Nanaimo乌鸦传媒檚 long-serving MLA will seek the mayor乌鸦传媒檚 chair.

NDP MLA Leonard Krog announced Wednesday evening that he will run for mayor of Nanaimo in this fall乌鸦传媒檚 local government election.

乌鸦传媒淚 haven乌鸦传媒檛 felt this enthusiastic about something for awhile, to be honest,乌鸦传媒� said Krog.

He said he乌鸦传媒檇 been musing about a mayoral bid for a couple of years, but it was the fact that so many people asked him to run 乌鸦传媒� people from across the political spectrum, he said, people who knew him well and people who didn乌鸦传媒檛.

乌鸦传媒淭hey felt that I was the person who could bring people together and that乌鸦传媒檚 the theme of the campaign. It is about bringing people together for change,乌鸦传媒� he said.

Krog was also persuaded by potential city council candidates who will now be willing to put their names forward.

乌鸦传媒淧eople who I respect, regardless of their politics but who I knew would be first-rate councillors, said, 乌鸦传媒榠f you will run for mayor, I will run for council,乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮�媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭hat was certainly an important factor.乌鸦传媒�

It乌鸦传媒檚 official will run for mayor of

乌鸦传媒� Nanaimo Bulletin (@NanaimoBulletin)

Krog said the city乌鸦传媒檚 reputation has been diminished the last three and a half years and went so far as to say Nanaimo has been 乌鸦传媒渁 bit of a laughingstock乌鸦传媒� at times.

乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 the bad news. The good news is it is also a wonderful opportunity and there has been an incredible increase, I think, in civic engagement,乌鸦传媒� Krog said. 乌鸦传媒淧eople who weren乌鸦传媒檛 paying a lot of attention to local politics are paying attention now.乌鸦传媒�

He said the 乌鸦传媒渆vent centre fiasco,乌鸦传媒� for example, showed that city councillors were 乌鸦传媒渙ut-of-touch and not willing to listen to people.乌鸦传媒�

A new council under his leadership would need to get up to speed on the job and hire a permanent chief administrative officer who can help attract and retain good managers at city hall, he said.

A downtown transportation hub should be an obvious priority in a modern city, he said, and he mentioned that council needs to show fortitude with social housing projects so it doesn乌鸦传媒檛 miss out on any more provincial funding.

As far as the logistics of his campaign, Krog said he will continue to serve as MLA, but will request to stop drawing his salary once the civic election campaign officially begins. If he wins, he will resign his seat; if not, the 65-year-old will serve out the rest of his term.

He said that though he recognizes a lot of the city乌鸦传媒檚 work is around zoning, roads, garbage, sewer and the like, 乌鸦传媒渙ne of the great joys of municipal politics is that if you work with a good group of people, people who put the community first, you can accomplish a lot.乌鸦传媒�

That乌鸦传媒檚 part of the appeal, Krog suggested 乌鸦传媒� making a difference in his community in a different way than through representation in the legislature, where he has served since 2005.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 effective in that forum in terms of being able to make speeches and criticize and put forward ideas and amuse and all those things, and that乌鸦传媒檚 lovely. But it is ultimately an atmosphere where the game is played with set rules and it is about conflict and we乌鸦传媒檝e seen what conflict has [done] these last three and a half years,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚 want to work in an environment where whatever leadership skills I have and can bring to this, I can work with a team to make things happen. I want to move us forward. I want to make progress. I want to make change. I want to see this community develop in the way that it should.乌鸦传媒�

editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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