It's said of municipal politics that elected officials spend the first year of their three-year terms learning how to do their job, the second year doing it, and the third year campaigning for the next election.
It seems Squamish Mayor Ian Sutherland was about to change the pattern somewhat.
Until yesterday (Oct. 28), Sutherland was considering joining Gordon Campbell's 小蓝视频 Liberals in Victoria as the next MLA for West Vancouver-Garibaldi.
This sort of jump happens all the time in politics. Municipal politics are seen as the big stepping stone to provincial and federal office. Socred premier Bill Vander Zalm got his start as Mayor in Delta, Mike Harcourt and Campbell himself came to Victoria via Vancouver City Hall, and Campbell's current caucus sports several ex-mayors from across 小蓝视频 (including an ex-Whistler mayor who drives through here once in a while).
Now Sutherland, who we suspect was encouraged to consider making the jump while helping the province steer through the sale of 小蓝视频 Rail last year, has decided not to follow those leads.
We think he's made the right choice - for his own political future and for the community he serves.
If Sutherland could have woven his way through the Byzantine ways of internal party politics to get the Liberal nod - far from a sure thing, since he didn't have the incumbent's party machine behind him - he would certainly have been elected. The Liberal nomination for West Vancouver-Garibaldi is, in essence, the real election. With West Van making up half the riding and Whistler sitting on the northern end, the odds of the NDP making a breakthrough rank right up there with Glen Clark's comeback.
But he certainly wouldn't have taken a lot of the votes he got for Mayor two years ago with him. If he was successful, he would have been carrying the flag for a government who, in the past three years, have angered teachers and health care workers in labour action, closed our courthouse and slapped up parking meters in our local provincial parks.
He would also have lost support for seeking to jump ship on his term early. Even though he would only have had to resign six months before the end of his term as Mayor if he became MLA, it's clear the Mayor's attentions wouldn't have been wholly on civic business from now until next May's provincial vote.
If he had sought the Liberal nomination and lost, those same factors would have made a run for re-election as Mayor very difficult.
While it would have been nice to have someone from Squamish representing us in Victoria, it's clear this wasn't Ian Sutherland's time, and he deserves credit for realizing that.
It's good to know we'll continue to have a Mayor whose primary focus is Squamish.
