Vote Greg Gardner
An Independent Voice For Squamish
In The Media
Press Release: May 23rd, 2006
By-election candidate Greg Gardner has begun reaching out to the people of Squamish to hear their concerns since announcing his intention to seek election on June 24th. "I believe in the past there has been a disconnect between the council and the people of Squamish. We saw that clearly with the election results in November. The bottom line is council is a representation of the people of Squamish. To be effective on council I need to know what the people of Squamish are thinking. The number and quality of the candidates running is indicative of how important this by-election is."
Greg was nominated by Squamish native and successful realtor, Marianne Wilson. She has worked with Greg in a variety of capacities including the Olympic Bid Campaign and, more recently, the Squamish Community Foundation. He was also nominated by Helen Brownrigg, the coordinator of the local Big Brothers and Sisters organization, and the driving force behind the local Breakfast Program, a grassroots organization ensuring children have breakfast food.
Marianne Wilson is pleased to support Greg because; "he will do such a great job for Squamish. Rarely does a candidate with Greg's business and development savvy step forward for municipal politics because of the onerous time commitment councilors must make. What we need while Squamish is experiencing this unprecedented growth is someone on council who really understands development, and Greg is that person."
Helen Brownrigg is putting her name behind Greg because "I have watched his quiet humanitarian efforts in this community for years. You can always count on Greg to help with what ever this community needs, often without being asked. To me that says Greg loves this community and the people in it. We need people like Greg on council."
Doug Race, partner in the Law Firm of Race & Company has known Greg for many years and is standing as Greg's Campaign Manager because "we have a shared ethic and vision for Squamish. Greg is extremely professional in both his business and volunteer efforts, but it is his attention to financial matters that may have the greatest impact on council."
Ken Newington, long-time local realtor is standing as the Financial Agent for Greg's campaign. "I believe that Greg has the strength to make independent well thought out decisions on council, we need an independent voice to represent us."
Greg is overwhelmed with the support he has been receiving from his team and the people of Squamish. "One of the issues I want to see addressed is the social ramifications rising from the growth that is presently happening in Squamish particularly with respect to low income people and their families. For a community to stay vibrant we need to concern ourselves with more than the speed at which a development permit goes through. We have to keep in mind that the rapid construction of up-scale condos is in many cases exacerbating an unaddressed homeless issue. These issues must be dealt with now while the development is occurring. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that we live in the best place in the world. We can have it all in Squamish as long as we proceed in a thoughtful and caring manner."
"Another concern I've heard is that we need to ensure we are realizing all the benefits from the cultural diversity that exists in our community and the opportunities that are available from that diversity to the community as a whole."
"Our community has had some significant losses in the past few years with the closure of the B.C. Rail shops, Interfor and now Woodfibre. Going forward we need to ensure that Squamish has planned and balanced growth. As a community we are in the driver's seat. We can take the time to determine what we want our community to look like fifty years down the road. We need the vision to put that plan in place now. We need to support business diversity to ensure there are jobs in Squamish beyond this development boom. We need to treat this community like it's our home, because it is."
