Lake Country municipal election

[Rwede]

You keep speaking of a former employee.... who are you speaking of? Who is this person you keep posting about? Is it yourself perhaps?
As far as 2008 goes well that was the old guard in place now wasn't it and the single building inspector model, again another of the struggles within that department that Rose would not address.
Engineering and development departments LOL.... the old CAO was a technician in these areas .... that is his educational background and work experience as stated by himself.
You do not have to like the new CAO, and quite frankly those who honor the old guard will not like anyone that comes in after they are gone. That is normal and understandable. It is not right, but it is the nature of the mentality of far to many of the old school in the district.
Taxpayers have long deserved better than what they had and this taxpayer is happy to see fresh blood, new ideas, and educated and experienced people being recruited.
Now if this can be matched by some new blood and a change in the old guard within the council that will only make things better. Unfortunately for the Mayor's position obviously their is not much choice, same old or the old guard. Obviously there is just not enough discontent within the community to bring forth change to that chair. Both have history and both have their followers but when push comes to shove I would vote Baker over the former councilor ...

ETA the word buffoon could easily be said of Rose... "a ridiculous but amusing person; a clown"

Mayor and council are responsible to approve any restructuring at DLC.

Some people were quick to praise the latest moves as being those of mayor and council, but then are quick to blame the old COA for the lack of any moves previously.

I've stated before that I'm no Rose fan. I'm no fan of Alberto's direction either.

[omisimaw]

The individual was not chased out of any BC local government position he has held. Quite on the contrary he has done an excellent job in each and every organization and even though he has a silent reputation of being the broom it is a broom that was long overdue. And if that is your opinion of the man then it is clear you do not know of him or about him, including a stellar reputation in local government circles.
Senior management LOL.... in name only under some administrations, especially when headed by control.
Clear goals and objectives.... are you suggesting that Rose ran the district in this manner? Because nothing could be further from the truth. Again the word control comes to mind.
Complete outsider? .... well where do you think a replacement CAO should have come from, inside the dysfunctional District hall? If yes, then who do you think should have slipped into the corner office? Which sidekick, friend, buddy of the old?
This is a long standing problem with the District, they want to hire only individuals that live within the boundaries of the District, but then again, yahoo look at the ballot list and how many of those willing to take up public office on behalf of those taxpaying citizens do not have any vested interest in the District at all....

[omisimaw]

Mayor and council are responsible to approve any restructuring at DLC.

Some people were quick to praise the latest moves as being those of mayor and council, but then are quick to blame the old COA for the lack of any moves previously.

I've stated before that I'm no Rose fan. I'm no fan of Alberto's direction either.

I think you are somewhat correct in your comments but then again something must be brought before mayor and council for consideration and the old guard did a great job of not doing that. Therefore nothing brought forward, nothing done.

Mayors and councilors are not involved in the day to day running and management and do not tell staff what to do or what not to do on a daily basis.

If for instance a resident runs into a snag at the Hall they can call their Councillor but that person can not come down to the District and walk into a staff, or managers office, and get involved. It just does not work that way.

They do however have to approve the expenditure of funds to do the type of restructuring that took place in this instance as it was a major sweep. But again, they would have been in the drivers seat for who they wanted to replace the retired CAO and it is their chance at that stage to hire someone who could deal with a restructure of this magnitude. So yes, they would have been recruiting a broom and De Feo is just the right person to do this.

[fsbo]

I'm sure council had no intentions of restricting. I think they wasted all the taxpayer's money and had no other option. If the "broom" de feo is so talented and respected what is he doing in Lake Country? You would figure he would be running Vancouver or Toronto.

[omisimaw]

Not sure why you would think Mr De Feo's choice of work location should be Vancouver or Toronto any more than it should be yours.
The central okanagan has many highly qualified and educated individuals working in local government, why should Lake Country have to settle for a CAO who holds a college technical diploma from 20 years ago? Or for any other individual with less of a CV?
Like many other persons living and working in smaller communities it is usually a lifestyle choice.
Plus as has been evident in LC for far too long, a strong broom is exactly what the organization needed to get them back on track and moving forward.
You are all about the litigation actions of late, where were you when Rose was in the corner office? Where were are your comments about the multitude of litigations the District has been engaged in during his tenure?
I suppose you chose not to speak of them because you either are not aware or they do not affect you personally, as in affecting your cabin at the lake, or your R/C hobby maybe?
But then Mr De Feo is not up for election so he is not really on trial here now is he?

[omisimaw]

http://forums.castanet.net/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=57495&start=45

the post today is well worth a read! It should actually be in this thread and not in the Rose v Baker thread but it is well stated and oh so true!

