It doesn’t look like there’s a lack of political ambition in Sooke.
Most district councillors are running for re-election for one of six council seats or the mayor’s office.
Nominations open Aug. 30. The municipal election is on Oct. 15.
So far, four members of council have indicated they plan to seek re-election: Mayor Maja Tait, Al Beddows, Tony St-Pierre and Jeff Bateman. Councillors Ebony Logins and Megan McMath are still weighing their options. Coun. Dana Lajeunesse didn’t reply to interview requests.
Tait, who’s seeking her third term as mayor, announced in November she’ll seek re-election.
“I am very grateful to have served in this role since 2014 and will continue working on building a safe and inclusive community for all residents, and remain committed and hopeful in achieving this outcome over the next term,” Tait said.
RELATED: Mayor Tait says she will seek re-election
Bateman, who’s completing his first term on council, wants to see several initiatives completed by the current council move forward in the next term.
“I believe I’m ready for the challenge of another four years of what has proven to be hard, always fascinating and often rewarding work,” he said.
“I’m excited by the vision and proposed actions in Sooke’s new and pending master plans – OCP, climate action, community development, transportation, housing needs, homelessness, and parks and trails – and I’d like to be part of the next council team that will mindfully move these plans forward.”
The goal for St-Pierre over the next four years is to continue to maintain stability at the district and complete many projects that have been started over the past few years by council.
“It has been a lot of work setting things up, putting a bunch of master plans in place. As a result of the pandemic, we started off in a deficit in terms of staff and a bunch of other things. We had to do a lot of work just to get the real work happening,” said St-Pierre, who is completing his first term on council.
First-term councillor Beddows says there is still much work to be done but feels progress was made in the last four years
“The transportation problems in Sooke need to be ironed out and that’s going to take another few years to get done, and I want to be part of that,” he said.
editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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