Election News release

October 15, 2018

Positively Forward Assesses Local Election Candidates

 The local elections are almost upon us.  This Saturday, Oct 20 is election day, with advance polls on Wed, Oct 17. In response to numerous inquiries from islanders about the election campaign and those running for elected official positions, the Positively Forward core group assessed the candidates for Salt Spring CRD Director and Islands Trust. We contacted each candidate and asked for a getting-to-know-you meeting. They all agreed.

Based on what we heard at those meetings, as well as at the All-Candidates meeting, answers to the Community Alliance and Driftwood questions, the Exchange candidate profiles, articles and candidate campaign materials, we ranked each candidate based on our assessment of their:

• background and experience
• knowledge of local governance
• collaborative skills
• ideas and priorities
• communications skills and
• their reflection of “Positively Forward” values.

The results of those rankings provided the rationale for the following recommendations:

CRD Director: Gary Holman
Islands Trust: Peter Grove and Laura Patrick

The CRD decision was easily made. Gary Holman, unreservedly, is the candidate who best represents Positively Forward values. We like the fact that he has a proven track record in both local and provincial politics. In addition, his experience and results-oriented collaborative approach will put him in the best position to win support from the CRD Board and administration in order to get projects completed and make changes needed to improve delivery of services on SSI.

The Trust decision was more difficult because there are several candidates with significant strengths.  We picked Peter Grove because of his previous Trust experience, and for his collaborative, respectful and responsive style of leadership. Of the five new candidates, Laura Patrick impressed us with her understanding of the role of Trustee, professional background, local community experience, diligence and energy.

Link to more info:

Salt Spring Community Alliance questions and answers from candidates:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yuAe2qDncDpp9q60WmRv7qiijO_qLja0/view

Visit the Positively Forward web site for more information: https://positivelyforward.ca

Positively Forward thanks all of the candidates for their commitment to the electoral process and for their graciousness in helping us in our deliberations.

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