Meet Your Candidate: Ron McLaughlin

Councillor and former Mayor seeks return to Mayor's seat

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. 

Mayoral candidate Ron McLaughlin. Submitted photo.

You have held the position of Mayor before, along with the role of Councillor. What makes you want to take on the role of Mayor again?

The village needs strong leadership which I have a proven record of providing. I have the demonstrated skills to effectively and cooperatively manage the financial, interpersonal and structural problems that Lions Bay really needs to solve and, with a new group of committed councillors, I want to assist in making the Village a better place to live. 

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

During the past year since I joined Council again, many of you have approached or contacted me with your concerns about this administration. Most recently this was as a result of my information releases on significant legal fees, audit fees, and personnel costs which you can find on my website. Each topic raised issues on this Council’s lack of significant expense control and governance. You raised several other concerning issues as well, including what I shall call bad table manners. There was a common theme that this community deserves a lot better than what it has received over the last four years. I agree.

I have significant experience, and demonstrated skills in keeping a Council cohesive. The Village’s challenge is my challenge and it will be immediate. It is to ensure Council is aligned with our strategic goals and cooperatively works with staff. The role of municipal government isn’t fancy. Its purpose is to foster community, listen to residents, and deliver core services like safety, water, garbage collection, sewer, and infrastructure maintenance. These things matter.  They make our lives easier by providing amenities and services, and they support property values because buyers know the Village is well built. Core services and infrastructure will continue to be our primary focus.

Council needs to become efficient and disciplined. We will work hard to regain your respect and enhance our image outside the Village and with senior government.

My intention is that this Council won’t be flashy, there won’t be any drama, and there will be regular community engagement. We will work very hard to make Lions Bay the best place for us to live, and sustain ourselves into the future.

Tension at the Council table has been palpable for most of the current term. As Mayor, how do plan to set the tone to achieve a more collegial and productive atmosphere?

I believe in listening respectfully and thoughtfully to all points of view and keeping Council on track. I can work with whichever Councillors are elected. During my term as Mayor, Council worked collaboratively and generated significant cash for our Treasury without taxation and completed infrastructure improvements on time and on budget without drama. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when nobody cares who gets the credit and you work as a team.

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?

In my view, the credibility of disclosure like this, or as an example, reports which included $26 million for a new Fire Department building, done without any deep professional due diligence only to have numbers walked back, is not helpful to Villagers. The role of Mayor and Council is to ensure our residents are informed, but also that appropriate investigation is done and priorities are set that match feedback from staff and our outstanding volunteer Infrastructure Committee and research.

What strengths do you bring to the Council table?

• More than 30 years of high-level financial experience

• Active municipal knowledge and Council experience from four years as Mayor during three years of a global disruption and 8.5 current years as a Councillor

• Unwavering commitment to implementing what is best for Lions Bay

• An open mind to working with whomever is elected

Let's look at some specific concerns:

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

Let’s review the situation. 120-plus residents signed petitions objecting to what has occurred, along with many residents who passionately came to Council to voice their displeasure. This can’t be hidden under a rug.

From my perspective this boils down to working within established bylaws.

Did this subdivision application meet all the necessary requirements? That’s a yes or no answer.

Did the developer take liberties with riparian setbacks or clearing of municipal land? If yes, then staff need to look into how that happened and openly share lessons learned and how we prevent this in the future.

None of this is a Council matter as there is separation between the roles of Council and staff, with the Administrative Approving Officer having the final and only say. Council’s only role is to ask staff to look into any outstanding requirements that would be associated with this application. If Council doesn’t trust staff, it is a much bigger issue. These development applications are a matter of public record; anyone can ask to see them.

If I were the developer, I would have placed signage out early, actively embraced community feedback, shared technical information, and used media to alert everyone what was being contemplated. Through engagement, this might have reduced community concerns.

• 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?

We need to welcome the hikers that come to use the provincial trails but our residents’ desire to lead their lives in quiet harmony cannot be ignored any longer. In spite of previous campaign promises, the current Council in four years has not found alternate parking or a solution for the onslaught of visitors. I can advise that the gravel pit area is not an option any time soon. This will be a long-term work project to be chipped away at continually.

To give the residents in the affected areas a return to the calmness they previously enjoyed, I will put forward a motion to Council as soon as possible to limit public parking above Stewart Road to residents only, other than the paid parking lot on Sunset or on private property. Before proceeding to implementation, the most affected residents will be able to weigh in if they are comfortable with some roadside visitor parking. Haste will be necessary for this pilot program to be successful next hiking season. Engagement with our affected residents, and beginning an education and awareness program for the visiting public needs to be done quickly.

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

The lesson learned from the pilot placement of porta-potties at the corner of Creekview/Oceanview is that we can’t allow nearby homeowners to suffer. The porta-potties in question will be removed by October 1.

MOTI is not going to allow placement of the items at the Park’n’Ride.

Better signage may defer some visitors to Lions Bay Beach Park or the Kelvin Grove washrooms but that is not enough to solve this problem. Early in the new term I would be interested in revisiting non-porta-potty options available with the Director of Operations to locate facilities behind the hall or through a lease arrangement at the grassy area near the café.

• Legal costs have exploded over the current Council term, and yet residents remain mostly in the dark about where the money has gone. As Mayor, how would you address this expensive and confusing problem?

The day-to-day running of the Village by our Administration requires the expenditure of legal fees for routine items such as bylaw changes, legal opinions for legislation, and other sundry matters. The Village also defends itself against claimants for a variety of reasons and all matters related to the Battani Creek debris slide. All matters other than the budgeted day to day items are addressed in closed meetings. This will not change and disclosure of the number and cost of each item is not beneficial to the Village as we defend ourselves.

However, to reduce legal costs, Council should carefully manage its decisions and not allow direct access to legal counsel by staff, the Mayor, and Council members unless agreed to by the Majority of Council. Please refer to my web site www.ronmclaughlin.ca and read my commentary on legal fees during this Council’s term. In short, in any one year from 2023-2025 the completed legal fee cost is greater than the total combined legal fees in my four years in office as Mayor. Don’t be fooled by anyone who might try to co-opt this issue, saying “we need to do better.” 

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

I have the proven skills required to move our village forward on the right path. When I walk around the Village, residents tell me this Village deserves better than what has occurred over the past term. I agree. Let’s make a change in the right direction.

My website is www.RonMcLaughlin.ca  It is a fulsome site with a lot of information. In particular I suggest you go to the 'Inform Yourself' page and review my information releases. I recommend you review not only excessive legal fee commentary but also excessive audit fees, and excessive staff costs during this past term in office.

I can be emailed at ronmclaughlin@telus.net or voteronmclaughlin@gmail.com and reached by telephone @ 604 921-7138 or 604 353-7138.