While Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan intends to remain the city's mother bear, the rest of his council members also intend to run in the upcoming election.
On Nov. 15, councillors Anne Kang, Colleen Jordan, Nick Volkow, Paul McDonell, Pietro Calendino, Dan Johnston and Sav Dhaliwal hope to see their names on the ballots once again and keep the Burnaby Citizens Association lock on city hall.
In the last civic election in 2011, there were 145,781 eligible voters, but only 34,035 votes were cast. Corrigan won against his three competitors by 74 per cent, with 25,035 votes.
Calendino, who won by the largest margin with 55 per cent, or 18,822 votes, said he enjoys the job and wants to be part of the city's growth.
"There's a few specific projects going," he said. "(For) example, we need a community centre in the Heights, we have one in each quadrant, but not one in the north quadrant."
Calendino also noted that with Lougheed mall's proposed redevelopment, it will require new facilities in the area.
"I too would like to have a hand in that," he added.
McDonell said there will be unfinished projects by the time the next election rolls around that he wants to see through, including the transportation review project, secondary suites and the social sustainability strategy.
"Overall, I find it very rewarding," he said. "There's some challenges when you work with people, but you learn new things, and to me, that's what it's all about."
McDonell said the development in the Edmonds area will see a lot of change this year, including the removal of Value Village to make way for a major redevelopment there.
Volkow said it's an exciting time to get involved with politics, and not just at the municipal level.
"There's some real drastic changes happening around the country that I'm not too keen on, and it gives me the opportunity to voice it," he told the NOW. "Everything that happens federally and provincially flows downhill and lands on the municipal table."
The future of Burnaby Hospital is a question Volkow wants answered.
"Burnaby Hospital is going to be another issue coming forward. We've been talking about the provincial government replacement for Burnaby Hospital, and potentially moving of the hospital to another site. A lot of things are happening."
Dhaliwal says he wants to continue working with developers in the four town centres, and see a transportation plan come to fruition.
Coun. Richard Chang did not return the Burnaby NOW's request for comment by press deadline.
Last election numbers:
- Coun. Pietro Calendino: He served as Burnaby North MLA from 1996 to 2001. Calendino was first elected to council in 2002, then again in 2005, 2008 and 2011. In the last election, he received 18,822 votes (55 per cent).
- Coun. Richard Chang: He was first elected to council in 2008 and again in 2011. In the last election, he won with 17,735 votes (52 per cent).
- Coun. Sav Dhaliwal: He has served four consecutive council terms since 2002. In the last election, he received 17,029 votes (50 per cent).
- Coun. Dan Johnston: He was first elected to council in 1993, and has spent the last 20 years as a city councillor. In the last election, he received 17,735 votes (52 per cent).
- Coun. Colleen Jordan: She has sat on council since 2002. In the last election, she received 17,364 votes (51 per cent).
- Coun. Anne Kang: She was first elected to council 2008, and again in 2011. In the last election, she received 17,368 votes (51 per cent).
- Coun Paul McDonell: He was first elected to council in 2008, and again in 2011. In the last election, he received 16,624 votes (48 per cent).
- Coun. Nick Volkow: He has served on council since 1996. In the last election, he received the lowest amounts of votes compared to the other councillors, with 16,406 (48 per cent). He beat out the closest competition, former Coun. Lee Rankin, by about 5,000 votes.
