New Nanaimo City Council ?

What Will New Council Look Like?

It is usually felt that the sitting members of council, should they decide to run for re-election have a bit of an 'edge' over any newcomers seeking to get elected. Of course like all things political, nothing is for certain and nothing is carved in stone.

This election however, would appear to offer the opportunity for at lteast 50% of council to be made up of newly elected rather than re-elected members. Only time will tell if previously elected candidates, ie: Gary Korpan, Jeet Manhas and Diane Brennan will have any kind of an advantage over some of the newer faces running for council. They all bring a certain amount of 'history' to the race, which may or may not prove to be to their advantage. They all were champions of the convention centre and had a hand in it's management through the construction phase to the final operating model.

You might fairly speculate that with the passing of popular councilor Larry McNabb and the retiring of councilors Holdom, Unger and Sherry that these four seats are now up for grabs and the next city council could have many new faces on it.

If those new faces bring some fresh ideas to the helm, it could serve Nanaimo well in the years to come, as arguably, the next three years could be pivotal in the direction Nanaimo takes for many years to come. There are some seriously daunting tasks facing Nanaimo not the least of which is our economic future, an aging infrastructure, water treatment plant, possibly a new dam to increase the water supply for anticipated growth, ever increasing taxes and user fees, just to name a few items that should top the list.