If anyone thinks Wayne Wright has run out of ideas or passion, think again.
Wright, who has served as New Westminster's mayor since 2002, is seeking a fourth term in the Nov. 19 civic election. He's proud of the accomplishments the city has made during his time at city hall, but looks forward to the challenges that lie ahead.
"I think there is always time for change, and this isn't the time. The wheel before was wobbly, the wheel before wasn't really working. This wheel is rolling," he said. "You don't want to stop the momentum."
Wright firmly believes he's the best candidate to lead the City of New Westminster.
"I want to leave this city better off than when I came in. I want to leave them with projects on the go and projects that are finished, and with pride," he said. "I want to be able to walk out of this thing having my grandchildren and their grandchildren looking at the City of New Westminster and saying, 'my grandpa Wayne had a very positive effect here.' The good thing for me is I am healthy, I am still strong spirited. I honestly believe I am the guy to do it. When you've got that feeling you've got to go for it."
Wright dismisses suggestions that's he wants to be a "caretaker" and stay on the job to only see current projects through to their completion.
"Anyone that thinks Wayne Wright doesn't have more ideas and more energy and more ability, I think they'd be puffing a lot of smoke," he said. "You can talk - it's easy to talk. There are some people here who may be saying those things; they've done a lot of talking, but let's see what they've done. When I came in to be the mayor I had a history of being successful and doing things for the city."
Wright, who was named New Westminster's Citizen of the Year in 2000, spearheaded the World's Tallest Tin Soldier project that saw New Westminster get into the Guinness Book of Records and the Festival of Trees that raised funds for the Simon Fraser Society for Community Living.
Wright wanted to bring that same entrepreneurial spirit to city hall and believes that's just what he's done. He said four cities wanted TransLink to relocate its head office to their communities, but his efforts helped bring them to town.
In addition to bringing new tax dollars into the city, Wright said development also brings in new residents who support local businesses.
"You need people. If you don't have people it's hard to draw them in," he said. "There's a critical mass you need to have."
While some people may say too much development is taking place in the city, Wright says the new projects are helping make up for taxes the city lost when three mills closed in the city.
"That's why we have put our energies to making what we think is a better place," he said. "We are winning awards. We are taking old and making it new, yet we are continuing to keep the community whole."
Wright said most of the development that's taken place in New Westminster has seen vacant or derelict sites being replaced with new-and-improved projects that will help the city's tax base.
He cites the recent openings of the Brewery District on the former Labatt Brewery site and the Lowe's store on the former Western Forest Products site as examples.
"These people don't come here without getting support. A lot of them were injected from myself," he said. "That's just the way I am. I think the proof is in the pudding."
Wright describes himself as the kind of guy who likes to make things happen.
"You can't just sit back. If we had sat back, the Labatts thing may just be sitting there," he said. "That's not what we did. We were aggressive. And I am proud to have that, and so is the staff. The TransLink police moving there is a big deal."
Wright said he's been very lucky to have accomplished many of the goals he's set for himself as mayor. He's learned that the biggest difference between municipal work and the private sector is the amount of time it takes to get things done because of the processes involved and need for public consultation and consensus at city council.
"A good example is the Pier Park. I thought I could buy that piece of property the first day I was in here because I thought it was a good idea - and I tried," he said. "The council of the day took me to task and said you can't make a decision like that. Well here we are, eight years later or whatever and we do buy it. We buy it almost for the same price."
As for future efforts as mayor, Wright said the Trapp Block on Columbia Street, the Queensborough/ Quay link and the wharf upgrades to be funded from casino money, the 50-acre site at the Braid SkyTrain station, the Gasworks site on 12th Street and expansion of Royal Columbian Hospital are all on his radar.
"My opinion is the more that we grow the place properly, the more taxation comes in to be shared across the whole pie so it's not just on the old homeowners, because if we had to do that taxes would skyrocket," he said. "I'm going to concentrate on new industry. I'm looking for revenue sources to create new industries. I'm looking, for sure I will be involved with the hospital to see how we bring that. My longevity here makes me knowledgeable to the people in power in Victoria."
Wright firmly believes that Westminster Pier Park, which is set to open in early 2012, will be an amenity that the public will welcome but will also become an economic driver for the city. One of Wright's first goals upon becoming mayor was to reclaim the waterfront, so he couldn't be prouder than when people refer to Westminster Pier Park as Wayne's Wharf.
"I am the happiest guy in the world when they call it Wayne's Wharf. It may go down in history as that. People will say, who is this guy and what did he do? And then they can all look around at the skyline and they can see all those things that took place," he said. "They can see all the theatres being used, and they see that they are coming to the show here, walking on a wonderful wharf. They are going to see seniors and children and everybody playing. I'd be happy with that."
Wright is also proud that the City of New Westminster has been able to get support from senior governments and casino revenues for projects such as Westminster Pier Park, the multi-use civic centre, park and community centre improvements in Queensborough, rather than relying only on taxpayers to pay for new amenities.
"In the business world, we call it OPM - other peoples' money," he said. "We're pretty smart in doing those things."
When Wright became mayor, nuisance behaviors and drug dealing were commonplace in downtown New Westminster. He thinks his efforts with council and staff have helped make the downtown much more livable.
"When I came in, that was my goal. That is why we worked so hard with Degelder," he said of the site that will include retail, housing and 10 theatres. "Something was going to go there - the way to take care of that problem was not just in policing, it was in making use of that derelict land. That is where everything was happening. I am proud to have my portion of it, but staff helped, every-body helped. The police and everybody helped. That place, now you have pride to go there."
Wright said it's nonsense to suggest the city is "building 400-square foot condominiums for people to stay overnight and work in Vancouver", as one of his challengers had suggested.
"Why do you think we are building the pier park? Why do you think we are building the civic centre? Why do you think we work with the developers for the sizes and things we want, which are all meeting the needs of the people who are coming here? I have never heard of a 400-square foot square foot place in our city - there may be a couple of bachelor suites, but in its entirety, I'll clarify that is a stupid statement. Give your head a shake and take a look around."
Wright said the city has created new employment opportunities by attracting companies like Lowe's and Thrifty's Foods and has supported Royal Columbian Hospital, which employs 3,500 people.
"We are creating a civic centre that people can entertain themselves at. We've got 10 theatres coming in so they can entertain themselves at. We've got a new River Market, we've got Fraser River Discovery Centre," he said. "We have an entire city here that people can come. On the other hand, one of the things we are going to do is encourage more new businesses. More businesses come because there are more people there so they can actually do more shopping here. I doubt that anybody is not going to play in the city we are creating."
Wright is also proud of some of the accomplishments the city has made in social issues, including helping to get homeless people off the streets and into housing, and approving demolition of the Woodlands Centre Block tower as former residents had requested. He also notes that the city has made strides in its amenities, such as building a new outdoor pool in Moody Park, improving facilities such as the Mercer Stadium track, and making local youths' 15-year dream of a youth centre a reality.
"The city is a much better off place to live, work and play than it's ever been," he said. "You just have to go downtown to see it. There are people walking everywhere. We have coffee shops blooming everyplace, uptown, downtown.
With amenities like the riverfront park and the civic centre coming, Wright is confident that new opportunities will come to New Westminster.
"When we want to shop and have our entertainment we can do as much here," he said. "Of course we are going to be bringing lots of people in to visit us because of those amenities too."
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