“I am running because this community has given me so much,” says RDCK Area E candidate Landon Veregin.“I feel like this is a way for me to do that.”
Veregin grew up in the region and now raises his family in Longbeach. He says he is running because he wants to continue the great work the previous directors have done and help the region grow.
“I am not running because I think I am the only one who can fix the issues,” Veregin says. “I am running because the past few years we have seen a very positive trend.”
Despite the positive trend he is concerned about the environment, and the impact climate change will have on the region, more specifically water source protection.
“We have a very diverse landscape around us with wonderful forests, and this is a huge part of our life,” he says. “It is important for us to take definitive action to protect our surroundings, where it all comes back to water.”
He believes he can help promote the idea of being a responsible, progressive and proactive community that will allow residents of Area E to focus on the assets in and around the region.
Veregin says the main reason the district needs to prepare and focus on water protection is to allow for the inevitable growth that is happening all around the urban areas.
“Growth is coming,” he says. “It is something we have seen very significantly over the last five years or so. This means the existing infrastructure will not be able to handle the growth that is currently happening.
“If growth is coming then we have to be prepared.”
Veregin was born and raised in the Blewett area, and attended Selkirk College, the University of BC and the Nanjing University of Science and Technology. He works at Kootenay Custom Sourcing.
Veregin is running against Reggie Goldsbury, Cheryl Graham and Dan Rye. Incumbent Ramona Faust is not seeking re-election.
