WHISTLER, B.C. — What a difference a week makes.
Exactly seven days after Chase Mayor Rick Berrigan announced he wouldn’t be running for re-election as mayor, he’s had a change of heart at this week’s UBCM Convention in Whistler.
He said he made his decision not to run after talking with his family but notes after speaking to leaders at UBCM he realized he wasn’t ready to throw in the towel.
“Attending UBCM and talking to senior government and higher levels of colleagues whose advice I respect and talking further with my family, I have come to the realization of why I actually got into this in the first place and I guess the bottom line is I have a strong love for the community and I feel I have more work to do.”
He says those voices from UBCM said they’ve seen his 10 years of dedication to the community, the past four years as mayor and the previous six as councillor, and encouraged him to stay on.
“So, through that encouragement I thought ‘I guess I’m not done.’ There’s still some heavy issues for Chase including the need for four-laning of the Trans Canada Highway going by his community.”
Berrigan says his other priorities include the need for fiscal responsibility, sustainability and fairness in economic development.
And as far as he knows, there are four other candidates vying for the mayoral chair.
Did the calibre of candidates putting their names forward also play a role in his decision?
“You know, that is very hard to answer in order to be respectful to everybody. Let’s just say I had some concerns.”
Voters go to the polls in the municipal election October 20.
