People say the darnedest things - and that's never been more true than in the Royal City in 2011. Reporters Theresa McManus and Alfie Lau have compiled some of their favourite quotes from 2011.
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"The year was going along smoothly until we hit the month of December," said Deputy Chief Dave Jones explaining how 510 offences taking place in December 2010 caused the crime rate to increase.
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"I didn't know there was going to be a revolution," said New Westminster resident Claude Maille, whose trip to Egypt had to be cut short because of political unrest in the Middle Eastern nation.
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"We won't be rushed," said Coun. Jaimie McEvoy about TransLink's plans to build
the United Boulevard extension.
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"If somebody needs help, you just do it," said 2010 Citizen of the Year Bill Radbourne.
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"The Canucks are in the second round of the playoffs, Bin Laden is dead, the NDP is the official Opposition - wake me up tomorrow," said New Westminster city councillor Jaimie McEvoy, who attended NDP candidate Fin Donnelly's federal election victory party.
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"Losing sucks, we all admit it," said Conservative candidate Diana Dilworth, who lost to NDP's Fin Donnelly in New Westminster-Coquitlam.
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"We couldn't find the 'sweet spot' or solution that would work. We're putting our pencils down on this project," said TransLink's Sany Zein, in announcing that there's no option for the United Boulevard extension that meets the needs of the regional road network and local interests.
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"It is like it is snowing," said Steve Rooney, describing the impact that dust from the Harvest Power plant has on its neighbours in the Braid industrial area.
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"There is filth and dust in the world everywhere - we have a lot more of it," said business owner Ian Ciprian describing the impact that dust from the Harvest Power plant is having on its neighbours in the Braid industrial area.
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"It is fair to say we will fix the issues," said Harvest Power regional vice president Mike Fournier about issues raised by the city and neighbours.
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"It was like a river flowing down the street," said James Crosty, describing the effect of a broken water main near his Sixth Street business.
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"She has done so many extraordinary things and those will be impossible shoes to fill. There's only one Dawn Black," said
former B.C. NDP leader Carole James about Black's decision not to seek reelection in the next provincial election.
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"I think the party will continue, but there is only one Jack Layton. There's no question about that," said NDP MLA Dawn Black, who was a colleague of Layton's
while serving as an MP in Ottawa.
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"They picked the wrong guy," said Michael Isman, general manager of Royal City Jewelers and Loans Ltd., which is challenging the city's bylaws regarding pawnshops to report to police every transaction and provide personal information the company believes is an invasion of privacy.
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"The lesson is you'd better be honest with the voters," be truthful," said NDP MLA Dawn Black in response to British Columbian's rejection of the harmonized sales tax.
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"If he could do that, believe me, he will be a shooting star," said incumbent mayor Wayne Wright when asked if challenger James Crosty could do a better job as mayor.
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"I'd probably be an asteroid, going so much higher," said Mayor Wayne Wright, when asked what he'd be if Crosty was a shooting star.
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"They say, in this world, if you can find a job that you love, you're the luckiest man alive. Truly, it's the perfect job for me to do," says Joey Le, who operates Joey's Video Stop on 12th Street, the city's last independent video store.
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"It's a miracle of the human spirit," said Val Skelly, who spearheaded the world's longest hockey game in the world in an attempt to raise funds for cystic fibrosis.
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"I thought I would really enjoy being retired - you can only fish so much," said Chuck Puchmayr on his decision to run for city council.
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"Today is a triumphant moment for me. It is a dream come true. I never dreamed in a thousand years I would live to see this place knocked down," said Carole Daphinais, a former Woodlands resident
who watched the Centre Block tower demolished.
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"For me, I'm not going for the gay vote, I'm going for every vote," said mayoral candidate Vance McFadyen.
"There's not enough
of the gay vote in New Westminster to elect me, so I have to try and get votes
from all citizens."
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"It's enough to drive you buggy," said Coun. Jaimie McEvoy, about the physical and emotional toll taken on people who discover they have bedbugs.
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"Google my name, James Crosty, and you will see dozens and dozens of issues- Those that say I am a one-issue guy haven't been listening," said mayoral candidate James Crosty.
"(The character) is degrading, and it's racist, and it's incredibly outdated," said Bernard Piprah, organizer of the Black History Month at Douglas College, who raised concern that the Black Peter character in the Sinterklaas festival was offensive to many in the black community. "
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"Our council, working together, has accomplished much to promote livability in our community," said Mayor Wayne Wright in his 2012 inaugural address.
"In some of our accomplishments, we've blazed a trail for the history books. In others, we've borrowed from best practices and followed, learning from the experiences of other municipalities."
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"We are two different people, totally different, how we live, our lifestyles - The only thing we have in common is we live
on the same boardwalk," said Mayor Wayne Wright on his relationship with mayoral challenger James Crosty
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"I am not sure what about my lifestyle is so different that he felt he had to make comment about it, but if the current mayor would like to discuss it, I encourage him to call me - on the caveat that I can ask him about his," said James Crosty in response to Wayne Wright's comments about lifestyle.
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"Michael and I, politically, we're diabolically opposed, but at the board table, I think we were always able to put politics secondary to the needs of students.
Michael and I developed an admiration for each other," said school trustee Brent Atkinson on his working relationship with fellow trustee Michael Ewen.
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"Probably I wasn't a good politician because I spoke my mind and stood up for what I believed in," said Brent Atkinson about his legacy as a school trustee.
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"I think it's unbecoming of a current trustee and the current CEO of the district's business company to be endorsing any candidates - And for him to do a character assassination of someone for advocating for their community, that I find objectionable."
- MaryAnn Mortensen, on Brent Atkinson's letter to former supporters
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"I think this reaffirms my belief that in New Westminster, people want a positive vision and they don't want an Americanstyle of negative, attack politics - the people of New Westminster want a positive vision for this city and tonight's results indicate that," said Michael Ewen,
on the Nov. 19 civic election results.
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"In retrospect, I probably should have robbed a bank ... I think we ran a good campaign, but we were fighting a big machine, a big labour machine," said school trustee Casey Cook, on what it would have taken to elect more Voice New Westminster candidates in the civic elections.
