, | Election ’90 TOWLER Continued from Page C4 +Byvere asked, in a referendum, if they wished to be a partner in Panorama the decision was nega- tive. Certainly I will support the contribution of our tax money to this project if another referendum reverses this decision. Question Three: The development and manage- ment of our community and area plans is the most important issue facing Central Saanich council in the next three years. Geoffrey Alan Turner Question One: No, personally I would not accept it. As a representative of the people I will accept what the people accept in the local area plan. That is a democratic munici- pal procedure which necessitates hearing the voice of the people of Central Saanich. Question Two: Of the Central Saanich people I have interviewed with this ques- tion, 80 - 90 per cent are in favor of contributing tax dollars. I believe they feel with integrity “we cannot have our cake and eat it too.” Let’s be responsible. Yes — we should — it’s the most logical and economical route for the community. Question Three: Land use, and all its obviously related issues — particularly traf- fic. Talk is cheap. The new council must adhere to, adapt and imple- ment the guidelines of the Official Community plan, if we are to avoid losing the special character- istics which are the essence of Central Saanich. Gary Valiquetie Question One: I support rezoning only if and when the residents of Brentwood Bay decide and determine the land use they wish to see at Tod Inlet, through a separate local area plan. Question Two: Central Saanich should contri- bute only after a referendum is held and the results support that action. Before a referendum is held, full financial disclosure of costs, benefits and level of service required would be made available to taxpayers so they can make an informed decision. The 1990 Community Parks and Recreation Study questionnaire results dis- closed that residents felt it would be too costly to duplicate facilities in Central Saanich. Question Three: The single most important issue will be to control the rate of growth at close to two per cent as W mandated by the residents in the Official Community Plan. The council must have the political will to manage growth based on this plan. One of two candidates for mayor in Central Saanich says the present council hasn’t followed the peo- ple’s wishes. Ted Jones, 36, said peoples’ desire to preserve the rural charac- teristics of Central Saanich are being ignored by council. A banker with National Trust, Jones said the country lifestyle cherished by area residents could be lost within five years. He believes the present council wants rapid urban growth. “My platform is based on main- taining an open accessible govern- ment with citizens’ participation in the land use decisions, includ- ing the planning process,” he said. He also wants to see slow “environmentally-sound”’ com- munity growth and no more major tax hikes, he said. One of his major concerns is that council is taking a re-active, rather than a pro-active stance when it comes to soliciting public input On major issues, he said. More workshops are needed to gauge public sentiment before political decisions are made, he said. As matters stand, public hear- ings are the only source of mass public input, which are held when legislation is already well on the way to being approved, he said. “If council really wants public input, they’d go a little more out of their way to get it,” he said. For instance, council should have done more than merely hold one public hearing to hear resi- dents’ concerns about the Bren- twood Lakes golf proposal, he said. Council’s dealings with this golf course proposal also displays how it is making a habit of flaunting some of the rules and guidelines laid out in the Official Community Lavers withdraws from three-way mayor's race in Ceniral Saanich A three-way race for mayor in Central Saanich became a two- person campaign during an all candidates’ meeting Wednesday. Businessman David Lavers announced that he no longer plans to campaign for the position of mayor in Central Saanich, although his name will remain on the ballot. Instead, Lavers plans to support the campaign of mayoralty candi- date Ted Jones. “Last Saturday I met Ted (for the first time) and we had a chance to sit down and compare notes,” Lavers said. “I came to recogniz- ing that we are of like mind on all the major issues ... and it didn’t make sense for us to run against each other.” DAVID LAVERS Lavers’ was also concerned that having two people challenging incumbent Mayor Ron Cullis would result in vote-splitting that could cause Cullis to be re-elected. Speaking to about 500 people at Keating Elementary School, Lav- MaeDONALD, b. Alderman, Ceniral Saanich ers asked his supporters to tranfer their support to Jones. “TI believe Mr. Jones is the best man for the office of mayor of Central Saanich,” he said. “Not only does he feel as strongly as I about the issues but he has been a longer-term resident of the area and is more involved in community affairs.” Lavers originally threw his hat into the election arena because he didn’t want Cullis to be re-elected by acclamation — as happened in 1987. But the emergence of Jones as a strongly opponent of development convinced Lavers to throw his weight behind the other challenger for Cullis’ mayoral seat, he said. “Development without appro- plate controls will result in the erosion and eventual loss of the quality of life we enjoy in our community. This issue is the pri- mary plank in Mr. Jones’ plat- form,” he said. In originally announcing his intention to run for office, Lavers said it better serves the democratic process for someone like himself to give Cullis some competition. “T will not offer criticism of the incumbent mayor. . .We would do well to applaud the offering of his services,” he said. (But) I strongly believe we are best served when public officials secure office by election, not be acclamation.” Candidates can only withdraw their nomination papers within 48 hours after nominations close, a deadline Lavers missed. He admitted he could still attract some votes but hopoes the mes- Sage gets through to voters that he no longer considers himself in contention. TheReview — Wednesday,November 14,1990 — C5 Mayoral candidate says council ignored wishes Plan, he said. A membership committee appointee for the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, Jones said council should do more to work at serving the needs of the local business and farming communi- ties, he said. “T want council to act as an advocate for the farming commun- ity. If farming becomes profitable, that takes the pressure off develop- ment,” he said. A working relationship should also be established between coun- cil and area native Indians to better address issues of mutual concern, he said. Cullis stands on accountability Central Saanich Mayor Ron Cullis is running for reelection because he wants to see municipal taxes kept down and because he wants to preserve the rural charac- ter of the area. “AS your mayor I have worked and will continue to work to limit expenditures and to promote accountability for every tax dollar collected,” he said. He also wants to see taxpayers dollars stay in the community, which is why he doesn’t support an amalgamation of regional police forces, he said. “I favor retention of a local police department. Our police board had developed a young, energetic police force.” “And it provides a high level of service and contact with the pub- lic,” he said. Further, the need to retain agri- cultural land is crucial to preserv- ing the municipality’s farmland and to keeping farming a viable industry, he said. As an ardent supporter of the Official Community Plan, he also recognizes the need for “future planned development,” he said. A no-growth policy is unrealis- tic because Central Saanich can- not shut its doors to newcomers, he said. “Each municipality has a responsibility to recognize regional housing needs. Our plan calls for slow, controlled growth with enough flexibility to provide a range of housing opportunities,” he said. He is in favor of the Island View interchange because it will provide safer access and egress to the Pat Bay highway, he said. “However, some fine-tuning is heeded with respect to impacts on local traffic patterns,” he added. A NEW FACE A DIFFERENT APPROACH BRENDA HARFIELD ~ FOR SIDNEY ALDERMAN Integrity Experience Strong Leadership sound Planning Re-elect rov CULLIS MAYOR CENTRAL SAANICH CULLIS, Ron X Sponsored by committee to re-elect-Ron Cullis Alderman Re-elect VALIQUETTE, Gary ba Central Saanich AS NS RoE ia Petey As De aoe) Rae pg PE SL PR RITE, MRE, Ree MS Ee ee ee ee, ae ee ee