Ed Coleman has announced his intention to run in the upcoming by-election on February 5th.
Here, he talks about what he can bring to the District of Wells.
“First of all just go over all the operations and the risk management and affordable housing, topics like that. And then look at partnerships, indigenous, business, government, industry, all the different sectors and tourism. And there are lots of infrastructure problems out there…water, sewer, power, roads, trail systems, facilities, so just going to tackle all that.”
Coleman says he decided to run after watching the Council contract, which concerned him.
He says he’s not concerned that the previous two Mayors resigned.
“I am not concerned no, because I talked to both of them previously. I understand the issues that the community faces when it comes to governance. There are lots of very strong opinions in the District of Wells with the citizens. And a lot of them are really good arguments and conversations, but most of them are constructive so they are just passionate about the community. And what I understand is the region is passionate about the District of Wells, and there is a co dependence that’s there.”
Coleman spent seven years on Quesnel City Council and seven years as CEO of Barkerville, jobs he feels would help if he were successful in his bid for Mayor of Wells.
“Absolutely, I think that is paramount. And then working with Barkerville I worked with Mayors throughout the whole province, so I know many of them. And I learned something from every Mayor and Council as I worked with them over the decades, and all those experiences kind of come to bear when you’re trying to support a smaller community.  So I am quite optimistic about that background, and I know I can pick up the phone and call a number of folks when you’re trying to solve a problem.”
Coleman’s announcement is informal at this point, as the official nomination period won’t open until December 21st.
It will run until December 31st.