Friday, August 23, 2019 ~ SOOKE [Update Aug 25 – re Ken Robar; updated August 27 with full version]
by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
The by-election race in the District of Sooke to fill the one vacant position of municipal Councillor is underway.
Finding their way to the top of the heap from many directions — politics, business and community — are 10 candidates vying for the one (1) seat. Nominations closed at 4:30 pm today, Friday August 23, 2019.
General voting day is September 28, with advance voting available on September 18 and 25.
Two of the 10 candidates have each already served for two terms as councillors on District of Sooke council: Kevin Pearson (who ran for Mayor in October 2018) and Herb Haldane (who ran for mayor in November 2014) — both of them against the current Mayor Maja Tait who won in those two races.
Two other former candidates are Mick Rhodes (who ran against Tait and Pearson for mayor in October 2018) and Jeff Stewart (who ran for Council in October 2018).
The recently retired Sooke RCMP Detachment Commander Jeff McArthur has thrown his name into the ring.
Other candidates are Dana Lajeunesse, Lorraine Pawlivsky-Love, Kenneth Robar (missing since August 16, according to Sooke RCMP), Britt Santowski, and Christina Schlattner.
Whoever wins on September 28 (results to be officially announced on September 30) will join the current council comprised of Mayor Maja Tait, and Councillors Jeff Bateman, Al Beddows, Ebony Logins, Megan McMath, and Tony St-Pierre.
The current 2018-2022 Sooke council as it presently stands is generally considered to be progressive in its views on community and social causes, but collectively not generally seen as pro-development (although growth of the community and its population base are frequently spoken of as desirable, for the benefits of services and activities it is thought to attract).
Not running this time is long-time, multi-term former Councillor Rick Kasper, nor Doni Eve or Rick Armor — all of whom ran in the fall 2018 Sooke municipal race.
The vacant seat resulted on June 28, 2019 upon the passing of the late Councillor Brenda Parkinson. A memorial tree-planting ceremony was held for Parkinson on August 6 in John Phillips Memorial Park next door to Sooke municipal hall.
The District of Sooke is within Premier John Horgan’s riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca.
Overall, Sooke is a highly politicized community. Few locals are without an opinion or position of sway on one or more sectors.
Big blocks of votes could be seen to come from voters focused on any or all of ‘transition’, building and development, fishing and on-water recreation, community volunteering, community protection, the arts, education, sustainability and food growing, small business, seniors, and health care. Hence, at least one reason for the large number of candidates.
And there is still to some extent the pulse of ‘old-Sooke/new-Sooke’, i.e. people who’ve been in the community for decades themselves or with long family lineage as distinct from new arrivals.
The Sooke region population began to grow in 2007 upon the first wave of people seeking more affordable housing outside the core Victoria areas; a second distinct wave rose starting around 2017 after the worst of the Great Recession had subsided and developers were building again. The last official census numbers (from 2016) showed a population of 13,001 which has clearly been surpassed by now in 2019.
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This article was first published on page 2 in the August 23, 2019 print-PDF subscriber edition of West Shore Voice News.
Check for updates on Sooke by-election coverage on the Sooke landing page within this West Shore Voice News website.