By David F. Rooney
The field of candidates who want to be elected to City Council just become a little more crowded with the declaration by lawyer Constance M. Brothers that she wants a seat at the table.
“It’s an interesting time to be in Revelstoke,” says this thoughtful and articulate woman.
“I think people are more engaged and want to participate more in the political process than they have in recent years.”
“By listening and learning, I believe I can be responsive to the needs and interests of Revelstoke and Revelstokians.”
Connie, as she prefers to be called, and her husband, Arvid Zakary, a local real estate broker with Revy Realty, came to Revelstoke 7 years ago. She has worked in her local legal practice since then, has provided advice and counsel to many families, local businesses and organizations and is a member of the Boards of Community Connections and the Chamber of Commerce. She lives in downtown Revelstoke.
“I have a deep passion for Revelstoke and have been actively involved in the community for many years,” she said in a statement, released late Monday July 14, announcing her intention to seek election. “This has evolved into a strong desire to contribute further by serving on Council.
“By listening and learning, I believe I can be responsive to the needs and interests of Revelstoke and Revelstokians.”
That sounds pretty pro forma and, in fact it is. But in an interview it swiftly becomes apparent that Connie has given this decision a lot of thought.
She thinks the local political situation in Revelstoke has reached the point where the status quo is no longer sufficient to satisfy residents.
“I have a vision that has been developing over time,” she said in a broad-ranging interview two weeks ago. “In that vision I see City Hall acting to better reflect the needs of our community.”
One way that City Hall and Council can do that is by drawing up an economic development strategy to make our local economy more sustainable. Major businesses/industries like CP Rail, Downie, the banks and the credit union, and HMC appear to be doing okay but the retail sector is troubled — Just look at the number of empty store fronts downtown — and many people recognize that tourism is not going to rescue our economy.
“If we don’t take charge, develop an economic strategy and manage change to our benefit, then we’ll end up with changes we don’t want but that will manage us,” she said.
A true economic strategy will also help Revelstoke turn the corner on the population decline we have been witnessing for since the mega-projects ended more than 20 years ago.
In the 2011 Census we had just 7,139 people living within the city boundaries. That was down from 2006 when we had 7,230 residents. And that was down from the 2001 Census when we had 7,500. In the previous Census of 1996 we had 8,047.
These numbers may surprise a lot people reading this. We — and our leaders — have been claiming to have a population of 7,500 people for quite some time. Unfortunately, it’s not true. And our failure to attract and keep new residents is part and parcel of our economic stagnation.
“Good jobs are hard to come by,” Connie said. “We have to take a holistic approach to community development and look at growth in our economy and our population as being truly linked together.”
It’s going to take some hard work and imaginative thinking to improve our economy and bring new families to town but none of this is insurmountable.
“My father taught me that it is all right to be disappointed with the way something turns out but not to be discouraged,” she said.
“Revelstokians have a can-do attitude that needs to be part of the culture at City Council.”
The other declared candidates for City Council are: Scott Duke, Trevor English and Karen Powers.
