Thursday, October 09, 2008

Jack Mussallem makes a return to the political scene

He’s apparently finished with wandering the municipal governance circuit, having spent time since his days in Prince Rupert in places afar, from Kitimat to Houston to Tumbler Ridge.

Jack Mussallem, the former city staff member who went on to be a one term mayor in the late nineties, has added his name to the nominations list for the election of Mayor of Prince Rupert on November 15th.

He held the office of mayor after the controversial John Kuz administration, bringing knowledge of the internal workings of the city from the front lines and back offices, into the Mayor’s office. Taking a cut in pay if we remember correctly, to serve as chief executive of the city, from the comfort of his days in the administrative department.

He took his office during some of the early tumultuous times in the city, there for the beginning of the worrisome signs of the eventual fate of Skeena Cel (and interestingly echoes of dire financial times that seem rather frighteningly familiar today), speaking out over the troubles at the Fairview bulk goods dock and on the blockade of the Alaska Ferry, which resulted in a severe drop in tourism in the city as the Alaska Marine Highway pulled its service in response to the troubles of the summer of 97.

They were all controversies that made him a frequent subject of the national and North American media as Prince Rupert became a talking point for any number of reasons, mostly reflecting troubled times for the North Coast.

His only term of office came to an end when Don Scott was elected to office in 1999, he also would maintain only one term in office before current Mayor Herb Pond took office in 2002.

During his time in the Mayor’s chair, Mussallem was actively involved in many of the controversial issues of the day, such as the oil and gas moratorium and its surrounding issues as well as the salmon farming debate, issues that still resonate in the community today.

His entry into the current race, resumes the competition for votes that he and Scott first enjoyed back in 1999. Both with their core base of dedicated voters and workers, both hoping to expand from that base to take a larger share of the general voting on November 15th.

Left to be seen in the Mayors race is if the incumbent, Herb Pond decides to seek his third term as the leader of the city. With some suggesting that he has his eye on a provincial nomination in next spring’s provincial election, his absence from the nomination list thus far may be the first indication that the planning has begun to make the move to the provincial scene.

The mystery as far as the municipal vote will be cleared up by 5 pm on Friday when nominations close for those seeking to win the people’s support on November 15th.

A two way race between Scott and Mussallem will be good theatre in itself, two competing visions for where the city is at the moment and where it should be going in the years to come.

A three way race with Mayor Pond defending his record and expanding on his plans for the city would make for a fascinating sprint to election day, with any number of variables offering up a potential twist along the way.

More will become clear by the end of business tomorrow, but with at least two candidates seeking the Mayoralty, we can’t say we’ve been denied a choice as far as what direction we want the city to travel in over the next three years.

What becomes striking to the observer as the two names of the past return to seek office is, that many of the issues they were part of scene then, are still resonating in the city today, despite all the hopeful talk of the port and our place in the Pacific Gateway. An indication that progress has been hard to come by in the nine years since they last competed at the polls

It will be interesting to watch as the candidates expand on their vision for the city and work to get out their vote on November 15th.

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