Long-time Sooke resident Trevor Paul has added his name to the list of people running for Sooke district council.
The 41-year-old says he knows the community well, and Sooke needs a new voice representing the best interests of families.
“I believe that family is the fabric that wove this community together long before I arrived and the same fabric that will continue to develop this community going forward,” said Trevor, who lives near Broom Hill with his wife, two young children and the family dog.
His top three priorities are building more sidewalks, reducing traffic congestion and protecting John Phillips Memorial Park from development.
“Over 80 per cent of Sooke streets have no sidewalk, and this is simply unacceptable. I want to live in a community where our kids can walk or ride to school safely and where our loved ones can walk to the grocery store and back without the threat of being hit by a vehicle,” Paul said in a press release.
Paul, who is one of the over 70 per cent of Sooke residents who commute to work every day in Victoria or the Westshore, believes that council needs to put more of a priority on providing solutions to alleviate traffic congestion.
“We need solutions to congestion today, not 10 or 20 years from now,” said Paul, a public servant with the provincial government.
Paul is against the paving of John Phillips Memorial Park or any other park in Sooke.
“Sooke is a small community with limited green space, and we must preserve what we have for future generations. We owe them an opportunity to shape our parks into special community places,” he said.
For more information on Paul, please visit trevorpaul2022.com.
Other council candidates declared to run in Sooke include Nick Dickinson-Wilde and incumbents Jeff Bateman, Al Beddows and Tony St-Pierre. Maja Tait is seeking a third term as mayor.
The nomination window for candidates closes on Friday, Sept. 9. The municipal election takes place Saturday, Oct. 15.
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editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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