[hallgirl]

Just a reminder:
All Candidates Forum tonight, Nov 3, 7pm at Creekside Theatre. Doors open at 6.30

[omisimaw]

Just a reminder:
All Candidates Forum tonight, Nov 3, 7pm at Creekside Theatre. Doors open at 6.30

Let us know how it turns out will you.
Should be interesting, especially the mingle in the foyer talks and schmoozing ...

[Rwede]

Let us know how it turns out will you.
Should be interesting, especially the mingle in the foyer talks and schmoozing ...

Why aren't you going?

[omisimaw]

Let us know how it turns out will you.
Should be interesting, especially the mingle in the foyer talks and schmoozing ...

Why aren't you going?

out of town

[Rwede]

So a friend of mine who lives in DLC called me and said "Let's go watch this!"

So we did.

Impressions on mayoral candidates:

McCarthy > Baker. By a long shot. Baker was more interested in "funny" quips at Rose than he was at answering the questions. Most people said afterwards that they couldn't even follow Baker's ramblings and that McCarthy was far more succinct and with a far better plan on how to deal with the district's funding issues than Baker.

Baker just looked out of ideas and tired. McCarthy has fresh ideas and was quick to admit that he would need more information on certain issues before he made important decisions with taxpayers' money, compared to Baker who seems to cling to failed ideas purely on what I could only deduce to be ego.

Councilor candidates who impressed me:

Don Rae - down to earth guy with solid business experience. I think he's a common sense guy and would work his butt off for the district.
Richard Issler - although his main issue is the Aspen Grove development, he is obviously an intelligent man with an ability to think outside the box. Very well-spoken too.
Matt Vader - he's in by acclamation, but he has some good ideas and I think he'll do well.
Keli Westgate - she's very well-spoken and was very attentive to the questions. For me to be impressed by someone with almost the polar opposite political views to mine says something. I think she'd be a good city ambassador and would learn the ropes quickly for a relative newbie.
Blair Ireland - he admitted he was nervous at the start (shows honesty to me). He stressed listening to citizens, which isn't happening under the current batch.

Things that didn't impress me:

Rose and Baker arguing over the million dollars wasted.
All the incumbents, except for Penny, who bailed out of the building before people could speak to them individually. Those who stayed around to meet voters and talk with them included Rae, McCarthy, Westgate, Ireland, and Gambell.
The Transit Union handing out pamphlets for Scarrow. I don't like unions mingling in elections.

[omisimaw]

You said Penny bailed then you say she stayed.... interested to know which it was... like her .. not many do but she is a doer and knows her agriculture which is a large part of the tax base still in DLC

Jayson has deep seated heritage family roots in the community but he is definitely the type to butter his own bread first and last. He has always been a commissioned sales person first and they are schmoozers and say what they have to say, when they have to say it to get the job done, whether it is true or not or whether they actually believe it or not. Plus he does not reside in the community.

Yes, I know I have said with say Christie Clark it is not mandatory and the rules say you do not have to, I am solidly of the opinion that for an elected LOCAL government person it should be a person from the community. I still believe employees do not need to be resident of the area and when you are in provincial politics anywhere in the province works for a riding, as long as you connect and stay connected to the area.

How did the other fellow do for Winfield? How many turned out and how much time was given for folks to speak?

Be great to hear what others from this and other election threads have to say if they were also present.

[Rwede]

You said Penny bailed then you say she stayed.... interested to know which it was... like her .. not many do but she is a doer and knows her agriculture which is a large part of the tax base still in DLC

Can you read?

All the incumbents, except for Penny, who bailed out of the building before people could speak to them individually.

I'll let you look up the definition of "except for."


Jayson's family is currently living in Kelowna while they care for a critically ill family member. He is moving back to LC as soon as possible once a spot in a care home opens up. If you hold that against him, you are a despicable person.

[omisimaw]

. Those who stayed around to meet voters and talk with them included Rae, McCarthy, Westgate, Ireland, and Gambell.

Retract your claws.... and read your next sentence... so what was it she left or stayed around...

As for Jayson, well plain and simple his address on his papers show his residence as Kelowna... your reasoning why he is in Kelowna is your view but definitely not stated by the man, so as far as the public is concerned he lives in Kelowna, is a resident of Kelowna and from his blurb to be a former member of council, a member of a pioneer family, and a active member of the LC business community... so quit trying to be a drama queen, he lives in Kelowna plain and simple.... there is no need to try and make excuses for why, the fact is he is there now.

[Shelku]

You said Penny bailed then you say she stayed....

Penny Gambell is the full name

Impressions on mayoral candidates...

Thanks for the quick summary! I have the councillors at large narrowed to 3 ... still need to figure out which one to toss out of my list!

Richard Issler made a fuss about the sale of Aspen Grove golf course which kind of put me off a bit ... but I don't know yet.

I'll have to look for some articles in the Lake Country Calendar to get some more info. There's not much available on the District website or Lake Country Votes - especially since some candidates don't even have a website/blog/facebook link or anything!