2022 Local Government Elections Candidates (in Alphabetical Order)
Islands Trust Candidates for Local Trustees (Two are to be elected)
Ben Corno - Islands Trust Candidate
Ben has lived on Salt Spring Island since 2010 and is the co-owner/operator of Heavenly Roots Vegetable Farm on Hwmet'atsum (Mt. Maxwell) with his partner, Kaleigh Barton. “We have grown our business together with the help of our friends, employees, customers, and collaborators. Salt Spring Island has helped us to realize our goals, learn our trade, and integrate ourselves into our rich and caring community.” Currently Ben is the Chairperson of the Community Market Society and past president of the Salt Spring Island Disc Golf Club. Bencorno.ca
Gary Gagné - Islands Trust Candidate
Gary is currently the Vice-chair of the North Salt Spring Waterworks District and has served four years as trustee. He has been involved in many volunteer positions including the development of Transition Salt Spring’s Climate Action Plan, and its ongoing implementation in the Maxwell Creek watershed, Island Pathways, Cycling Salt Spring, and the SSI Housing Council. He has also spent many years on the frontlines as an Ancient Forest protector as well as several years as an officer on Greenpeace ships. Gary is a boatbuilder, sailor, and housebuilder (his first on Salt Spring in 1980). He is the single parent of two boys and is now retired, living on a small-scale organic farm with his wife.
Jamie Harris - Local Trustee Candidate
Jamie came to Salt Spring from Ontario in 1990 as a young man and fell in love with the Coastal and Gulf Island culture. He was highly influenced by the rich history of the early settlers along with first nations from their love of farming, commercial fishing, sustainable logging and lumber milling. He worked in construction when first arriving on the Island, then commercial fishing for a few years in the 1990s. From selling firewood to the community for many years as well as being a ticketed tree faller and forester with many talents, Jamie is well known throughout the community as a hard-working fellow. With sons and family of his own, he also cares deeply about the direction and future of the Gulf Islands and its inhabitants. www.donmarcotte-jamieharris.org
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Don Marcotte - Local Trustee Candidate
Don is a third-generation Islander, living here on the Island home he loves. Being born here and now with four children of his own, Don truly cares about the direction of the Island's growth. Having worked in trucking from the cement plant on Rainbow road to owning his own gravel truck business for many years, along with being a heavy equipment operator with a great mechanical aptitude and now working at the highways deptartment, he has gained a great knowledge for the workings of Salt Spring and the outer Islands. Making friends where ever he goes with his open demeanor and quick-wittedness, he is truly an amazing asset to our community. www.donmarcotte-jamieharris.org
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Jenny McClean - Islands Trust Candidate
Jenny was born on Salt Spring and has raised her children here too. She has been attending Islands Trust meetings since 2008, and is well-informed on Salt Spring's political processes. Jenny was the acting chair of the Ganges Village Task Force and stayed with the task force process from the very beginning and attended all of the meetings, as well as doing background work with Islands Trust staff. Jenny is running for Islands Trust Local Trust Trustee because this island and the people who live here are very dear to her, and she wants to help foster a happy and healthy community.
Laura Patrick - Islands Trust Candidate
Laura is standing for re-election to the Islands Trust because she is concerned about the enormity of the challenges the island community is facing. She understands that our challenges have complex interdependencies, and failure to address one issue will have knock-on effects on others. She has years of experience in environmental management and international consulting and has worked hard as a Salt Spring Local Trustee and Trust Council Vice Chair over her first four-year term. http://laurapatricktrustee.ca
Elissa Poole - Islands Trust Candidate
Elissa Poole has called Salt Spring home since 1978, although her career as a professional musician—now retired—often took her off-island for long periods of time. Since 2000 she has been teaching at the University of Victoria; she also wrote for the Globe and Mail for over 20 years. Most recently she has been active in attempting to conserve a large acreage in the south end of the island, for which she raised almost $250,000 in donations. That project, still ongoing, has put her into contact with experts in forestry, wetland management, species diversity and habitat conservation, and has reinforced her desire to ensure that protecting the natural environment remains a primary concern of the Islands Trust.
Capital Regional District Candidates for Salt Spring Island Electoral Area Director (One to be elected)
Jesse Brown - Capital Regional District Director Candidate
Jesse has deep roots in the community, most recently working as CRD Salt Spring’s first Economic Sustainability Coordinator (2022), and Executive Director at the Chamber of Commerce (2021). Jesse developed and wrote successful community building proposals for Ganges Village Vibrancy, More than Murals, and Southern Gulf Islands Love Local. He volunteered as a Commissioner on Island Trust’s Ganges Village Planning Task Force (2021) advocating for the inclusion of working people, families, and minorities in decision making. Prior to working on Salt Spring Island, Jesse worked in downtown Vancouver as a community health advocate and was the Green Party of Canada’s nominee for MP in Vancouver-Centre earning 12.5% of the vote (2019). www.saltspringtogether.ca
Kylie Coates - Capital Regional District Director Candidate
Kylie is a fourth-generation islander, born and raised on Salt Spring. He has worked for the last ten years as a private contractor for the federal government. He also worked part-time with his father at Chris Coates Electrical. Kylie graduated from Gulf Islands Secondary School in 2000 and feels problems on the island remain the same. Kylie ran for Islands Trust Director in 2018, with a campaign promise to get a laundromat with energy-efficient machines built here on Salt Spring, and promised he would run again.
Gary Holman - Capital Regional District Director Candidate
Gary has had a property on the south end of SSI for the last 45 years, and except for four years as MLA, has lived here full time since 1989. Gary is an economist by background and has worked for over 25 years as a consulting economist on projects such as the Nisga’a Treaty and provincial land use and resource management planning. Gary has served three terms as CRD Director for SSI, and one term as MLA for Saanich North and the Islands.
We are also grateful to Linda Adams who will explain the roles and responsibilities of our two levels of local government.
Linda Adams (B.Sc., MCIP, RPP) is an educator, local government consultant, professional planner and the former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Islands Trust, a position she retired from in 2016 after a 25-year career in local government.