New Westminster residents will see a lot of familiar names on the 2011 municipal election ballot as every incumbent council member has confirmed they will be running again.
Coun. Jonathan Cote announced his intent to run in a press release issued Tuesday. Cote listed a number of accomplishments council has made since he was first elected in 2005 including the creation of the city's youth centre, the start of development on Westminster Pier Park, new parks and trails in Queensborough and a 45-per cent reduction in street homelessness, as reasons he is seeking re-election.
"I am proud of the accomplishments I have made and feel the city has moved in a very positive direction over the last 6 years," he said. "I am proud of the difference I have made on council and look forward to campaigning on issues that matter to New Westminster residents."
Cote said his campaign will focus on issues of transportation, the environment and the city's aging infrastructure.
Cote's message of finishing projects council has begun in recent years was a common thread among all six councillors and soon-to-be candidates.
Coun. Jamie McEvoy said this is why he will be seeking his second term.
"I think we need to finish he work that we've started as a council. That work is the rejuvenation of our city," he said. "I think people feel that New Westminster is headed in the right direction and I think we've done well in the past three years but I think we've still got a lot of work to do."
Coun. Bill Harper said he too is eager to run on council's recent successes, as well as building on them.
"I will be running," he said. "I've been elected now for six years and there's a lot of different projects in the city that we've put forward including the civic centre and Pier Park and a number of others," he said.
Looking forward, Harper said he will campaign on using council's influence to boost the local economy.
"The issue of economic development is really close to my heart in the city. I think another term will hopefully bring more of those issues along to completion in a way that's satisfactory to the city," he said.
Coun. Lorrie Williams said she will be seeking her fourth term on council because of major projects like Pier Park and the Civic Centre, but also for some more personal ones.
"There's a few projects I'd like to see through, specifically, the Wait for Me, Daddy memorial that I started," she said. "I'd like to be there when it's all done."
Couns. Betty McIntosh and Bob Osterman first announced they would run again when they left the Voice New Westminster electoral group in October 2010.
McIntosh said running as an independent means the voters should not have the perception that she is beholden to a political party.
"Even when I was part of the electoral group, I still had an independent voice and an independent opinion. Some people always say, 'No, you're part of a group that tells you what to say and do.' They never did. We just worked together," McIntosh said.
Going it alone means not having the financial backing of a party, but McIntosh said she will be ready all the same.
"Being an independent can be expensive but I've been there 12 years now so I think I've got a really solid base and I've got lots of volunteers planning on working with me," she said.
Osterman said he still has a number of priorities for the city that need to be addressed, especially traffic.
"I won't support any measures that bring any great influx of traffic into our city. I'll be blunt. If someone were to say, 'Put a garbage burner in Sapperton or the Braid industrial lands,' the answer would be, 'No. We can't absorb anymore traffic,'" he said.
Beyond that, Osterman said he would continue his work on flood preparedness, saving the Massey Theatre and keeping a sharp eye on the city's expenditures and Metro Vancouver's utility bills.
"There's a lot of irons in the fire of things I'm deeply interested in that I want to see done for our city," he said.
The official nomination period for the 2011 municipal election runs from Oct. 4 to 14. Election day is Nov. 19.
www.twitter.com/BrentRichter
