Radium Hot Springs will have a new mayor after this election and newcomer Brad Lawrence wants it to be him.
He said his experience in asset management in the electrical power industry would be helpful in village council.
Lawrence has lived in Radium for three years and said the pandemic has made him want to give back to the community.
“I’ve been retired now for four years and post-pandemic now I really feel the urge to get back in and contribute to the community,” he said.
“I’m a strong leader and have an opportunity to bring that to a new council.”
He said the biggest issue facing Radium is housing.
“That’s on everybody’s mind and it’s being tackled in various ways right now,” he added.
“We do have the Columbia Valley Housing Society which has been formed. Our chief administrative officer is on that, so he’s going to be our two-way conduit in working and finding those solutions of how we can find and increase affordable housing for the people.”
If elected he said council will also focus on an updated community plan.
“We want to dust off our community plan and really focus on the next 5-10 years,” he said.
“We have to reassess where we are today and get a good pulse on the community and how our needs have changed and where are we going to direct and better the community within the next 5-10 years.”
Lawrence will be facing councillor Mike Gray for the mayor’s seat.
Voters head to the polls on Oct. 15.