Category: Decafnation

It’s just three days before the majority of voters will choose Comox Valley mayors, councils and school trustees, and the silly season is in full swing. Many voters have already cast their ballots for mayors, council members, rural area directors and school district trustees, and advance voting for the Oct. 20 election continues tomorrow, Oct. 17, at various locations. Meanwhile, here’s some of what’s been going on in the various campaigns.

There’s a youth movement in Comox Valley politics and Decafnation supports it. Former council members have had their chance. It’s those who must live with the impact of decisions tomorrow who should have the opportunity to make them today.
Unlike the federal and provincial political scene where parties and candidates start positioning themselves months, even years, before Election Day, candidates for local government often don’t announce until the filing deadline.

Over five terms on Cumberland Council, Gwyn Sproule has shifted her agenda from saving trees to growing the village’s commercial base with light, green industries along Bevan Road. And she wants to see the wastewater treatment project to completion. What does an immigrant from England with a degree in Greek and Latin who became a hippie tree planter in British Columbia 42 years ago do for an encore after nearly two decades on the Cumberland Village Council? For Gwyn Sproule, her agenda for a sixth term on council is quite a bit more pragmatic than it used to be.

Your vote on Oct. 20 does more than elect someone to a municipal council. It shapes the future of your community. DecafNation’s special pages this week will help you make more informed choices.

CFB Comox Engineering Officer Alex Bissinger would focus on better planning, maintaining infrastructure and create more activity opportunities for young people in a town that has usually catered to seniors. She would add a voice for sustainability and not be fooled by consultant’s reports. Complex technical reports from staff and consultants often make municipal councillors eyes glaze over, but not Comox Council candidate Alex Bissinger. Her eyes light up.