The election outcome showed how much Penticton wants change.
Incumbent mayor John Vassilaki was unseated by Julius Bloomfield by a fairly large margin. Vassilaki actually came in third at the polls.
What’s telling about the votes is how close newcomer and community activist Jason Reynen came to becoming the new mayor.
The founder of Clean Streets Penticton, who has no political experience, took 3,155 of the votes, just 219 shy of Bloomfield’s win.
That has to tell the new council how much crime in this town is weighing on people’s minds.
Bloomfield recognized this on election night, saying his first priority is crime and to create a strategic plan to tackle the seemingly out-of-control thefts, break-ins and street disorder.
If you follow the Clean Streets Penticton page, it can be daunting how bike and property theft along with other crimes take place openly on a daily basis.
The emotional and financial toll is something many Pentictonites no longer can handle.
Voters also chose to toss all but two incumbents.
That is also telling about how residents feel about some of the decisions they have made over the past four years, mainly in the last two during the pandemic.
Some members of council discounted how strongly people felt about the bike lane. Many residents I talked to felt that during a pandemic, priority should have been focused elsewhere instead of a “luxury item.”
Some council members felt people who hated the bike lane were just a small but vocal majority.
The election results say otherwise.
Penticton residents also didn’t like council’s decision to put in pay parking downtown in 2021, at the height of COVID when small businesses were barely staying afloat, many saying the parking was the nail in their coffin.
The incumbents, including the new mayor, should do some real reflection on the past four years and how listening to the residents is so key to a happy, healthy community.
Penticton elected a younger council, something this city hasn’t seen for a long time.
The city is seeing a shift in its demographics with many young families moving here for work or to open up businesses.
They want and have a vested interest to keep Penticton safe for their families and make the city vibrant again.
The new council will have to set a priority on public safety and housing. Think out of the box, look at what is working in other communities our size across Canada.
It was mentioned that Medicine Hat nearly eliminated homelessness. While that can’t totally be accomplished here because of our warm climate, it’s worth a look at what they did and see what we can implement.
Keremeos and Oliver recently opened low-cost housing projects for seniors, those with a disability and low income. Penticton is eventually getting that too on Main Street but so much more low-cost housing is needed.
There were great suggestions along the campaign trail. Council can look at city land, shared funding models, and starting a housing authority much like Whistler has.
As someone who came here from the Coast to raise a young family,
I’m excited about what this future council can do and I will be looking to some of the younger new-elects to bring fresh ideas to the table.
Monique Tamminga is the editor of the Penticton Western News