New Penticton mayor isn’t concerned about criticism

Penticton Mayor John Vassilaki says he’s not concerned about his decision to choose the top vote-winning councillors as the city’s regional district board members.

Vassilaki said he promised, during his mayoral campaign, to listen to the people.

“I did listen to them and I went one, two, three, four. One of the councillors decided not to participate so I went to the councillor next in line. Those are the promises I made and that is what I kept,” said Vassilaki. “It had nothing to do with Judy (Coun. Sentes) being one of the senior councillors. She is, but so is Katie (Coun. Robinson) and so is Jake (Coun. Kimberley). If she had finished further ahead, it would have been a different story.”

Related: Regional chair calls out Penticton mayor’s decision on appointments

Vassilaki announced the decision at council’s inaugural meeting, where he appointed himself, along with Couns. Jake Kimberley, Frank Regehr and Julius Bloomfield to the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Board.

Coun. Judy Sentes, who served as one of the RDOS appointees under previous councils, objected to Vassilaki’s reasoning and later RDOS chair Karla Kozakevich also said she hoped Sentes, who was vice-chair on the regional hospital board for several years, would be re-appointed.

“All through my campaign, the stuff I said mostly was that I would be listening to the people, because they hadn’t had a voice for four years-plus. People just weren’t listening to their needs nor their wishes,” said Vassilaki adding that his focus is on bringing forward what is in the best interest of Penticton and looks forward to working with the elected councillors, praising their experience.

“I’m very fortunate that the people voted in all six of them,” said Vassilaki, noting Regehr’s experience with finances in his former job as secretary-treasurer for the Okanagan-Skaha School District, Bloomfield’s experience with the Downtown Penticton Association, the chamber of commerce and real estate matters.

“He knows about development and that will come in handy when developers come forward. They won’t be able to pull any wool over our eyes,” said Vassilaki. “Then there is Katie, she’s been there 10 years, I think. She was there at different periods of time in the life of Penticton, so she has experience with a lot of the past and present.

“Watt, he was there the last four years, it was a learning curve for him, but he did learn a lot. I’m hoping he will think outside of the box on this term, rather than what they did last term. He’s a young man, he’s bright, he has all those qualities that make not only a good councillor but a good politician.”

Vassilaki also praised Sentes’ long experience on city council noting that she has worked with a number of mayors in that time, giving her a variety of experiences. She’s also got a lot of experience out in the community, he added.

“She goes to everything and she knows a lot of people,” he said. “Everybody has good qualities that haven’t been (together) on city council for a long time as one team.”