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VOL. 26, NO. 39
Two more toss names in for mayoral race
I
CITY COUNCILLOR Bill McKay and Nanaimo businessman Roger McKinnon announce candidacies. BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Word on the street
Natasha Bartlett, Vancouver Island Regional Library communications specialist, left, and Jennifer Seper, librarian, book a few moments in a pop-up park across from the downtown library branch on Park(ing) Day. Nanaimo Parks, Recreation and Environment, with participating businesses and organizations, staged temporary parks on Commercial Street Friday to promote alternative ways to use urban space.
Busing considered for Cedar students heading south BY KARL YU THE NEWS BULLETIN
Parent-organized charter bus service is the only option currently available for displaced Cedar secondary students that chose Ladysmith Secondary, but more busing is being examined. The Cedar high school
was closed in June as part of the Nanaimo school district’s 10-year facilities plan and while some parents chose to send their children to designated catchment school John Barsby, some opted for Ladysmith. Busing was provided for students attending Barsby, but not Ladysmith.
The school district requested the Regional District of Nanaimo look into the possibility of transit service to accommodate students. According to Daniel Pearce, regional district manager of transit operations, a meeting with regional district staff, their counterparts from
Cowichan Valley and B.C. Transit is set for October. Pearce said the Nanaimo regional district has a transit plan which discusses routes into Ladysmith, and the question is whether that fits with Cowichan Valley Regional District’s plans, as Ladysmith falls within that jurisdiction. See ‘PLAN’ /4
It’s become a three-way leadership race, with two new candidates declaring bids for the mayoral seat Wednesday. First-term Nanaimo city councillor Bill McKay and local businessman Roger McKinnon announced they will be seeking Nanaimo’s top leadership job this November. They join Brunie Brunie, who has been without a challenger since Coun. Bill Bestwick bowed out of the race in August. During their announcements, the two candidates outlined interests in seeing Nanaimo become more business friendly, having council create a vision and teamwork. But they differed when it came to how they view the operation of the city and top tasks ahead. McKay says he’s been working toward the mayoral seat for seven years, understands how government works and isn’t afraid to lead a team. He also says he comes with a practical business point of view, but understands the city isn’t a business. For example, decisions like installing building accessibility ramps or audible indicators on crosswalks may not have a return on investment that a business would look at, but there’s a case for the community. The first-time mayoral candidate said if elected, he’d like to see a program and services review. He is also interested in making social housing a priority, and plans to campaign on issues of efficiency, imagination, focus and cooperation. See ‘CANDIDATE’ /13