He might have been late to the party, but last-minute mayoral candidate Guy Heywood assures his delay is by no means representative of his dedication to the cause. The former City of North Vancouver councillor, who ran for mayor in 2018, hadn’t planned on running at all this year. It was only until he witnessed how no other candidates had “stepped up” that he felt compelled to take matters into his own hands.
“I had no intention of running this time, and I was telling people that until the very last week,” he said.
“Nobody else had stepped up, and a win by acclamation is not the right message to send to the current mayor.”
First and foremost, Heywood plans on addressing the long-debated issues of the two North Vancouvers, with aims to combine both district and city into one municipality.
“I’m here to represent the people, not the government, which means I want to answer the question once and for all: How much waste and duplication is there when North Vancouver has two local governments?”
Heywood says it was a question he often penned during his council years, but one that was routinely left unanswered. “I was completely frustrated by the current mayor and the previous mayor, who wouldn't answer the question. When I proposed a study that I had the district council to agree to, they refused. So we need to get to the bottom of this.”
Issues surrounding traffic and community matters would be managed far better if the two were consolidated, he said.
Having previously served two terms on council and three on the North Vancouver school board, as trustee and chair, Heywood, who has lived in North Vancouver for over five decades, has long had his interests embedded in local affairs.
He said he promises to represent the people to the government, “not the other way around,” and, if elected, will ascertain whether the current government is “really doing the best it can.”
“If you think we can do better than we're doing now, at managing and controlling the way development is affecting the livability of the city and the cost and effectiveness of local government, vote for me,” he said.
“If you don't, then I'm sure you're happy with the current regime.”
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News' Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
