Slater leaps back into politics
OSOYOOS – John Slater says he never considered running for mayor – despite the current turmoil surrounding retiring Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells. Slater, who served as BoundarySimilkameen MLA from 2009-2013, is making a return to municipal politics as one of seven candidates vying for the four councillor positions on town council.
Slater was dropped for undisclosed personal reasons as the B.C. Liberal candidate prior to last year’s provincial election, a very rare circumstance for a sitting MLA.
Now, Slater has decided to throw his hat into the municipal ring once again. He has 18 years previous experience on council, including six years as mayor.
In the meantime, the outgoing mayor has generated his share of headlines. Wells last week issued an apology for what he described as an “act of immense stupidity” when he tore down two “buyer beware” signs on a Regal Ridge property in June 2013.
The revelation came after Wells withdrew as a mayoral candidate one day before the Oct. 10 nomination deadline. He informed Sue McKortoff of his decision, which prompted her to switch her candida- cy from councillor to mayor.
This led to some speculation in the community as to whether Slater would have run for mayor, if he had known soon enough that Wells had dropped out. Not so, he says. Slater said he simply doesn’t have the time for the mayor’s job, pointing to a need to concentrate on his agricultural greenhouse operation which had been leased out in recent years.
Slater said he never even considered running for the mayor in this election.
“It never cross my mind because I was committed to what I need to do here (on the farm),” he said. “The bottom line is I can’t do both.”
Slater admitted the personal innuendos surrounding his departure from the Liberal Party were certainly not pleasant, but didn’t turn him off a return to municipal politics.
“It was not good,” he said. “But I still want to be involved in the community.”
Slater said he was urged by many people in the community to try to get back on council to help bolster the local economy.
“You’ve got to have the right attitude and draw people to town,” he said. “The bottom line is the more viable your downtown is, the more people will shop here, the better they do, the more the merchants are willing to contribute.”
Slater said he supports construction of a new fire hall, but said there was a lack of public education regarding the financial aspects of the project.
“The biggest problem with the fire hall was there was so much misinformation given out there at the beginning that everyone got their feathers in a ruffle,” he said.
A $5.9-million referendum will be held with the Nov.14 municipal election after a petition campaign calling for such a vote gained support from more than 10 per cent of the electorate.
Slater said the town must make sure residents have the correct facts before the election, but said the need for a new hall in obvious.
“We can’t buy a new (fire) truck in Osoyoos because it won’t fit in the existing fire hall,” he said.
“The truck we bought was six or seven years ago and it clears the doors by about half-an-inch.”
Other candidates for councillor include incumbent CJ Rhodes, Mike Campol, Jean Clarke, Jim King, Sy Murseli and Carol Youngberg.