New Colwood Council sworn in November 5

Thursday, November 8 ~ COLWOOD.

by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News

On Monday evening, November 5, Mayor Rob Martin and the six City of Colwood councillors for 2018-2022 were sworn in during a brief inaugural council meeting in Colwood council chambers.

The swearing-in of Mayor Rob Martin, re-elected councillors Cynthia Day and Gordie Logan, and new councillors Michael Baxter, Dean Jantzen, Doug Kobayashi, and Stewart Parkinson was attended by a crowd of about 175 including staff, family, friends, and members of the local community. The Dunsmuir Middle School choir sang O Canada.

Officiating the swearing-in was local counsel Gerald Loster, and in the room were Westshore RCMP in their red serge. Songhees Councillor Jackie Albany gave a welcome.

Speeches were given by Royal  Roads University president Allan Cahoon and SD62 Trustee Dianna Seaton, both pitching right at the start for fast and effective educational initiatives in the growing municipality.

Westshore Chamber president Mike Reilly thanked the past council and outgoing Mayor Carol Hamilton, saying that the Chamber looks forward to engaging with Colwood as the city provides more “places to work and homes that people can afford to live in”, and run businesses they can be proud of.

Mayor Rob Martin delivered a seven-minute speech in which his remarks were to fellow candidates, the community as a whole, and his own new council. He thanked candidates for putting their names forward, calling it ‘brave’  and a ‘risk’ to seek to represent the community. To the community, he foremost thanked such a large number of people for showing up. “All of you here demonstrates to us that our community believes in what this council is about to do,” Martin said at the start of his speech.

At the podium, and turning to his council, Mayor Martin gave something of a mandate letter to two returning councillors and four councillors who are new to elected office: “I want you to understand that you have taken on a huge responsibility. You’ve been asked to lead for your community. I ask that you take this sincerely and seriously. You will find a lot of joy in this job, but you will also find the odd sleepless night and you will need to find a thick skin as you are criticized for the decisions that you make.”

Martin continued, to councillors: “My advice to you is this. Gather as much information as you can, make the right choice that you believe is right for this community, and you can do no more. Make that effort, take that time, find the answer that’s right. The most influential decision-makers are not the people who can stand and argue the best. The influential decision makers are those who come in with a decisive decision but also have the ability to listen and to hear the opposite argument and to be brave enough to say I’m willing to change my opinion because of that argument. Be open, be brave, be bold.”

“I will challenge you,” Martin said to council. “We are not a caretaker council. We are going to move this community forward and we are going to work very hard.  But I expect that you challenge me as much as I challenge you. I embrace this next four years. I look forward to it, and thank you for this.”

Appointments were made to regional boards. Martin will sit on the CRD board (with Kobayashi as alternate), and attend the AGMs of CREST and the Greater Victoria Labour Relations board. Logan will be Colwood’s rep to CREST. Parkinson will be the regular rep for Colwood to the Greater Victoria Labour Relations board, with Kobayashi as alternate. Baxter will be Colwood’s Climate Action Intermunicipal Task Force representative for the full four years. After a review of committees coming in a staff report in December, new committee appointments for 2019 will be made.

With comments and small gifts, Martin recognized the contributions of former mayor Carol Hamilton, and councillors from the 2014-2018 term who are not returning: Lilja Chong, Jason Nault and Terry Trace. Martin commended Hamilton for “all the things under her guidance that this city was able to accomplish”.

Afterward there was mingling, live music, refreshments and cake.