Meet Your Candidate: Jaime Cunliffe

4 hours ago

7 min read

Incumbent Councillor seeks re-election

Editor's Note: The Watershed has contacted all the current candidates running in the upcoming Municipal Election to give them the opportunity to answer a few questions. All the candidates were offered the same questions (apart from those which differ to reflect the experience of candidates who have not held office before). Responses have been edited for brevity, style and clarity.

Council candidate Jaime Cunliffe. Submitted photo.

You have held the position of Councillor before. What makes you want to take the job on again?

I am running again because I love Lions Bay and believe I can still make a useful contribution. Council work is demanding, but experience matters in a municipality as small and complex as ours. I served from 2018 to 2022 and returned to Council in 2023. I understand the workload, the legal and financial constraints, and the importance of listening carefully before making decisions. I have also learned that no councillor can accomplish much alone. Lions Bay has consequential decisions ahead on infrastructure, affordability, emergency preparedness, the environment and visitor pressures. I want to bring experience, continuity and a practical willingness to do the work, while helping the next Council establish respectful and productive relationships from the outset.

Should you win your seat, what is the most important challenge facing the Village in the upcoming term?

The most important challenge is turning our infrastructure needs into an affordable, credible long-term plan.

A long list of projects is not yet a plan. Council must understand the condition and risk of each asset, distinguish urgent work from work that can be phased, identify realistic funding sources, and show residents the effect on taxes, fees and borrowing. That includes protecting reliable drinking water, emergency access and the core services residents depend on. The financial challenge is significant, but so is the governance challenge: Council must be able to set priorities, make difficult choices and explain them clearly. If we establish that discipline early in the term, we will be in a much stronger position to pursue grants and deliver projects without lurching from one emergency to the next.

The most recent term of Council was divided to the point of dysfunction. Do you have any thoughts for a positive change?

Residents are right to expect better. Disagreement is normal and can improve decisions, but personal conflict and procedural breakdowns damage public confidence and prevent Council from doing its job. As a member of the current Council, I accept my share of responsibility for how the term unfolded and will carry those lessons forward. The next Council should begin with clear priorities and working expectations: attend and come prepared, challenge ideas without questioning motives, respect the distinct roles of Council and staff, and explain decisions publicly. Once Council has made a lawful decision, members should focus on implementing it unless genuinely new information justifies reconsideration. I will listen to every person elected and work constructively with them. Positive change has to begin with our own conduct.

In the last term, Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff noted that the Village faces at least $10 million in pending infrastructure upgrades not covered by grant money. How would you prioritize these projects?

I take that warning seriously. Before Council asks residents to support major spending, the underlying project list should be presented publicly so people can see the scope, timing, cost estimate, confirmed funding and true unfunded balance for each item. I would prioritize first by public safety, legal or regulatory requirements, and continuity of essential services such as water and emergency access; second by the likelihood and consequence of failure; and third by whether timely maintenance can prevent a much more expensive replacement. Grant opportunities and project readiness also matter, but grants should not distort our priorities. Each project should show its full lifecycle cost and the proposed mix of grants, reserves, borrowing and taxation, including the household impact. Not everything can or should be done at once, so a transparent rolling capital plan is essential.

What strengths do you bring to the Council table?

I bring more than seven years of experience at the Council table across two different Councils, together with service on the Climate Action Committee, participation in Howe Sound forums and involvement with the Lions Bay Arts Council. That gives me institutional knowledge, but experience is only useful if it is paired with curiosity and humility. I know how to read a staff report, test assumptions, follow municipal procedure and distinguish Council's policy role from staff's operational role. I am a listener, a learner and a practical problem-solver. I am willing to ask difficult questions, consider views different from my own and be accountable for my decisions. Most importantly, I understand that an individual councillor has no power to promise outcomes; progress requires preparation, persuasion and collaboration around the table.

