Whistler – The race for the mayor’s seat between incumbent Ken Melamed and former councillor Kristi Wells is shaping up to be the one to watch in Whistler’s municipal election after the two candidates fielded the majority of questions at an all-candidates meeting this week.
Questions from members of the public and various arts and culture organizations were directed to Wells and Melamed at Tuesday’s (Oct. 28) forum, which was presented by the Whistler Arts Council, the museum, library, Millennium Place, Whistler Film Festival Society and the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre. About 200 people attended, with an almost full house at the Millennium Place theatre.
Melamed and Wells were asked together and individually about ongoing support for arts programs, long-term plans for a museum in Whistler, the use of Millennium Place, cost escalations for the new library, bylaws against busking in the Village, cultural facilities at Cheakamus Crossing and the direction of arts and culture at Tourism Whistler.
Melamed said he has an “unshakable devotion to the arts” and pledged ongoing funding for the sector from the hotel tax. Wells said hotel tax funding is “threatened” and the “belt will have to be tightened,” but she suggested making the case for local arts and culture to ask for funding from higher levels of government.
In response to a question from Whistler Museum and Archives staff about municipal support for a permanent museum, Melamed admitted that the museum is a “casualty” of the municipality’s economic challenges. Still, he committed to a long-term plan for a museum.
Wells was asked for her opinion on the “highest and best use” for Millennium Place, and she said she doesn’t know. The building was designed to be multipurpose, flexible and able to evolve with the community’s needs, she said. She suggested a new fundraising campaign to “save Millennium Place.”
Several other candidates addressed financial challenges and ownership discussions at Millennium Place, with Melamed and incumbent Councillor Eckhard Zeidler committing to keep the facility for the community.
A question from an attendee about the cost for community groups to rent space at Millennium Place garnered loud applause from the audience. Council candidate and former Millennium Place board chair Stephen Milstein said he supports a tiered rate structure that offers the lowest rental rates for non-profit community groups. Milstein said he’s not aware of the current rate structure but he doesn’t support of increased rates for community groups.
Wells faced a tough question from Whistlerite Stuart Munro about her role on past councils when the new library project was delayed, which he said resulted in increased costs for the building. She responded with “unconditional” support for the library, but also a sense of strong fiscal responsibility, which drove her to push for a commercial component in the new library.
“I don’t believe I single-handedly drove the price of the library up,” she said.
During the last municipal election, a similar arts and culture forum prompted theatrics from some candidates, but there were few performances this week. Mayoral candidate Brian Walker recited a poem from memory and Council candidate Jack Crompton pledged to join the Whistler Singers community choir, which only has one male member. Crompton challenged all Council candidates to join as well, but there were no public takers.
Moderator Maureen Douglas also provided comic relief throughout the session.
Each Whistler candidate for school board trustee, councillor and mayor was given two minutes to address the crowd before questions were posed. Absent were school trustee candidate Christine Buttkus and Council candidates Shane Bennett, Grant Lamont and Will Pullinger. Lamont sent a film clip that was shown at the meeting.
Many candidates spoke about Whistler’s strong arts, culture and heritage sector and the opportunities and government funding the 2010 Games are providing. Several candidates presented ideas for growth in the sector.
Council candidate and photographer David Buzzard said Whistler would be an ideal location for photography workshops, while Chris Quinlan issued a challenge to the arts community to develop a business case for a culinary or art institute or a similar business. Walker proposed a centre for media arts in Whistler.
Mayoral candidate Jag Bhandari, who lives in Surrey and is also running for a seat on Surrey Council, made the trip to Whistler for the event. His two-minute speech was largely disjointed — at one point he held up a mobile phone, saying it is a “gift” for grandparents who have watched their children and grandchildren pass by with their gadgets. The phone has a projector, Bhandari said.
Two more all-candidates’ meetings are coming up: The Whistler Chamber of Commerce is hosting a forum on Saturday (Nov. 1) at Whistler Secondary School from 3 to 5 p.m. and the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE) all-candidates meeting is planned Wednesday (Nov. 5) from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Westin Resort and Spa.
Municipal election day is Nov. 15.
