Oak Bay mayor Nils Jensen voted chairman of CRD board
Times Colonist,
December 11, 2014
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen was elected chairman of the Capital Regional District in a secret ballot of directors on Wednesday, beating out Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins, the only other candidate for the job.
“We will be the directors without silos,” Jensen quipped after the vote.
Southern Gulf Islands director Dave Howe was elected board vice-chairman by acclamation.
Prior to the vote, Desjardins told directors that to meet the challenges that lay ahead for the CRD, including sewage treatment and regional composting of food scraps, the board would have to work to regain public trust.
“The votes in the recent election in favour of studying amalgamation may in part be from waning confidence and trust in what we expect from the CRD. My main goal as CRD chair would be to regain that trust,” Desjardins said.
“The public has expressed their need for more meaningful consultation and participation before decisions are made. They have requested transparency in decision-making and in access to information. The relationships between the CRD and the public must be improved and we are the people that are responsible for that.”
Jensen, on the other hand, focused on his record, noting that he served for years as chairman of the Regional Water Supply Commission and, more recently, of the environmental services committee, overseeing the region’s move to ban kitchen scraps from the Hartland landfill.
“It is said often that past behaviour is a good predictor of future behaviour,” Jensen said, adding that he believes there was a reason he was elected to chair the water district 11 times.
“I like to believe it’s because I was even-handed. I was fair. I was respectful and I listened and I brought a relatively calm demeanour to the issues — focusing debate and moving the agenda forward. So that is the kind of chair I would anticipate being,” he said.
Jensen, a provincial government lawyer, said he takes pride in his close working relationship with staff — something he called “essential.”
The position of CRD board chairperson carries an annual stipend of $20,366 ($13,577 in remuneration and a $6,789 expense allowance). Remuneration and expense allowance for municipal directors is $8,878, and $40,276 for electoral area directors.
The next meeting of the CRD board is Jan. 14.
Times Colonist,
December 11, 2014
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen was elected chairman of the Capital Regional District in a secret ballot of directors on Wednesday, beating out Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins, the only other candidate for the job.
“We will be the directors without silos,” Jensen quipped after the vote.
Southern Gulf Islands director Dave Howe was elected board vice-chairman by acclamation.
Prior to the vote, Desjardins told directors that to meet the challenges that lay ahead for the CRD, including sewage treatment and regional composting of food scraps, the board would have to work to regain public trust.
“The votes in the recent election in favour of studying amalgamation may in part be from waning confidence and trust in what we expect from the CRD. My main goal as CRD chair would be to regain that trust,” Desjardins said.
“The public has expressed their need for more meaningful consultation and participation before decisions are made. They have requested transparency in decision-making and in access to information. The relationships between the CRD and the public must be improved and we are the people that are responsible for that.”
Jensen, on the other hand, focused on his record, noting that he served for years as chairman of the Regional Water Supply Commission and, more recently, of the environmental services committee, overseeing the region’s move to ban kitchen scraps from the Hartland landfill.
“It is said often that past behaviour is a good predictor of future behaviour,” Jensen said, adding that he believes there was a reason he was elected to chair the water district 11 times.
“I like to believe it’s because I was even-handed. I was fair. I was respectful and I listened and I brought a relatively calm demeanour to the issues — focusing debate and moving the agenda forward. So that is the kind of chair I would anticipate being,” he said.
Jensen, a provincial government lawyer, said he takes pride in his close working relationship with staff — something he called “essential.”
The position of CRD board chairperson carries an annual stipend of $20,366 ($13,577 in remuneration and a $6,789 expense allowance). Remuneration and expense allowance for municipal directors is $8,878, and $40,276 for electoral area directors.
The next meeting of the CRD board is Jan. 14.