Lake Country municipal election

[Gone_Fishin]

We understand that you are going to vote for the status quo because you are resistant to change omi, so fill your boots. That's why we have a democracy, so that those who can't stand to see things change can vote for the candidates who share their views. If you're comfortable with no economic progress while infrastructure deteriorates and the tax base is squarely shouldered by individuals with no support from business and industry, then Mr Baker is for you, IMO.

However, the ABB (anyone but Baker) vote will not be split 3 ways this time, and that is going to result in a change in governance in Lake Country. 2011 results show that a large majority did not want 3 more years of James Baker. That will translate into a landslide for Mr McCarthy this election, that is certain.

James Baker 988
Jason McCarthy 713
Noreen Guenther 530
Bill Clark 449

[omisimaw]

Where do you get that I am resistant to change?
I chose who I vote for based on the best possible selection given those on the ballot.
I am not one to vote for a non resident candidate, nor a land developer, and most certainly not for someone that I have never voted for on any of the past ballots their name has been on.
You think just because there is only 2 running that it is a shoe-in this time.... I do not, I believe the residents are smarter than that but in a few days we will see....

Remember McCarthy is but one of 3 non residents on the ballot....

Do you want your district run by outsiders? Paying them to do so and including benefits for both the individual and their family?

I like to think there may be a few still left in LC that have their wits about them

[Gone_Fishin]

Mr McCarthy and his family have lived in Lake Country much longer than Mr Baker. Mr Baker moved to the Okanagan in 1976 while Mr McCarthy was born and raised in Lake Country. Your angle is weak and overplayed re: "outsiders." One thing is certain, you are resistant to change and you are voting for the status quo. You're in a minority, as shown by the results in 2011 where the only thing that kept a change from occurring was too many candidates splitting the anti-Baker vote.

[omisimaw]

McCarthy is no longer a resident of Lake Country.
He left.
He can come back and sure he can try for another seat but for now he is one of 3 that IMO would not get my vote based on their residency.
Who cares how long he lived here and the other incumbent lived here. Residency takes precedence over non residency in many voters minds.
I am not resistant to change at all and would have loved to see MORE not less residents stepping up to the plate and standing tall for the community by putting their names on the ballot.
Actually think it is comical how LC seems to have the same old faces rotating on council election to election. Oh sure they go away for awhile, Scarrow went up north for a bit and came back and jumped right back in for instance.
There are certainly enough whiners and complainers but not many that put their time in ...
As for an outsider that is an active property developer in this community ... yah that does not fly with me especially after the Wood Lake proposal he was front and center on.

[George+]

The McCarthys also ignored ALR rules and daycare rules.

Til they got caught.

[omisimaw]

The McCarthys also ignored ALR rules and daycare rules.

Til they got caught.

LOL oh if the walls could talk George, if the walls could talk! But in fairness the McCarthy's are not the only pioneer family in the District that play on the longevity of the clan. Hence, comments like the one above re: Jayson being born and raised there ... as if this gives him privilege over others.

I was born and raised in a BC city of a long standing pioneer family as well ... and many others have been born and raised in towns and cities all over Canada.... but it does not give us a step up to be in the mayor's chair, or even in a councillors chair. Since his last run at the mayors seat what local government and community public positions has he held? What committees has he chaired in the last 3 years? What has he done to prepare himself for the race to the mayors position? And the same goes for the other non resident individuals.

People really need to look close at what they do. For instance, is this incumbent stating that he will give up all ties to ANY development in the district for the next 4 years? NO Has he been up front and open in the media regarding his residence not being within the district any longer? NO and for that matter neither have the other 2 non resident people...

It can be construed as covering up facts or misleading people by playing on the fact of where you spent your youth, but not stating clearly that you are no longer a resident... and if it is that easy what else will or could be next?

[oatesang]

Since his last run at the mayors seat what local government and community public positions has he held? What committees has he chaired in the last 3 years? What has he done to prepare himself for the race to the mayors position? And the same goes for the other non resident individuals.

What have any of them done to prepare themelves to run Lake Country, residents or non-residents? Nothing - it is not actually a requirement, you just have to be at least 18, a Canadian citizen and have lived in BC (not Lake Country) for the previous six months just like the rest of us voters.

Your fixation on the fact that there are 3 non residents running for either council or mayor is ridiculous. There are quite a lot of district staff who do not live in Lake Country but they have worked for the community for many years. Your sainted CAO was not brought up here, he moved to Lake Country after he was offered the job. Are you still saying that ousiders should not be brought in to run the district? Or is it just Jayson that is the problem. Would you have thought better of him had he abandoned his family member and hot footed it back to Lake Country so he could fulfil your idealistic qualifications of who is worthy or not worthy to run the district? You can bet your last dollar that you would have been just as critical of him, so it's heads I win, tails you lose, dammed if you do and dammed if you don't!!

There are certainly enough whiners and complainers but not many that put their time in ...

As a member of an old pioneering family yourself and a long term resident of Lake Country, why are you not running? You have a great deal to say on the matter, so I am just curious?

Lake Country cannot sustain itself on just housing, we need commercial and industrial areas to bring jobs and a higher tax base to enable us to make all of the infrastructure improvement needed. If you think your taxes are high now, just wait, without a massive injection of cash from developers you may not be able to afford to live here!! Reducing staff at the district to the barest bones and using the money "saved" (don't get me started on that) is not enough, but having someone with the knowledge and contacts to develop these areas can only be a bonus.

I know, I know, your next reply will be that all realtors are like the nasty stuff you just stood in on the bottom of your shoes, so why would we want that sort of person running the district, but when I need to buy a car I have to deal with a car salesman (no offence to any car salesmen reading this, I am sure you are lovely, it's the others, I know) so if we want more businesses to come here, sometimes we just have to talk to the realtors.

