Business owner Stephen Weller won’t be seeking the North Saanich mayor’s chair after all, but he is not stepping away from municipal politics just yet. He has endorsed Dorothy Hartshorne for North Saanich mayor, and has instead set his sights on a Sidney council seat. In an interview with the PNR, Weller said he is stepping away from the race after encouragement from Sidney business owners and politicians who felt he would be better placed to serve on that council instead.
Weller said he told both North Saanich mayoral candidates, Hartshorne and Geoff Orr, that if either could do a better job than he could as a potential mayor, that he would exit the race, and he said he did just that. He supported Hartshorne and would vote for her because Hartshorne was “more decisive” and he felt “she’ll do a better job.”
“We’ve had some pretty bad management in North Saanich for the last little while and she’s got a big ship to turn around, but I think she’s patient enough to do it,” said Weller.
Weller said he would concentrate on attracting new vendors to Sidney and continue to run his businesses in Sidney (Weller owns Peninsula Fitness Club, and recently sold Hi-Tech Collision).
“I want to continue to try and work for the commercial aspects of Sidney. I think there’s a lot of work to be done there and a lot of help that they need.”
Development in Sidney’s downtown core has attracted much public attention in recent years, with some residents dismayed at the height and purpose of the new buildings. Weller said each development “has to be taken one at a time.”
“The OCP has been in place since 2007…[it’s] pretty well entrenched and as a councillor I would look at every development and variance application individually and make my decision based on the merits of what I think is right for the community,” said Weller.
Affordable housing was another issue for Weller. He felt that Sidney was a small area and is “doing its best to provide affordable rentals.”
He said Sidney was in a difficult situation because most land is privately owned and “there’s nothing against the law saying a private citizen can’t sell a property for what the market will bear. It’s very difficult to legislate what a private citizen can and can’t do with their property.” He said Sidney has done well with a limited amount of land, saying affordable rentals on Fourth Street, Habitat for Humanity projects, and the Summergate Village development were good options for lower income households.
He said he would be vocal about neighbouring municipalities “holding up their end of the bargain” for affordable housing.
“They’ve got a lot more land than what Sidney does, and I think comparatively speaking, Sidney’s done quite well.”
While he is running in Sidney rather than North Saanich, Weller said he would continue to work on North Saanich issues. He wanted to continue to get sewer services connected to seven properties on McDonald Park Road and would try and get the soccer fields at Blue Heron Park converted to artificial turf.
reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com
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