In the lead-up to the upcoming civic elections, we asked candidates the following:
Describe yourself and your experience. Answer:  My husband and I moved from Chilliwack in 1996, looking for a change.  I am the General Manager at Custom Flooring centres, and I feel my business, management, and communication skills will be an asset within the District of Sechelt.  I believe in respect and hope to bring a fresh new perspective, open communication and effective decision making skills to council.
Why did you decide to run for a seat at the council table? Â Answer: I was approached by some business owners, and citizens, who expressed dissatisfaction with the current council and it is with their encouragement I decided to run.
What do you think are the most important issues in Sechelt? Answer: Â I believe that high density housing, senior housing and affordable housing are a priority, but our focus needs to be to secure and reliable water source. Â I would also like to bring a vibrancy to the downtown core.
Do you live in Sechelt? Answer :I have been a resident of Sechelt since 1996.
Do you have a website or Facebook page where people can get more information about you and what is it?
Answer:  yes it’s jkuester2018
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Linnea Perpet
Describe yourself and your experience.
Describe yourself and your experience.
I’m 32 years old, and was born and raised here in Sechelt; in fact, I’m living in my dad’s old house. Growing up, I was very heavily involved in Scouting, and co-founded one newsletter as a teen, and founded a second newsletter, just a couple years after the first, so I’ve always been interested in communicating. As a teen, I remember many an afternoon after school being spent at the employment centre with my mother, helping with advocacy issues around EI, WCB, CPP, and disability, as the governments at the time was very lacking in concern for the social services. After graduating from Chatelech in 2004, I left the Sunshine Coast, as there was little to do just out of high school, and moved to Vancouver. I got married, had a daughter, and completed an electrical apprenticeship with the IBEW, and worked for a brief period as an electrician on institutional jobs (UBC, SFU, Canada Line, high schools, Chevron refinery, etc). Our family moved back to Sechelt in 2014 when we purchased a long-time business in Downtown Sechelt (my first time in retail), and I almost immediately became involved in the Sechelt Downtown Business Association. I’m currently 1st Vice President there, and our organization spends a lot of time interacting with our local government, both Council and Staff, and I feel that we have a healthy working relationship.
Why did you decide to run for a seat at the council table?
I tell people that I used to be ‘debilitatingly introverted’, and the thought of doing this even two years ago would have been completely foreign to me. However, working in my store and talking to people, and making new friends here, has made me realize a few things. While I’m fortunate to own my own home, many people here aren’t so fortunate. Over the previous school year, my daughter has had several friends and their families move away, either because they kept having to move, or the Sunshine Coast was generally becoming more and more unavailable for young families to live here affordably. I want Sechelt to be a place that my daughter can choose to stay in after she graduates high school. If she chooses to, I want her to be able to get an education, find a good paying job, and be able to find the things that make her happy in life. However, I just don’t see our community headed in that direction, and that’s why I’ve chosen to get involved in the politics of our day to day governance.
What do you think are the most important issues in Sechelt?
I have more details on my website, but I think that we have major issues, and water is not nearly as major as people (myself included) are led to believe it is. Water is only critical for two to three months out of the year, but we know that climate change is going to affect that further. The provincial and federal governments have both said that there is grant money available to help with things like reservoirs and new sources of water, but the only way we’re going to get that grant money is by installing meters. I believe in meters, and I believe that we can work on that as well as other water sources at the same time. Just this month (September), the SCRD was drilling its test well to tap into the Sechelt aquifer. If we can get at that water, and get the rest of Gibsons off of SCRD water, that may buy us time to build our reservoir.
But I think affordable housing should be the main focus of this election. Unless you’re independently wealthy, or have won the ‘real estate lottery’ by cashing out in the Lower Mainland, you’re going to have a really hard time buying here. While I’m sure many people would love to have a 3000 square foot home on a quarter acre lot, I think those days are gone. Land is expensive, and construction is expensive. We need to get smarter about how we allow people to live. I live on just under a half acre, and I’m not allowed a second dwelling on my property of any size. Why is that? Our bylaws currently don’t allow for the construction of tiny homes, unless people keep them on wheels and call them a trailer. Our community needs a municipal housing corporation. It’s sole purpose would be acquiring land and constructing buildings. Whether those are affordable rentals, or some sales units, the specifics can still be worked on. There are plenty of examples out there fro us to learn from; we really don’t need to re-invent the wheel on this. I use the Canmore Community Housing Corporation as an example when I talk to people. I think it’s something that works well, and could work here. The cost to tax payers is $65 per million dollars of assessed value. Is that too much to ask? I don’t think so.
Another issue that I feel is really important is garbage. It’s not sexy or fun, and people really don’t like to talk about it, but our dump is running out of room; the SCRD has said at current rates it will be closed by 2025. We need to figure out where we go next. Is it resource recovery facilities like Buddy Boyd ran for so many years in Gibsons? Is it more organics diversion; backyard and community composting facilities, curbside pickup, things like that? I don’t profess to know all the answers on that, but there are people in this community that know a lot of the answers on how to sort this out. It’s not fair to us, or to anyone else, for us to be trucking our garbage away to bury or burn in someone else’s backyard because we don’t want to face the difficult decisions of reducing and processing it ourselves.
Do you live in Sechelt?
My family is currently living in my dad’s old home in the East Porpoise Bay neighbourhood. I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few years tinkering and making improvements to the home, but it’s still largely the same place I grew up as a child. Most of my neighbours are the same, and we’re a fairly close community. I still see a lot of the same people that knew me as a kid, and since my wife and I work in Sechelt, we see a lot of those people coming into our business as well.