Luckily, the reason we have councillors is that it is not just one person's decision and I am sure that you are unable to vote in anything that can be seen to be a conflict of interest, although saying that, employing a consultant to do a business review who's son also works for the district can be considered a confilct of interest but that didn't seem to bother this council so hey, what do I know!!!

[omisimaw]

there are a lot of councilors and those wishing to be that volunteer and put their efforts forward when not in office.

You can not compare a staff member to an elected officials ... staff can and do come from all over ....

but when it comes to serving in an elected position these should be residents of the community.....

and there is a ton of concerns about land developers in general being in any form of decision making power in ANY local government.....

especially when they have any history of controversial projects that have not gone through!

Lake country will never have a huge commercial and definitely not any size of industrial enterprises coming that way. They can not afford to give tax breaks for one thing and they just plain do not have enough dedicated land for that purpose.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with it being a bedroom community of two larger entities. But once you get people in that start giving away the farm... then you have problems.

[Gone_Fishin]

Fortunately, omi's ridiculous views are not the law, so it's really just a bunch of hot air from her lips. No one cares except her, so it won't MATTER on election day. People will choose the better man for the job. Since omi can't find anything good to say about Baker, all she can do is cry about where a candidate lives, which is totally irrelevant to their suitability for the position. The more she flaps about this, the more she's turning people off Baker, so I hope she keeps it up.

What we do know, and what really matters, is that Jayson McCarthy has far stronger ties to Lake Country than James Baker, has lived here longer, has more family here, has been far more successful in business in Lake Country than James Baker, is far younger and can handle the demands of the job better than a 74 year old senior citizen.

That's what will count on election day, and it's really clear that people are going to choose a change in leadership to a better mayor and council.

[LANDM]

there are a lot of councilors and those wishing to be that volunteer and put their efforts forward when not in office.

You can not compare a staff member to an elected officials ... staff can and do come from all over ....

but when it comes to serving in an elected position these should be residents of the community.....

and there is a ton of concerns about land developers in general being in any form of decision making power in ANY local government.....

especially when they have any history of controversial projects that have not gone through!

Lake country will never have a huge commercial and definitely not any size of industrial enterprises coming that way. They can not afford to give tax breaks for one thing and they just plain do not have enough dedicated land for that purpose.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with it being a bedroom community of two larger entities. But once you get people in that start giving away the farm... then you have problems.

In other discussions, you support the letter of the law and rights. Please point out where there are any laws, rules, regulations that say "when it comes to serving in an elected position these should be residents of the community"?

In fact, that is specifically not the case.

And as for there being "a ton of concerns about land developers in general being in any form of decision making power in ANY local government", it is more appropriate to say that *you* have that concern.

Perhaps use some of that fairness that you reserve for those accused of child pornographers to leak over to someone who has more history in Lake Country than almost all of the other candidates and who has already proven he can serve the community well.

The fact that McCarthy may live outside of the legal boundaries of the DLC at this moment is irrelevant to his ability to run for office in the DLC or serve for office in the DLC. Colin Day was elected to council different times in Kelowna while living in Oyama. It happens all the time.

[CEB]

Hi, I did a search but couldn't see the answer to this.
Does anyone know what any of the Lake Country candidates position is on the Rails to Trails project?

[phreeagent]

the video link in this thread has candidates speaking about "rail trail" but I think it was mostly Oyama candidate Keli Westgate who understood it the most.

as for candidate residency, I wonder why the rule exists in the first place. must be a reason. how many more seats would have been acclaimed if for instance McCarthy and Westgate didn't put their names in the ring? McCarthy with deep roots - of course he cares about the community. Westgate new to the area but obviously full of passion for Oyama and wanting to roll up her sleeves and get involved. still you mock them? not to mention they are out there knocking on doors and talking to the community instead of hiding in a forum.

my hope is that voting numbers go up this year.

[omisimaw]

Think before you vote! Really think!

You only get one X and so give it thought

Do you truly want people on council making decisions for your community who do not live in the community and may not even vote as to what can and can not be done in your community?

Have you forgotten or do you even know about the mega development proposal for Wood Lake? http://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/44364/Wood-Lake-marina-proposal ... this link was at the preliminary stages... the proposal was eventually presented to Council and the developer.... Ponderosa Enterprises, applicant Jayson McCarthy... check out the council minutes .... Apr 7 2009

[omisimaw]

the video link in this thread has candidates speaking about "rail trail" but I think it was mostly Oyama candidate Keli Westgate who understood it the most.

as for candidate residency, I wonder why the rule exists in the first place. must be a reason. how many more seats would have been acclaimed if for instance McCarthy and Westgate didn't put their names in the ring? McCarthy with deep roots - of course he cares about the community. Westgate new to the area but obviously full of passion for Oyama and wanting to roll up her sleeves and get involved. still you mock them? not to mention they are out there knocking on doors and talking to the community instead of hiding in a forum.

my hope is that voting numbers go up this year.

Council needs to do work on bringing up and in other residents and they have never put much into this so time after time you see the same names and acclamations.

Deep roots? Oh please we all have roots but why be a community that springboards outsiders into a political career?
Why do they not run in their own communities if they have the ambition to run for office?
What are those other 'motives' because there must be something there.... for instance if a candidate is so passionate about Oyama then why are they living outside of the entire District, not just Oyama....

[omisimaw]

Hi, I did a search but couldn't see the answer to this.
Does anyone know what any of the Lake Country candidates position is on the Rails to Trails project?

Try checking the District web for information
Here is one set of minutes found that might get you going https://lakecountry.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?Id=34495&Search=1&Result=1