Four of Kimberley’s six current Council members are seeking re-election this October 20, and Kent Goodwin is one of them.
Goodwin is seeking his third term and says he feels he has acquired a fair bit of experience, including a good working knowledge of the Community Charter and Local Government Act.
“I am good at digging into the details of staff reports and proposals and believe that my questions and suggestions add value to the great work that our staff are doing,” he says.
Goodwin says he isn’t burnt out yet and feels he can be useful.
“I think Kimberley is on the right path and I’d like to help keep it o the right path.
“I’m happy with the first two terms and the progress made. I have the energy for another four years.”
Goodwin says there are things to finish.
“There’s the sale of the SunMine. I hope people will vote positively for that.
“We’ve started planning for the new sewage treatment plant. That will be the largest and most expensive project in Kimberley’s history. There’s a bunch of work still to do around that.”
Goodwin also says that Kimberley is at the point what it wants to be.
“For a long time, we were just struggling to keep going. We are beyond that now. I’m not into growth for growth’s sake. There will be growth, especially if we have a more diverse economy, but it’s not about trying to make a small town bigger.
“It’s good to have towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people.
“I don’t think we’ll have the water to grow too much more. There will be limits.”
As for finances, Goodwin has no problem admitting he watches the pennies.
“The idea that we would keep taxes within the municipal rate of inflation was mine actually. Our residential taxes are very high, that’s why diversifying the economy is so important.
“The infrastructure needs to be kept up and replaced. We have to do that and keep taxes fro going higher.”
Goodwin says he also hopes to be part of the negotiating as a new collective agreement comes around in 2020.
“I am from a union background and we have a great staff. They are asked to do a lot and so are taxpayers. There has to be balance there. I do think people need to keep up with the cost of living. I don’t want to demand huge concessions, and I have no interest in getting into a fight with the union. They are great folks, doing a great job.”
Goodwin also hopes voters will pay attention to the other referendum this fall, that on proportional representation.
“I believe this kind of system will help us ward off the kind of populism that resulted in the election of Donald Trump in the US. Many people feel disenfranchised and believe their votes are wasted or useless. A system of proportional representation will lead to the establishment of new political parties and a more varied electoral landscape which should empower a wider range of citizens. There are two questions on the provincial ballot and the first is the most important. If you do not know what particular flavour of proportional representation you prefer, leave the second question blank and just vote for change on the first question.”