Close to winning four years ago, Victor Cumming hopes to land the mayor乌鸦传媒檚 job in Vernon this time around.

Cumming, 63, an economist and volunteer, finished second to Akbal Mund by only 625 votes in the 2014 municipal election. He has announced he is again throwing his hat into the ring for the Oct. 20 vote.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 my passion for working on integrated community development, that乌鸦传媒檚 my profession, that乌鸦传媒檚 my practice and I want to focus on my own region and community,乌鸦传媒� said Cumming on his decision to seek election.

乌鸦传媒淢any others strongly encouraged me to run again, based on what they see as my demonstrated skill set. It乌鸦传媒檚 about doing locally what I乌鸦传媒檝e done regionally, provincially and across Canada.乌鸦传媒�

Born in Golden and raised in Naramata, Cumming holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics and geography, and a master of arts in rural planning and development. He has taught economic development for Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, and his consulting firm provides economic development, planning and operation assistance to local, regional and First Nations governments across Canada.

In 2014, Cumming乌鸦传媒檚 platform talked about how Vernon乌鸦传媒檚 diverse economy is a positive and how he wants to come up with new approaches to address the infrastructure deficit in Vernon.

乌鸦传媒淭his time, I乌鸦传媒檓 more focused on attainable housing,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a really critical issue. If you乌鸦传媒檙e in the top 40 per cent, housing isn乌鸦传媒檛 an issue. If you乌鸦传媒檙e in the bottom 60 per cent, yeh, it乌鸦传媒檚 an issue. Safety is another big issue, I don乌鸦传媒檛 need to say much more than that. It乌鸦传媒檚 been on the front pages. Community safety is an issue that has really accelerated in the last three or four years.

乌鸦传媒淏usiness and economic development continue to be really significant and will be in the next three years, particularly with a dramatically changing international environment. Infrastructure continues to be key. The city is putting significant efforts into restoring old infrastructure and there乌鸦传媒檚 infrastructure that needs to be fixed that乌鸦传媒檚 not operating well.乌鸦传媒�

Cumming said he was an unknown entity in the 2014 race but still finished second behind a more well-known candidate in Mund. Being so close then, along with plenty of encouragement now, convinced Cumming to take another crack at the mayor乌鸦传媒檚 chair.

乌鸦传媒淔our years ago, if I乌鸦传媒檇 been way back it would have been an indicator to let this idea go,乌鸦传媒� said Cumming. 乌鸦传媒淚 was a new face when I ran four years ago. I came from relatively unknown to doing well with someone like Akbal who is extremely well known.乌鸦传媒�

Candidates for mayor and council will again be running for four-year terms in the October vote. Cumming said that乌鸦传媒檚 not a problem for him.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 now 63, at the end of my career, and this would signal a shift,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 the right time for me. Doing the mayor thing is a full-time job, I recognize that and will give it that respect.乌鸦传媒�

Mund has not publicly declared if he plans to seek re-election in October. Former Mayor Wayne Lippert and painter Art Gourley have declared their intentions to run for mayor.