Do you have a website or Facebook page where people can get more information about you and what is it?
My Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/altonforcouncil/ . I’ve also got a website, that I share with Tony Lobb, at https://www.tomorrows-sechelt.com . As well, I welcome people to email me at [email protected], or even give me a call at 778.834.7935. I may not always answer right away, but I try and get back to everyone as soon as I can.
I just want to encourage everyone to learn about the issues before they go to vote. I know it can be easy to just vote for names you recognize, or friends of friends, but it’s important to vote for people for the right reasons. Just because you can vote for six councillors, doesn’t mean you have to. Get engaged, ask questions, challenge candidates. But be respectful of them as well; we’re your neighbours, your friends, our kids may even go to school together. There should be no place in local politics for name calling or mud-slinging.
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Alice Lutes – Incumbent
Describe yourself and your experience.
I was born and raised in Sechelt. After high school, I moved out to Ontario to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Waterloo. This time away from the Sunshine Coast enabled me to realize how great this community is, so I moved back home a couple of years ago. Since I have returned, I have dedicated myself to serving this community. I have been the Executive Director of the Sechelt Downtown Business Association and Coast Car Co-op, managed a project for the Sunshine Coast Community Solar Association, and served on the board for Transportation Choices, The Capilano Students Union, and the Federation of Canadian Carsharing Cooperatives. I’ve also volunteered for numerous other organizations, projects, and events.
When I look at experience in relation to the role of a councillor, I look to my time with the Sechelt Downtown Business Association. As Executive Director, I have represented businesses in Downtown Sechelt to the District on many issues. I built up relationships with council and the management team and worked with them to build Downtown Sechelt. Through this time I drafted policies, proposed and worked on projects, and reviewed development proposals in Downtown Sechelt. I also served as the vice chair of the District of Sechelt Integrated Sustainability Plan Committee. I have read the agenda, watched, or attended every council meeting in the past two years, and attended more committee meetings than any other new candidate running in this election. This perspective and specific experience will allow me to have an immediate impact once elected.
Why did you decide to run for a seat at the council table?
I’m running because I’ve watched council make decisions in isolation over the past few years. They have not involved enough of the community to come up with the best possible decisions, and this had led to a lack of trust in their decisions. I want to run for council to rebuild this trust in our decision makers by involving more citizens in our decision-making process.
We have a lot of experienced people in our community, and we can use that to our advantage at the council table. We can bring them into standing committees on critical issues, and learn from them. I want to bring an open mind to the role, and I believe I can push the rest of council to challenge their assumptions and preconceptions to enable council as a whole to make better decisions with broader community support.
What do you think are the most important issues in Sechelt?
Water is the most important issue right now. I hear it on nearly every doorstep that I visit. We need to take quick action to get us off Stage 4 Water Restrictions. Long-term solutions like an engineered water reservoir are required, but I believe it will be many years before we can get the land, permits, environmental studies, and build the thing. In the short term, we can use best practices and install water meters and identify and fix our leaky infrastructure. We should not be spilling clean drinking water into the ground.
The larger long-term issue in Sechelt is housing. There is a lack of rental housing, and this is starting to hurt our economy and impact services such as the hospital. Workers just can’t find housing. We need dedicated District of Sechelt staff resources and experience to address this challenge head-on.
An issue that I seem to be the only one talking about is walkability. As I was getting ready to run for council, I looked at what made this community great, and one thing was the trails, seawalls, and sidewalks. Walking is at the essence of the Sechelt lifestyle, and we need to continue to invest in safe spaces for our whole family to get out and enjoy our community.
Do you live in Sechelt?
Yes – I was born, raised and currently live in Sechelt.
Do you have a website or Facebook page where people can get more information about you and what is it?
My website is https://www.electmclean.com/, and my Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/
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Brenda Rowe
Describe yourself and your experience.
I am a Registered Nurse who has worked at Sechelt Hospital since 1996 and in Home & Community Care since 2014. I have years of volunteer experience on the Coast with various organizations including Sechelt Hospital Foundation and Sunshine Coast Minor Hockey. I co founded the Ruby Slipper Fund, a grass roots charity that provides financial assistance to those experiencing a cancer diagnosis. My work is rooted in seniors care, yet I have recently raised 2 boys, now 18 and 19 years old. I have a broad understanding of what challenges our citizens face.
Why did you decide to run for a seat at the council table?
It felt like a natural progression for me, community service is a vital role and I felt like I was at a good point in my life to give back to our community.
What do you think are the most important issues in Sechelt? Affordability. Housing. Water.
The ability for young families to afford to live here on the Sunshine Coast is out of reach for many. The result is difficulty recruiting people to jobs and leaving services at risk.
We need to bring resolution and long term solutions to the issue of balancing our supply with demand when it comes to water.Do you live in Sechelt?
Yes I have lived in Sechelt since 1996.And I love it!
Do you have a website or Facebook page where people can get more information about you and what is it?
roweforsecheltcouncil
The current council appear to be very happy with the status quo an all matters. It seems that nobody on council with one exception wants to move forward with the decisions that mean the most to the residents of Sechelt. Water and affordable housing.
With 3 children under 10 and a baby due in January, we need to address the issues that need immediate action for their future.
Lack of water and affordable housing are top of my list.
I would also like to see one of the two ice rinks open year round.
There needs to be more for our children to do.
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Yes, since 2010.
And on Facebook
Tony Lobb – Candidate for Sechelt Council |
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The following candidates have not responded to our request for information:
Jacqueline Gillis
Thomas Lamb – Served prior to 2014
Mike Shanks – Incumbent