Current Central Saanich Councillor Ryan Windsor announced last week that he will be running for Mayor in November’s municipal election.
Windsor, who was elected to council during Central Saanich’s 2011 by-election, announced Thursday, Sept. 11 that he had picked up a nomination package and would be running for mayor.
“It’s really about getting further out into the community,” said Windsor in an interview Friday.
“I talked to an enormous amount of people about my intentions and I had good, positive feedback about running.”
Windsor said that as a current member of council, the possibility of taking on a new role is a bit daunting but that he’s looking forward to connecting with the community on a different level should he be elected.
“It’s definitely a bit nerve wracking knowing you might be stepping up to a leadership role but I think all the same things apply. I’ve always been accessible to the community and I’m looking forward to continuing my engagement with the public during my campaign.”
Windsor has a degree in political science and also studied public policy at UBC.
“I’ve always been involved in local riding associations which meant I was involved in planning and looking at local policies and how they were relevant,” Windsor said.
Windsor said he expects issues like composting, derelict vessels in Brentwood Bay, amalgamation, farming and workforce housing to be hot button topics during the lead up to the election.
“I’m interested to see what the community has to say about these things,” he said.
Windsor, a father of two young children, lives in Central Saanich and works in his family’s Central Saanich-based business, de Vine Vineyards.
“Living and working in Central Saanich makes me very accessible to the public,” said Windsor, adding that he’s looking forward to the usual door knocking introductions as well as using social media (Twitter and Facebook) to better reach out to the public in the lead up to the election.
No other mayoral candidates have officially stepped up in Central Saanich yet.
Current Central Saanich Mayor Alastair Bryson announced he would not be running again in August.
The municipal election is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 15.
See the municipality’s website at centralsaanich.ca for full election day details.
reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com