I am immensely proud of the work of the North Shore Standing Committee on Substance Use, a committee which I have sat on for over 5 years. This committee is compiled of Council members and School Trustees from the District of North Vancouver, City of North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Bowen Island and Lions Bay, along with representatives from the North Vancouver RCMP, West Vancouver Police Department, Vancouver Coastal Health as well as the Squamish and Tslei-Waututh Nations. The Purple Chair Campaign, which residents may have seen at Lions Bay Beach Park, was born out of this committee in partnership with the North Shore Task Force on Homelessness. This campaign is to raise awareness of lives lost due to the toxic drug crisis. This crisis continues to affect all of our communities. It is my privilege as a member of Council to participate in positive change not only for Lions Bay, but for the broader community of the North Shore and beyond.

The recent clear-cutting of a private property on Oceanview Road has prompted a petition and a public outcry. Would you support the creation of bylaws addressing tree-cutting, protection of riparian boundaries and steep slopes?

Yes. I support a prompt, legally reviewed examination of the gap in our rules for major tree removal on private land, particularly on steep or riparian sites. Our current Trees, Views and Landscapes Bylaw applies to municipal land, while other Village and provincial requirements already address certain natural hazards, land alteration and riparian development. The task is therefore to create a coordinated and enforceable framework, not duplicate or contradict existing rules. Any new bylaw should use clear permit thresholds, require appropriate environmental, geotechnical or arboricultural advice, address replanting and site stabilization, and include workable enforcement. It must also allow reasonable exemptions for hazardous trees, emergencies and legitimate FireSmart work. New rules cannot operate retroactively, but the Oceanview experience should inform clear and predictable protection going forward.

Many residents along Mountain, Sunset and Bayview have expressed frustration with the vast increase in hiker vehicle parking and traffic. Suggestions have been made to offer alternate parking in the gravel pit or elsewhere on Crown land. How would you respond to resident concerns?

Those concerns are legitimate. Residents on narrow roads without sidewalks should not have to absorb unlimited regional recreation traffic, especially where vehicles obstruct driveways, reduce visibility or compromise emergency access. In the near term, I support clear signage, focused peak-period enforcement and towing where safety routes are blocked.

Council has already asked staff to examine stronger enforcement, parking fees and possible use of the gravel pit; that work now needs a defined timeline and a public report. The gravel pit or another Crown-land site may be part of the answer, but only if provincial authorization, safe road and trail access, drainage and environmental issues, operating costs, toilets, garbage and enforcement can all be resolved. Because the demand is regional, the Province and regional partners should help fund and manage the solution rather than leaving Lions Bay taxpayers to carry it alone.

The recent trial of public porta-potties positioned near the Village centre has produced calls of concern regarding smell and garbage from nearby home owners. This is balanced against evidence that visitors are relieving themselves on our local streets. Do you have any thoughts to share?

The need for public sanitation is real, and so are the concerns of nearby residents. A trial should produce evidence that Council can use: actual usage, complaint patterns, servicing frequency, odour, waste management and cost. Staff should report those results and recommend whether the facilities should remain, be improved or be relocated. Options include more frequent peak-season servicing, better screening and odour control, an accessible unit, clear wayfinding, bear-resistant garbage facilities and a location with a better buffer from homes.

Council should also compare the lifecycle cost and servicing requirements of a more permanent facility. We should not defend an unsuitable location simply because a washroom is needed, but neither should we remove sanitation without a workable alternative. The purpose of a pilot is to learn and adjust. Further to this, we must advocate to the Province to provide washroom facilities at the Viewpoints on Eagle Ridge Bluff and Tunnel Bluffs. Visitors that are stopping using the washrooms are simply on their way through Lions Bay. Again, the demand is regional; the Province and regional partners should help fund and manage the solution rather than leaving Lions Bay taxpayers to carry it alone.

What else would you like to share with residents today? Where can they reach you? Do you have a website where voters can read your platform online?

I am approaching this election with experience, humility and a willingness to do the work. Lions Bay faces real choices, but we can address them through respectful debate, reliable information and transparent decisions. I will listen to residents, explain my votes and be candid about trade-offs. I will not promise what one councillor cannot deliver, but I will promise to prepare carefully, speak honestly and work with everyone elected. I welcome questions and differing views.

Residents can reach me at jaimecunliffe@gmail.com, and check out my profile on the Village Website. I encourage everyone to attend the All Candidates Debate on October 4th.