New West candidates enter final days of campaign

If Burger Heaven’s (b)un-official burger poll is any indication, the mayoral race is going to be a nail biter.

With only a day left of voting, the Jonathan Cote burger was still on top with 409 votes. The Wayne Wright burger was close behind at 401 votes.

As of late Wednesday, the Undecided burger had 159 votes, followed by the James Crosty burger at 142 votes and the Vladimir Krasnogor burger at 86 votes.

Get out and vote

Sixteen polling stations will be open for business in New Westminster on election day.

Voting will take place in New Westminster on Saturday, Nov. 15 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. In the last civic election, 23.45 per cent of eligible voters cast votes, a decrease from the 23.86 per cent turnout in 2008 and 25.84 per cent in 2005.

With advanced polls now complete, voters will be able to head to any of the following locations to cast votes on Saturday, Nov. 15: Century House, St. Barnabas Anglican Church hall, Royal City Centre’s community room, Sapperton Pensioners Hall, Glenbrook Park amenities centre, the Royal Westminster Regiment Armoury, River Market and the Shops at New West (New Westminster SkyTrain station).

Several schools will also be home to voting locations on the general voting day: Queen Elizabeth, Connaught Heights, Lord Tweedsmuir, Herbert Spencer, F.W. Howay and Richard McBride elementary schools and Glenbrook Middle School.

Repeat offenders

As we look forward to Saturday’s civic election, let’s take a quick stroll down memory lane.

In the 2011 mayor’s race, incumbent Mayor Wayne Wright garnered 6,633 votes to win a fourth term as mayor, beating James Crosty, who’s running again this year, and had 3,139 votes, Vance McFadyen (826 votes) and François Nantel (207 votes).

On the councillor contest, incumbent Coun. Jonathan Cote (who’s running for mayor this time round) topped the polls with 6,481 votes, followed by Chuck Puchmayr at 5,802, Jaimie McEvoy at 5,405, Lorrie Williams at 5,385, Bill Harper at 4,699 and Betty McIntosh at 4,598. While McIntosh is retiring from politics, former councillor Cal Donnelly, who placed seventh in the councillor race, is running again in 2014.

Also hoping for better success in 2014 than in 2011 are former candidates John Ashdown, Jim Bell, Gerry Liu and Gavin Palmer. Vladimir Krasnogor, who garnered 1,098 votes in the 2011councillor contest, is running for mayor in 2014.

Final promises

Mayoral candidates used the final days of the 2014 election campaign to put forward some promises they’re hoping will resonate with voters.

Jonathan Cote committed to linking New Westminster’s waterfront by building the Queensborough to Quayside (Q2Q) pedestrian bridge and linking Westminster Pier Park to Sapperton Landing.

“I imagine a day in the not too distant future, when Queensborough residents can walk to the River Market to go buy groceries using the new Q2Q Pedestrian Bridge,” he said in a press release. “These sorts of projects take cars off our crowded roads, are good for business and tourism and help create a healthy, happy and vibrant community.”

According to Cote, only a small portion of private industrial land separates Sapperton Landing from Westminster Pier Park.  He’s committed to exploring options to acquire right-of-way along those properties and to connect all of New Westminster’s waterfront.

Incumbent Mayor Wayne Wright has pledged to establish a working group to foster the digital economy. He’s hoping the forum will attract and develop
startup companies in New Westminster in the digital and wireless tech sectors.

“Economic development has always been one of my top priorities for New Westminster,” he said in a press release. “There’s a growing community of early-stage companies in the tech sector, with most of them in Vancouver. However, I believe some of them would consider moving to other areas in Metro Vancouver that are more affordable for their businesses to grow. Why not have them come to New Westminster? With the right mix of programs, services and incentives, we could build a cluster of startup companies that are commercializing products and services in the digital and wireless sectors.”

The Mayor’s Digital Working Group would make recommendations on how the city can develop and implement policies that can foster and attract entrepreneurs to build their business in New Westminster.

James Crosty, who is making his second run for mayor, is promising to create an ombudsman office outside city hall. He’s proposing that the mayor select the ombudsman who would address issues or concerns with city hall.

“Not all experiences with city hall are successful,” he said. “The ombudsman office will be a place where people can voice their concerns in confidence, respect and privacy. They will be guided on how to work together with staff to make the experience both positive and expeditious for all stakeholders.”

For all the New West election coverage, see www.royalcityrecord.com and check under the #ELXNNW tab. Follow the election results as we live-tweet Saturday night from @TheRecord.