John Vassilaki is the right person for Penticton

It seems just about everyone in the Okanagan is endorsing a candidate this election, so I’m going to join in and, for the first time, share who I will be voting for.

On Thursday, I endorsed Colin Basran in Kelowna. Now it’s time for Penticton.

I like all of the front-runners. They’re nice people, any one of the top four would make a decent mayor. But, based on 30 years in journalism and having attended dozens of Penticton council meetings over the past decade, my support goes to John Vassilaki for mayor of Penticton.

Of the four front-runners (incumbent Andrew Jakubeit, chamber of commerce president Jason Cox and Landmark theare manager James Blake), Vassilaki has lived in Penticton the longest. He was born in Greece and his family moved here when he was still in elementary school. He went to Pen-Hi and later earned a certificate at a tech institute in Vancouver. He married his high school sweetheart, Barbara, and they raised a family here.

The Vassilakis have been involved with the service industry in Penticton for 55 years with enterprises including restaurants and nightclubs to rental property. At one point, he had as many as 140 people working for him.

He’s still active, recently turning the old Tiffany’s nightclub into a boutique mall with rental apartment units. Last Call Liquor Mart in the Walmart plaza is also in the family.

Politically, Vassilaki served four terms on city council. During his tenure, he made wise decisions. He was often the voice of reason and guarded the city’s money as if it were his own. However, he was not afraid to spend taxpayer’s money when he supported worthwhile projects such as the South Okanagan Events Centre and the renovation to the Penticton Community Centre.

The two worst decisions made over the past decade by Penticton City Council, the Eckhardt Ave. hockey dorm and the Skaha Lake waterslide, Vassilaki had nothing to do with. He was on council at the time of the dorm and was the lone councillor to vote against the proposal. At the time of Skaha Lake Park, he was off council. but was among the 1,000 people standing outside city hall on the night the deal was signed.

The Vassilakis have done well for themselves, dare I say they are rich?

They became affluent, not by a lucky break or speculation, but by rolling up their sleeves, getting their fingernails dirty and doing hard work. If elected Saturday, Vassilaki certainly doesn’t need the money and he won’t become a career politician.

With his flashy personality, it’s easy to overlook his human side. He’s a Rotarian, he attends the Greek Orthodox church on Fairview Ave. and saved Penticton’s Legion, buying the building and leasing it back to the membership. Recently, when an unfortunate man, angry at the world, was hauled into court after spray painting the side of Revenue Canada and a building the Vassilakis owned, the judge offered Vassilaki two options on how this man could repay him.

Vassilaki chose the cheaper of the two options, believing the young man had learned his lesson and would struggle to pay for the larger penalty.

Vassilaki was born into a working-class family and understands the struggles everyday Pentictonites face.

Of the frontrunners in the mayoral race, Vassilaki is the weakest public speaker. But, that shouldn’t be the sole prerequisite for being mayor.

Critics say that at age 71, he’s too old, even though he’s six years younger than Bernie Sanders, who was close to becoming president of the United States, and nine years younger than John McCain, who cast a critical vote in the U.S. Senate at the age of 80. Hazel McCallion served as mayor of Mississauga until she was 93. Queen Elizabeth II is 91.

At this point in Penticton’s history, John Vassilaki is, I believe, the city’s best option for the next four years.

For city council, I like incumbent Campbell Watt, along with Frank Regehr, Julius Bloomfield and Lynn Kelsey.

For school board, Dan Walton, editor of the Peachland View and the youngest trustee candidate in the valley at age 29, would be a welcome breath of fresh air.

James Miller is valley editor for Okanagan Newspaper Group. Opinions expressed in this column are his own.