A candidate for regional district director at Christina Lake says he’s running for office with “ears wide open.”
Rupert Oldroyd says he feels he has a good sense of the community where he has lived for 18 years, but he is eager to hear from others about their concerns.
Oldroyd grew up on Salt Spring Island and attended the University of Victoria. He has worked in banking, as a taxi driver, as a bar owner and cook, and for the last 15 years-plus, as an inspector of large industrial plants.
He had been travelling to Christina Lake since he was a child to visit family. “So it was an easy decision when I had my first kids and wanted to move out to rural BC,” he said.
Oldroyd has no political experience but has studied land-use planning and says he is interested in the development of small communities. He has been involved in the official community plan process at Christina Lake and wants to look at “where our communities can grow and how they can grow sustainably instead of willy-nilly development that doesn’t really suit the area.”
He said he expects the environment to be at the forefront of the community’s concerns over the next few years.
“While we might not be able to do things about the larger picture around the world, we can take care of what’s going on in our own valley and make sure any development doesn’t impact the environment poorly,” he said. “We are able to move towards a cleaner, more sustainable future and protect what’s most important to us, which is clean air, water, and soil.”
In preparation for seeking the position, he said he has been meeting with individuals and community groups and talking to incumbent director Grace McGregor, who is not seeking re-election after serving for 21 years. He also plans to speak to other local regional district directors and he looks forward to learning more by attending events like the annual Union of BC Municipalities convention.
“I am open-minded, I’m a critical thinker, I’m very inquisitive and I will really try and delve into each of the issues that are troubling people throughout our community,” he said.
“I’m really willing to listen. I want to be here for the community and be able to communicate both from the community up to the regional district office and even higher up to the province and also be able to communicate back down to the community on a regular basis to make sure that everybody stays well informed.”
Oldroyd is running against Rocio Graham. Voting day is Oct. 17.
