Tarik Sayeed not seeking re-election

Penticton city councillor Tarik Sayeed has decided not to run for re-election in this fall’s municipal election.

“Over the last four years I have been asked several times how the experience is as a city councilor and my answer has always been the same — sweet and spicy,” said Sayeed, referring to making decisions at council, which could sometimes result in irate calls and emails from community members.

“I don’t see that as a bad thing,” he said.

Sayeed served on council during a tumultuous time for the city, with the controversy over Skaha Lake Park dominating many conversations.

“It was a lesson for everyone,” said Sayeed. “We are not making mistakes, we are learning from our decisions.”

Sayeed is the third councillor to announce they won’t be running again, joining Coun. Andre Martin on the sidelines and Coun. Helena Konanz who is stepping away to run as a conservative candidate in the 2019 federal election.

“It was just four years ago that I was looking for a candidate that I could support but the conversations turned around and I had to bite my tongue,” said Sayeed in a release Tuesday. Asking people if they might run for council, he explained, came back in the form of ‘why don’t you run?’

Though he hadn’t planned to enter politics, Sayeed is summing up his term on council as “the best job I ever had.”

“As an immigrant from Bangladesh, I feel very proud to share the story that the first time I ever voted in a municipal election was for myself. I will treasure every moment and I sincerely thank everyone for giving me the responsibility.”

Sayeed is taking up a management position with Coast Capital Savings, which he says will limit his time to devote to council.

“I would love to run for council again but the reality is otherwise as I have to travel quite a bit,” said Sayeed, who also thanked the news media for their coverage of council issues.

“We all want the best for our city and no matter if we disagreed or not, my decisions has always been for the betterment of Penticton,” said Sayeed. “I am grateful to you for keeping me grounded and for holding me accountable for all the decisions I have made.”