Veteran Town councillor Stafford Lumley says he will be seeking a third term as a Gibsons councillor in the Oct. 15 elections. He made the announcement via a press release issued Aug. 24, in which the two-term Town elected representative cited “tax equity, especially where the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is concerned,” and future policing costs as his “top concerns” for the coming council term.
Focus areas for Lumley
“Leading up to the next census, Council needs to do more budgeting work to sustain the policing costs without a huge tax hit on residents,” Lumley said in the release. The Town’s population hovers just under the 5,000 person threshold, at which point it would be required to take on a greater portion of its policing costs, more than doubling what it currently pays for that service.
“…although we’ve been keeping our own tax increases low, Town residents’ property taxes continue to climb in part due to high increases at the SCRD. We can’t continue to support this when the SCRD is making decisions like closing down or cutting back hours at our pool. As much as I appreciate working together with other areas, Gibsons has been getting lost in the shuffle and we need to make sure our residents are getting a fair deal. Council as a whole needs to pay more attention to this,” his statement reads.
Lumley’s release also states he wants action on housing issues. “Affordable housing cannot be lip service. I support bringing the vacancy tax to Gibsons and whatever else we can do to promote more housing options rather than just talk about it. Too often local government decisions on the Coast have not reflected everyone’s claims of supporting affordable housing. I want to see the actions of the next Council match our words.”
An owner of a local restaurant, a father of three and a former chartered accountant, Lumley says he hopes to contribute his voice of common sense and the perspective of local small business to the council table. He also states he wants to mentor younger people in the Town to assume that role in the coming years.
Gibsons election picture so far
Lumley’s statement identified him as the first person to declare candidacy for the Town’s four councillor positions. In 2018, he was re-elected to council with 963 votes. That was the second highest number of votes for the councillor position during that election, with then-newcomer Aleria Ladwig receiving 1,085 votes.
Ladwig made a statement at a recent Town council meeting that she would not be seeking a second term in the 2022 elections. To date, Coast Reporter has not been advised whether incumbents David Croal or Annemarie De Andrade, who are completing their first terms, will be running for re-election.
Lumley’s release states he supports the candidacy of mayoral candidate Silas White, who he previously served with on council. Single-term current Mayor Bill Beamish stated this spring that he would not seek a second term.
The first day to officially file candidate nomination papers for elected office in this fall’s elections in Gibsons, Sechelt, the Sunshine Coast Regional District and for School District No. 46 is Aug. 30. The deadline is 4 p.m. on Sept. 9 for a candidate to be on the ballot.
