2018 MUNICIPAL ELECTION RESULTS – LANGFORD
October 26, 2018 ~ LANGFORD
by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
As most would have expected given his solid 26-year run as Langford’s Mayor, Stew Young continues for another term. With 3,939 (81.49%) of the votes cast in his city that boasts over 40,000 residents (26,018 eligible voters), Young’s next four years are clearly about building upon the foundation of a strong commercial tax base, a business-friendly local economy, a bustling housing market (with affordability component), and an expanding recreational footprint.
While in years past it was about attracting big-retail businesses with low-to-zero tax incentives, now it’s about bringing offices and professionals here to the west shore. That will first of all help reduce commuter travel into Victoria/Saanich but will also build a greater synthesis of services on the west shore including medical and health care (this week he announced that new health care offices will enjoy tax-free benefits to set up shop in Langford).
Sports is high-profile in Langford, with prominent teams like the Westshore Rebels (football), Victoria Shamrocks (lacrosse), and Pacific FC (professional soccer). Rugby Canada relocated their headquarters to Langford with now a training centre for the men’s and women’s teams. Recreation expansion in the last seven years has also included local sports fields, arena, YM/YWCA, parks, libraries, and music conservatory. Child care facilities are starting to increase in number.
And when housing develops in Langford sometimes it’s a whole community that blossoms all at once, like the Belmont Residences development (441 new units over the next few years) combined with the Belmont Market commercial development.
Five Langford council incumbents re-elected on October 20 were Denise Blackwell, Matt Sahlstrom, Lanny Seaton, Lillian Szpak, and Roger Wade. New to council but not new to the local city hall scene is Norma Stewart who was included in Stew Young’s collective endorsement during the campaign.
The returning council ran on their record of committee work and achievements produced through that level of organization.
Returning councillors will continue to head up the same committees, including Blackwell as chair of Planning, Zoning & Affordable Housing; Szpak chairing Protective Services; Seaton chairing Parks, Recreation, Culture and Beautification; and Wade chairing Transportation and Public Works.
The number of schools in Langford will increase in the next few years in response to the demands of an increasing population. Young families with children in particular as well as seniors are seeking the relative affordability of market housing and rentals in Langford and the availability of affordable housing units.
In this campaign cycle, there was a contender for mayor, seeing Robert Fraser get 790 votes. His challenges about increased housing density, staff performance at city hall, and perhaps not enough attention to greenspace over developed park and recreation space did not resonate with a significant number of voters.
Stew Young seems to have a vision of a regional scope for Langford. A deal with Metchosin and Beecher Bay in 2017 produces a bird’s eye view of a region where natural habitat is protected as a priority and where job growth continues through attentive development of commercial, industrial and residential spaces.
An issue arose during the campaign season over independent council candidate Wendy Hobbs concurrently running for school board. Hobbs got re-elected to the SD62 board, but was not elected to city council.
Stew Young relies on the business and political networks that he builds throughout his terms of office as a base for succeeding with each next campaign. His non-stop accomplishments speak for themselves.
The City of Langford runs like a business with goals of financial and procedural stability, team work among the leadership, and the execution of strategies based on long-term planning.
::: As first published on page 3 in the October 26, 2018 print-PDF edition of West Shore Voice News.