Two term councillor Rob Douglas is set to take over in the mayor’s office from Al Siebring, who had ruled out seeking re-election and chose to retire.
Douglas, the Mayor-elect of North Cowichan, defeated North Cowichan councillor Rosalie Sawrie and former council member John Koury in Saturday’s municipal election.
Douglas says he wants to focus on creating more affordable housing, and to see growth continue in a way that preserves the environment and rural character of North Cowichan.
He says there has been a lot of growth and development and we can expect to see that growth to continue.
He adds, “we’ve got to manage that in such a way that we’re continuing to protect the environment and maintain our rural character, and I think that the new official community plan is going to provide us with the framework to do that over the coming years.”
Douglas also says creating a strong economy is a priority.
He would like to see a “robust economic development strategy to make sure we’ve got those good paying jobs that are so important for young people in this community,” and wants to work with industry, small business, the CVRD and senior levels of government on its creation.
Douglas says the council-elect that he will be working with contains a “good mix” with some incumbents and some new faces.
He feels the different qualities each member of the next council brings to the table will be a benefit to the municipality.
Douglas received 3,503 votes, Koury got 2,747 and Rosalie Sawrie received 2,195 votes.
More election results can be found here.
