Nanaimo含羞草研究社檚 long-serving MLA will seek the mayor含羞草研究社檚 chair.
NDP MLA Leonard Krog announced Wednesday evening that he will run for mayor of Nanaimo in this fall含羞草研究社檚 local government election.
含羞草研究社淚 haven含羞草研究社檛 felt this enthusiastic about something for awhile, to be honest,含羞草研究社� said Krog.
He said he含羞草研究社檇 been musing about a mayoral bid for a couple of years, but it was the fact that so many people asked him to run 含羞草研究社� people from across the political spectrum, he said, people who knew him well and people who didn含羞草研究社檛.
含羞草研究社淭hey felt that I was the person who could bring people together and that含羞草研究社檚 the theme of the campaign. It is about bringing people together for change,含羞草研究社� he said.
Krog was also persuaded by potential city council candidates who will now be willing to put their names forward.
含羞草研究社淧eople who I respect, regardless of their politics but who I knew would be first-rate councillors, said, 含羞草研究社榠f you will run for mayor, I will run for council,含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫 he said. 含羞草研究社淭hat was certainly an important factor.含羞草研究社�
It含羞草研究社檚 official will run for mayor of
含羞草研究社� Nanaimo Bulletin (@NanaimoBulletin)
Krog said the city含羞草研究社檚 reputation has been diminished the last three and a half years and went so far as to say Nanaimo has been 含羞草研究社渁 bit of a laughingstock含羞草研究社� at times.
含羞草研究社淭hat含羞草研究社檚 the bad news. The good news is it is also a wonderful opportunity and there has been an incredible increase, I think, in civic engagement,含羞草研究社� Krog said. 含羞草研究社淧eople who weren含羞草研究社檛 paying a lot of attention to local politics are paying attention now.含羞草研究社�
He said the 含羞草研究社渆vent centre fiasco,含羞草研究社� for example, showed that city councillors were 含羞草研究社渙ut-of-touch and not willing to listen to people.含羞草研究社�
A new council under his leadership would need to get up to speed on the job and hire a permanent chief administrative officer who can help attract and retain good managers at city hall, he said.
A downtown transportation hub should be an obvious priority in a modern city, he said, and he mentioned that council needs to show fortitude with social housing projects so it doesn含羞草研究社檛 miss out on any more provincial funding.
As far as the logistics of his campaign, Krog said he will continue to serve as MLA, but will request to stop drawing his salary once the civic election campaign officially begins. If he wins, he will resign his seat; if not, the 65-year-old will serve out the rest of his term.
He said that though he recognizes a lot of the city含羞草研究社檚 work is around zoning, roads, garbage, sewer and the like, 含羞草研究社渙ne of the great joys of municipal politics is that if you work with a good group of people, people who put the community first, you can accomplish a lot.含羞草研究社�
That含羞草研究社檚 part of the appeal, Krog suggested 含羞草研究社� making a difference in his community in a different way than through representation in the legislature, where he has served since 2005.
含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 effective in that forum in terms of being able to make speeches and criticize and put forward ideas and amuse and all those things, and that含羞草研究社檚 lovely. But it is ultimately an atmosphere where the game is played with set rules and it is about conflict and we含羞草研究社檝e seen what conflict has [done] these last three and a half years,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淚 want to work in an environment where whatever leadership skills I have and can bring to this, I can work with a team to make things happen. I want to move us forward. I want to make progress. I want to make change. I want to see this community develop in the way that it should.含羞草研究社�
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