To the list of seven candidates already declared for Nelson city council, add six more, as of press time at noon on Wednesday.
Current councillors Bob Adams and Janice Morrison have decided to run again. Adams has served three terms on council, and Morrison, in addition to the current term, was on council for one term from 1999 to 2002.
Travis Hauck has lived in Nelson since 1999, is self-employed, has a long history in retail in Nelson, and is active in the mountain biking community. He says the future of Nelson for his kids is a big part of the reason he’s decided to run.
“In addition to organizing events, I’m a participant,” he says. “When I’m at a mountain bike race in another community, I see hundreds of visitors enjoying these mountain towns, and supporting the local economy, and I wonder why Nelson isn’t doing the same thing all year long.”
“There’s of course much more to municipal politics than events and tourism, and I’m eager to be part of a team that has a diverse perspective on the city’s leadership and direction.”
Hauck is running under the banner of the Coalition of Responsible Electors (CORE), who are also fielding four other candidates.
Brian Shields moved to Nelson in 2008 after working for municipalities on Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland. He describes himself as an artist who does graphic design as a hobby, and after leaving his job as operations manager for the City of Nelson in 2010 he owned and operated a fire-safety business. He is a programmer at Kootenay Co-op Radio and has served on its board.
Shields is running under the auspices of CORE. He describes himself as “left-of-centre” when it comes to political leaning.
“The role of a councillor is not to micromanage city services, but with my experience I can help ensure that council is making realistic and effective decisions when it comes to delivering services to the citizens of Nelson,” he said.
Margaret Stacey, who has lived in Nelson since 1981, served two terms on council from 2005 to 2011. She was the executive director of the Capitol Theatre for 17 years and has worked with many volunteer organizations in the city over the years.
Stacey says she wants to continue with a number of initiatives that started when she was on council including infrastructure upgrades, Hall Street and Railtown planning, emergency planning, broadband and technical innovation, waste planning reconfiguration with the RDCK, social planning, and cultural development.
“And there are some new issues,” she says. “Water security and wildfire protection.”
Jesse Woodward grew up in the Slocan Valley and moved back to Nelson eight years ago after getting a masters degree in environmental management. He has managed the West Kootenay EcoSociety’s markets (downtown, Cottonwood, and Marketfest) for the last seven years.
“There are many complex city issues to work on such as infrastructure upgrades, climate change adaptation, affordable housing and access to services,” he says. “Because of the very public nature of my current job, I have had the pleasure of working with city council, city staff, police, fire and the local business community to ensure the smooth and safe operations of the Nelson outdoor markets so that all locals and visitors can feel safe, welcome and included in the Nelson market scene.”
These six join seven already announced candidates for council: Michelle Hillaby, Charles Jeanes, Rik Logtenberg, Leslie Payne, Cal Renwick, Stephanie Wiggins, and incumbent Robin Cherbo.
Councillor Valerie Warmington has told the Star she does not intend to seek re-election.
Running for mayor are incumbent Deb Kozak and former mayor John Dooley.
Candidates have until Friday at 4 p.m. to file election papers. The election is on Oct. 20.