Nanaimo council has spent the first of its four years in office regaining the trust of city officials and Nanaimo residents. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

REGAINING TRUST

“It’s important to recognize how far we’ve come:” Nanaimo council celebrates first anniversary

Nov 5, 2019 | 8:07 AM

NANAIMO — Twelve months into a four year term, Nanaimo City Council is celebrating a new era of local politics.

Following a tumultuous period that regularly saw council disfunction in the spotlight, the focus from elected officials has been on repairing the damage done.

“People were looking for a change, they wanted to not be a national embarrassment which to some extent I think Nanaimo had become,” Mayor Leonard Krog told NanaimoNewsNOW. “The reality is that it’s been a fun year.”

Krog noted staff and City Hall was badly damaged by the events prior to the October 2018 vote that saw six new councillors and Krog occupy council chambers.

“There was curiosity and concern about what the new mayor and council would be like. I think we’ve worked very hard to make sure staff is respected and we reflect in our public behaviours the kind of maturity that people expect of their elected officials.”

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Krog pointed to a record year for construction in the city as a key indicator of faith returning to local politics.

As of June 2019, the city had granted $316-million in building permits, well above the average of $200-million for a calendar year.

Krog added they expect to top $400-million by the end of 2019.

The optimism surrounding Nanaimo government is also shared through independent groups such as IntegrityBC, a non-partisan local government watchdog.

Executive Director Dermod Travis said Nanaimo was a constant topic for his group in recent years, who he labelled as 2018’s disfunctional council of the year.

“There were times during the last council where I would get dozens of emails or social media posts. Since in the last election I haven’t received a single comment about Nanaimo.”

He added while some residents might unhappy with some of council’s decisions, the discourse is civil.

“Obviously there are local issues are important to citizens who do the usual fights that happen in communities, but in regards to the number of phone calls, investigations, reviews, appointments of special prosecutors…that disfunction seems to be long in the past.”

Mayor Krog highlighted some key areas he is hoping Council can tackle in the remainder of their four year term.

“We know the south end needs and deserves a community centre like Oliver Woods,” Krog said. “We know the waterfront walkway is important to people and we’re figuring out how to built it in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective way.

In addition to major issues such as affordable housing and homelessness, Krog also touted ongoing work on redeveloping the downtown waterfront, as well as maintaining a green approach to future city projects.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley