Local mayors are ready to get their provincial priorities back in front of Brittny Anderson now that she has been officially re-elected as the Kootenay-Central MLA.
Anderson was re-elected to her seat in the legislature on Saturday after she secured 39.41 per cent of the region’s votes. She ran against BC Conservative candidate Kelly Vandenberghe, BC Green candidate Nicole Charlwood, and Independent Corrine Mori.
Creston Mayor Arnold DeBoon is pleased with the local results from Saturday’s election, saying he looks forward to working with Anderson for another four years.
“I’m a supporter of Brittny, and I know her well. We work well together as a municipal government, and I find that she’s energetic and a bright person.”
Nelson Mayor Janice Morrison shares DeBoon’s sentiments and states that Anderson was effective in her role during her last MLA term.
“I’ve worked with Brittny when she was a new councillor with me back in 2018. It’s great that she’s back; we’ve had a great working relationship with her over the past term, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with her, whether they’re [NDP] in government or the official opposition.”
Both mayors have their own set of priorities, but housing is one they share.
Mayor DeBoon says Creston will need Anderson’s support in applying for provincial grants for housing initiatives.
“We did get a large grant from the BC government a couple of years ago, and we are applying it to housing. We probably need her assistance to work with her further on the projects we’re endeavouring to complete.”
For Mayor Morrison, she hopes to continue working closely with MLA Anderson to find solutions to increase housing and address homelessness, health care, and the opioid crisis.
In addition, Morrison hopes to see Anderson’s assistance as the city looks to advance some of its strategic climate action goals outlined in its climate action plan—Nelson Next.
“Going forward, I see myself and council wanting to understand where things are going regarding climate change. Here in Nelson, we want to continue to advance some of our strategic goals of Nelson Next. To be effective in doing so, we do need the support of government, both provincially and federally.”
She adds that environmental stewardship is another priority for Nelson residents, as well as reliable transportation.
Both DeBoon and Morrison are curious to see how the provincial results will impact their local government operations.
“I’m happy that Anderson was re-elected as our MLA, and of course, like most of the province, we’re curious about what exactly our government will look like once all the ballots are counted. I do think it may have some impact on which government forms and what their mandate is, so it will be interesting to see as we watch things unfold,” said DeBoon.
Morrison states that regardless of which party is elected, Nelson City Council will continue to work on the community’s local needs, ensuring they are engaged and ready to collaborate with whatever government is formed.
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