Splitting the spousal vote

John and Marge Ashdown would like to carry on some of their dinnertime discussions in council chambers.

When New Westminster residents head to the voting booth on Nov. 15, two Ashdowns will be among the choices for city councillor. Both John and Marge are running for council.

“It’s just a name. She is going to fight for what she believes in and I am going to fight for what I believe in,” John said. “When it comes to making a decision, it won’t be ‘Honey, you are going to vote this way.’”

John originally told The Recordhe wasn’t planning to run for council but ultimately decided to throw his hat into the ring again. If elected, he’d like to work on issues such as transportation/traffic, improving relations with neighbouring municipalities and ensuring the city’s staffing wages and productivity are what they should be.

Marge said her goal is to bring “balance” to council chambers and deal with issues like traffic, development, trains and taxes. Through her involvement in groups like the Kiwanis Club of New Westminster, whose mandate is serving the children of New Westminster, she helps address children’s and seniors’ issues.

Marge, a first-time candidate, would love it if both she and her husband of 10 years were elected.

“There are six seats. He can have one – and so can I,” she laughed. “There’s four left over.”

Marge and John don’t anticipate any clashes at home if they’re both successful on Election Day.

“We are both individuals,” Marge said. “Our dinner times are interesting sometimes. That’s life. It’s give and take, it’s compromises, it’s hearing the other person but having respect for their beliefs too. That’s always here.”

John agreed.

“The final goal is to make things better,” said John, a critic of some of the initiatives supported by the labour-friendly city council. “The only time I would take her on is if it wasn’t making things better. That is why I am taking on these other guys.”

While John is hoping he’ll be successful on Election Day, he’s got a backup plan if his partner is elected and he’s not.

He points out that former New Westminster police officer Ken McIntosh retired while his wife Betty continued to serve on city council.

“We kid about it,” he said. “I say, ‘If you get in, I can pull a Ken McIntosh – buy a trailer, retire and sit back and wait for you to retire.’"