New Westminster now has its first official challenger for Mayor Wayne Wright in the 2011 election James Crosty, business owner, self-proclaimed citizen advocate and president of the Quayside Community Board.
Crosty told The Record Thursday morning that he will be running for mayor as an independent in the Nov. 19 municipal election.
Crosty said he is dissatisfied with the current mayor and council, who he says are being fiscally irresponsible and ignoring too many of the small items that matter to New Westminster residents.
I think we can do better, he said. (Wright) doesnt look after the little things. All hes worried about is these big projects. Were not Vancouver. Were New Westminster.
Where have the rest of them been during the last three years alone? Theyve been doing these mega-projects, building a lot of concrete highrises, spending a lot of money, borrowing a lot of money.
Crosty said Westminster Pier Park, which he refers to as Waynes Wharf, is a perfect example of councils priorities being off. Wright and council started it without adequate research, and the money would have been better spent elsewhere, he said.
Its here and its like spilled milk. Theres no point in talking about it. Lets clean it up. Lets get it done. Lets find out how much its going to cost us, he said. A lot of things can be done with that $57 million.
Crosty, describes himself as a fiscally responsible socialist who would like to see property taxes lowered, traffic congestion relieved, train whistles silenced and the citys arts and culture community revitalized.
If elected, Crosty has a list of tasks to begin or complete in the first 60 days, starting with a core review of the citys staffing and operating costs. The rest of his list will be rolled out during the campaign, he said.
Crosty said that despite being active in local politics since 2003, he never gave a thought to running until February when a rumour he was ready to take a run for office cropped up and people started giving him encouragement.
In the last eight years, Crosty admitted, he and Wright have had a largely antagonistic relationship beginning with a council proposal to put a floating dock in front of Westminster Quay where he lives. He said the dock seemed to be a done deal before residents even found out about it.
This particular regime has a tendency to not be inclusive, in my opinion. We were on the outside looking in and have been ever since that, he said. When youre elected mayor, youre elected to invite everybody into your camp and into your representation.
Since then, Crosty has sparred with the city and Wright on the Port Royal tower development in Queensborough, the United Boulevard extension, citys 150th anniversary celebration costs, Sixth Street construction and council spending.
Crosty said long, protracted fights over unpopular developments like Port Royal indicate developers have too much influence over todays council.
As for campaign financing, Crosty said he will not be looking at or revealing who has donated to his campaign until after the election and, if he wins, he has a plan in place to make sure no one can ever accuse him of not voting impartially.
Theres no legal reason to do it, but I will recuse myself if I have a substantial donation from a developer thats up for a rezoning. Thats the correct thing to do, he said.
Crosty said Wright has also failed to represent the citys best interests at the Metro Vancouver board and TransLink mayors
council, where big decisions about transportation infrastructure are made. If elected, Crosty said he will be bring a much louder voice to the table to see that other regions treat New Westminster as a hub in decision-making, not the butt end of things it is now.
Crosty said there are problems within city hall as well. He said the there are too many consultants being put on the city payroll. Instead, he said their guidance should be coming from senior staff who are already making six-figure incomes.
And city staff, he said, are not being given their due respect either.
Theres a report that 97 per cent of staff feel like theyre not being heard, he said.
And Crosty is plain about how long he plans to sit in the mayors chair. He said his vision will require two terms, at minimum, but he cringes at the thought of becoming a career politician.
Crosty said he has a political base he knows he can count on, beginning with the river people, whose homes are along the Fraser River. Crosty said that is just the beginning, though.
I have Liberals, I have NDP, I have Conservatives, I have people not affiliated with any party, he said. I have the youth, I have the seniors. Theyve all coalesced around my campaign. Theres over 40 volunteers. We have up to 70 people who have offered to help.
Asked how he likes his chances of defeating an incumbent mayor and wearing the chain of office come December, Crosty is positive.
I think theyre pretty good. I think Im young. Ive got a lot of fire in my belly to make things happen and make things change. I think theres a breath of fresh air coming in with me that hasnt been in New Westminster for quite some time. You could relate to what Wayne promised to do almost a decade ago. Has he delivered? Thats up to the public to decide. I think we can do better. Thats where Im coming from.
