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New Westminster 2010 Citizen of the Year nominee to run for mayor

Cites "lifestyle" issue and Burr Theatre sale as catalysts for candidacy

Longtime Royal City resident Vance McFadyen had ruled out a bid for city council last week but has since decided to run for mayor.

McFadyen, a nominee for the city's 2010 Citizen of the Year, is the third candidate to announce he will be running for mayor. He'll be vying against incumbent mayor Wayne Wright and longtime resident James Crosty.

"I think I would be a great mayor. I am a good communicator, a good listener. I speak well. I feel things - more from a human point of view," he said. "I am a different kind of candidate. I am an ordinary guy that has strong beliefs, families, morals, equal rights."

McFadyen said Wright is more of a "corporate minded person" which isn't bad, but he agrees with Crosty that more emphasis needs to be placed on the "little things" such as neighbourhood infrastructure. He believes he will bring a positive force to the mayor's race.

"I don't believe James Crosty is a positive candidate. He is a nice guy but I don't believe he is a positive candidate. There has been too much name calling back and forth," he said. "I think people deserve another alternative."

McFadyen said the two biggest clinchers that made him decide to seek the mayor's seat relate to the city's sale of the Burr Theatre and the "lifestyle" issue that was raised early in the mayor's race. He was part of a group that proposed a community theatre for the Burr, which the city eventually sold to Lafflines Comedy Club.

"We felt our plans for the Burr were much more in tune with what the community wanted. No doubt," he said. "I have heard it looks very good cosmetically. It did not fulfill what the vision for the Burr really was."

McFadyen said many community members supported using the Burr for a 500 to 600-seat theatre that offered programming for children, opportunities for community involvement and a full season of plays.

McFadyen, who was the driving force behind New Westminster holding Pride Week in 2010 and 2011, was also concerned about Wright's comments about Crosty's lifestyle.

When interviewed after Crosty had announced his intention of running for mayor, one of Wright's comments was that they were "two different people, totally different how we live, our lifestyles" and the only thing they had in common was they live on the same boardwalk. In a follow-up interview, Wright explained his comments, stating that the two men are at different points in their lives, as he's a grandfather who's already gone through business and is in a different mode of his life than the younger candidate for mayor.

McFadyen met with Wright soon after reading the comments, but wasn't convinced with his explanation.

"What he was really saying is, 'James Crosty is gay.' That is the different lifestyle," he said. "I was very hurt. I was quite shocked. Again, I don't hold any serious grudge."

McFadyen said Crosty and Wright are both "nice guys" who have the city's interests at heart.

"The mayor and council overall have done a good job," he said. Overall doesn't mean 100 per cent."

McFadyen will use the campaign to highlight issues he believes are important to the community.

"My main focus is on the families of New Westminster, the infrastructure and the amenities for youth," he said. "Those will be the things I will focus on."

McFadyen said he will be running a low-key campaign. He'll launch his campaign next week, after attending a celebration of life for his father this weekend on Vancouver Island.

"I am a longtime resident since 1961," he said. "In my own low-key way, I have contributed to the city in variety of things."

In addition to being the founder of Pride New Westminster, McFadyen also wrote a letter that ultimately led to New Westminster receiving a $25,000 donation from Kraft Canada for the New Westminster Youth Centre. He's been the president of the New Westminster Lawn Bowling Club for three years, a member of the city's licensing committee, a member of the Massey Theatre task force and a volunteer and member at Century House.

"I have contributed some - I know I can contribute more if I have the opportunity to be mayor," he said. "I did contemplate running for council. I have been strongly encouraged to run for mayor."

McFadyen told The Record last week that he had been contemplating running for city council but had decided against it. He said the decision was made at an emotional time when his father was in failing health and hospitalized, before he passed away this week.