team, which really helped, and I wrote several articles for the Herald and that gave me some exposure, letting people know about my own background.”
Bloomfield, who ran for mayor in 2011 and the provincial Green party in 2009, believes many voters remember him from those days.
“You treat nothing as a given. To me, it’s all about as much face-to-face time that you can have with people as possible.”
All six of the winning candidates attended each of the public forums, something they agree is vital. They also responded to written questions from the media and the public.
“Attending the forums and replying to questions is the difference maker,” Watt said. “Lawn signs, that’s the nature of the beast and to be honest, I wish they would eliminate them. I think for some of the fringe candidates who didn’t finish in the thick of things, they needed to attend the forums.” Robinson agrees. “If you don’t show up, it looks like you’re not interested,” she said. “People come out because they want to hear what you have to say and if you’re not there, they will check you off their list.”
Sentes praised the trade-show format, an informal drop-in. With 24 candidates, she wonders if the traditional all-candidates forum is beneficial.