www.therockymountaingoat.com
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
A7
Looking back with hope for the future Former Valemount mayor Jeannette Townsend shares on her time in office, letters to Bush, tourism versus logging, and engaging Generation Y in politics. Joseph Nusse jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com
I spoke to him for a couple of hours, with some of the staff that had worked with Slocan, as well as the President and CEO of Slocan and our Minister of Forest Mike Young, and the President of the Northern Forest Products association of Prince George, as well as the council of forest industries. So we did get press – in the New York Times.
Q: Why did you get into politics? Was it a single issue that spurred you? Was it a career calling, or was it a result of encouragement from friends? A: I never really thought very much about it until I was part of a panel in Prince George that our MLA Shirley Bond asked me to participate in. I had to sit down and do some thinking, and the best way to put it is that it was something that evolved. I thought back to when I was in high school. I was on the student council, always elected to represent our class. Living in Williams Lake when my children were old enough I got involved in the family division committee. It was to do with social issues in town as well as family concerns. I got involved in that committee and I served as the chair of it until we moved to [Valemount]. There was a by-election here, an alderman left, and some of my associates said ‘we would like you to run.’ So I ran. I did not want to run for mayor, because I was also a realtor at Yellowhead Realty, but there were quite a few people who said that they felt they would really like for me to run for mayor. They liked what I stood for. So I did. Q: It must be rare for a politician at any level to be in office long enough, not only implement their ideas, but to see the effects of these ideas. It usually takes decades for these things to come to fruition. Looking back over two decades you served in this town, what moment and accomplishments pop out? What are you most proud of? A: I think our infrastructure, as well as the fact that we are in the Columbia Basin Trust. It is a generational legacy. We have received well over $2 million to date, and we will be receiving more as the years go by ... The Columbia Basin Trust initiative funding that we received helped with a lot of the initiatives that we as a municipality undertook. To go back to 1990 when I was first elected, Slocan Forest Products was really seeking a larger annual al-
lowable cut. They did not have enough that the wood is not being processed wood and the mill was closed part of locally. the time. Only 5th Avenue was paved, with a little portion of Dogwood and Q: What were the low points of your Cedar just around 5th Avenue. All of time in office? What were the moments our streets are now paved and the vil- when you found yourself second guesslage tax payers did not have to pay for ing yourself, or rather your ideals? that. We also paid off our sewer debt. They installed a sewage system in A: What really knocked me for a loop Valemount in 1980 or 81. The interest was when Slocan Forest products anrates at that time were at 15 or 16 per nounced in July 2002 that they were cent and they closing down inborrowed the “What I did was I wrote a letter to Presi- definitely because dollars in US dent Bush. It was a very polite letter. I of the softwood funds, and they requested his executive intervention.” agreement with the could not pay United States and that off in ad- Jeannette Townsend on the softwood the problems they lumber dispute with the U.S. vance. That was were having … They paid off a few could not even break years ago. We even … It was really have had significant water upgrades. the softwood lumber agreement that We have a new reservoir as well as the was causing all the problems with the new filtration plant. This all only cost Americans. It caused me a lot of sleepthe municipality one third of the costs. less nights. But what I did was I wrote [At the airport] in 1994-95 we got a letter to President Bush. It was a very funding from the federal government polite letter. I requested his executive for the terminal building, water sewer intervention. I sent a copy to the Naand hydro as well as GPS landing and tional Post and The Globe and Mail. night lights. And so CTV came here from Calgary Another thing that I am proud of is to do an interview. And after that I got that we got a community forest. We a call from the Canadian bureau chief got a 40,000 cubic meter annual allow- of The New York Times and he said that able cut that is putting loggers to work. his editor wanted him to come to ValeWhat I do not approve of, and maybe mount to meet me and get a front page there is no alternative at this time, is story ... I made an appointment, after,
Q: I remember the race for mayor when you took office. There were [four] candidates. I remember campaign promoters from all camps lobbying for their respective candidates very hard, even going so far as to drive around town honking their horns with banners blowing in the wind. What has happened to this kind of democratic involvement? Your [final] term was by acclamation. A: I don’t know. I have always taken it that if nobody else wants to run perhaps everyone is happy with what is being done. Q: But what has happened to the other side? The promotion side? There are no banners in the wind. There are no cars. A: I never did anything like that, but I did take the time to do a letter to all of the local residents and took it to the post office and had it delivered to every post office box. I also had some posters, but I never did do anything that was showy like horns blowing. I don’t know why that has stopped. I have never thought to consider why that has stopped. Maybe they saw that it did not do any good. I am more conservative than that. I prefer meeting with people, talking to people and giving them something to read. Q: When one looks around at the provincial situation for all small Interior B.C. towns, Valemount stands out as an exception. Until this last year, optimism has been very prevalent. Why do you think Valemount has managed to remain a growing regional town while its neighbours have seen much harder times? “Jeannette” cont’ A8
To watch clips from this interview go to www.therockymountaingoat.com