The members of North Cowichan’s new council for the next four years will hold their inaugural meeting this afternoon.
The mayor and councillors will take their Oaths of Office, and Rob Douglas will deliver his first address as Mayor to council and the residents of North Cowichan.
Douglas says he looks forward to working with council on challenges such as housing affordability, rising levels of homelessness, the environment and the effects of climate change, and some major budgetary pressures.
He believes the election campaign revealed some commonalities between the candidates and hopes council will come together to create detailed plans to tackle the challenges facing the community.
Douglas says one common theme is that council needs to push senior levels of government to act on problems that fall outside of the jurisdiction of municipalities.
Douglas notes the Mayor is just one vote out of seven, but the mayor’s chair provides opportunities to speak for the council.
“I’m hoping to use the mayor’s chair to really be a loud voice in that regard with the full support of council.”
Douglas, who served two terms on council beginning in 2014, says one of his roles as Mayor will be seeing new members of council have opportunities to participate “and really sink their teeth into some of the issues,” and says that may involve being named to committees, or external appointments.
