Blake’s focus on downtown Penticton
City staff have for years pointed to the Landmark Cinemas 7 theatre in downtown Penticton as a success story of the economic incentive zones program.
But the theatre’s general manager, James Blake, says city staff have failed to do much else for his business and let the situation on the streets around it deteriorate.
Now he’s trying to take matters into his own hands by running for mayor.
“Being right in the middle, right on the firing lines of everything going on in the city, whatever decisions are made for mayor and council, I see the bottom line effects,” said Blake.
“I’ve seen the city decline over the last several years.”
The 45-year-old married father of three and Penticton resident has managed the theatre for six years and has no prior political experience.
Blake has gotten fed up calling 911 to report problems and learned police are equally frustrated. He recalls a recent incident in which a man entered the theatre lobby and began acting unpredictably, making patrons uncomfortable, so Blake called 911. An officer arrived and the suspect fled. “The officer just watches him run out the door and the officer says to me, ‘If I brought up that guy’s rap sheet it probably has 150 entries on it,’” Blake said.
“But the police are my heroes. They’re out there risking their lives every day and they’re getting flak for something where they’re not getting support they need.”
Blake isn’t sure exactly what is required to help police — possibly advocating for stronger laws or increasing funding — but is anxious to get working on solutions.
If elected, he will also take better measurements of the pulse of the community by getting out to talk to residents and businesses.
“It just doesn’t seem like there’s respect for their opinions,” said Blake.
“I think one of the biggest things for a mayor to do is listen to people and hear what they have to say, and sometimes that means going out of your way.”
The other mayoral contenders are Jason Cox, Andrew Jakubeit, Jukka Laurio, John Vassilaki and Dominic Wheeler. They’ve all confirmed their attendance at tonight’s allcandidates forum hosted by the Herald at the Penticton Lakeside Resort, beginning at 7 p.m. Live audio coverage will be provided online at peachcityradio.org.