First, I want to thank the citizens of our great town, that have supported me, surrounded me with your sincere respect and kindness during my term on town council. I appreciate the overwhelming support that I received during the last election, by you, placing me at the top of the polls for my council seat. This endorsement not only made me proud, it was an honour, not without humility, but with significant expectations and pressure, to rise up and try and ensure the values of Tofitions were widely represented and were held strong.
During my three years on council, I have learned to have a deep respect for all of the staff at the District of Tofino. I truly admire there hard work, commitment and the perseverance to make Tofino a better place everyday they go to work.
With council , I appreciate the drive, vision, passion and while understanding the difficult challenges to create a shared vision around the table. I know that these difficult decisions and debate come straight from the heart, and this is shared by everyone that has ever sat on our town council . The experience of being on town council, has taught me about the commitment these people have made for our town. When you count the endless hours, the stipend that councillors and the mayor receive for their contribution, does not even equal minimum wage. It is truly a community service and is at a cost that makes it highly prohibitive for most. It takes many hours of hard work, sacrifice away from family and careers. It is with a deep love for out town, and the desire to make Tofino a better place, that people are willing to take on this responsibility and sacrifice. As with any political post, you sometimes find that the results are often not exactly what you want. Life as an elected official comes with failures, compromise, and success. I have enjoyed much of this opportunity to represent our community, however it has not come without many sacrifices, as one can expect.
There has always been tough decisions and challenges of being on council in this town. I want to thank Mayor Fraser and my fellow councillors for there hard work, for making both the popular and unpopular decisions, with perseverance to do what they believe is the right thing for our town. I cannot thank my beautiful children and family for there unbelievable sacrifice, and my friends, I will never forget your support.
As many people may know, I was strongly considering running for the mayor position. I need to thank so many of you for expressing your support for me, to make an attempt to lead in the the mayor position. As many of you know, I am dedicated in all of my efforts to make Tofino a better place to live, which is very dear to my heart. However, after long consideration, I had to make a decision that is best for me and my children. This has been a very difficult decision, not one I have taken lightly, or one which has been an easy one for me. It has truly come with serious deliberation and deep soul searching. However, after much consideration, I have decided that I will not run in the coming election. My three children are the most important people in my life, they are the reason I ran for council, they are the reason I am not continuing. They need my devotion,extra time and attention right now, and I need there's. It has been a long time coming, after running 5 stores over 13 years in the natural clothing and art gallery business, while working a job and town council. I need to continue to focus my time and energy on my exciting position as Executive Director of the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. I feel the need to succeed in completing the many projects which we have started, as well, to look to bring excitement, and energy to the many more opportunities for the organization that lie ahead. I find myself very fortunate to have a great job, where I can continue contribute to championing the leaders of our community and there dreams for a long time ahead.
While I was deliberating running for the Mayor position, I asked myself what is leadership? Who are my leaders? Some of personal leaders and inspiration just to name a few are Terry Fox, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Nelson Mandela, people who've taken a chance, put self sacrifice ahead of personal gain, to make a difference in the lives of all people. However, I don't look just at these icons as my only leaders, when I live in a town where I see them everywhere I go. My leaders include the people that run our non-profits in our town, like Josie Osborne, Gibby and Kim Hoag and of course the many, many others...our doctors, nurses, post office staff, district staff, teachers...cancer survivors and people who've overcome illnesses or addiction...business owners sacrificing the bottom line for social and environmental responsibility...our many, many volunteers...our mayors and councillors from past and present...people riding bikes instead of driving cars to lower gas emissions, citizens striving to improve their waste reduction efforts and lower their footprint on the planet, people who pick up litter, those that are willing stand up to protect the environment at all costs...my First Nations friends standing up for their inherent rights and responsibility to look after this land that we call home...those that celebrate, protect and foster our culture...our local artists and musicians.... the surfing community, and active people, making themselves healthier...people that try to look after those most marginalized in society, or those in need...those that give compassion when we need it (by the way we all need it!)...people who put love first...those that help a friend in need, reaching out to lend a hand...my friend Kenny Bradford who has an illness that limits him to a wheelchair, yet brings a smile to everyday, overlooking his challenges, to love every once of life, he is a leader to me...my kids, your kids, seniors, parents, families...this includes not just most of you, but all of you, YOU are my leaders, my heroes, my teachers. I will continue to look to you, not only to lead, but to teach, and inspire me, so we all can be Champions!
The job of Mayor and council role should be to help make you champions from your dreams, your vision, and your leadership. Their role should be to EMPOWER you, the community, through patience, compassion , dialogue, communication, understanding,non judgmental acceptance of your ideas, with flexibility, respect, thought, vigor, drive and passion. The elected officials NEED YOU to lead and participate, they can't do it without you. We all have the opportunity to be leaders, every single day, every one of us, and you do.
I have learned over the past years about adversity, change, to overcome some of the difficult challenges life presents us and to still go forward and make dreams a reality. It is amazing what we can do, if we are passionate enough, because sometimes it's simply just the right thing to do, I have experienced this. I realized that I don't need to be the Mayor of Tofino to be a leader, I already am one, just like all of you. By not running, I am making a leadership decision, not just for me, but for my family, for my community. I cannot express enough my appreciation for the opportunity to live in a country where we have the opportunity to vote, or to run for election, to participate in the democratic process. Please be part of the process, use your democratic rights and demonstrate that you can be part of this exciting process simply by voting, and contributing your thoughts with your community. In the coming days, I will post what was my election platform in the hopes that possibly some or part of my vision will be supported and carried forward by you, and our next elected council and mayor.
We all know change is coming...its inevitable, its one thing that has always happened and is for certain, something we can count on. Please, be leaders and part of "change," by upholding your strong values, principles and personal convictions in pursuing a better Tofino when you participate in this election. As we enter into this election, we reflect upon the past, we look to the present, and envision for our future the next group of elected officials. I wish everyone moving forward and entering into the political arena the very best . For those considering running for election, please know that to be on council in Tofino, carries an enormous amount of responsibility and consideration, to uphold and maintain the precious values of our community.
I will always contribute to ensure that the quality of life for Tofino is to be better for all citizens. I look forward to our next elected Mayor and council to help me champion some of my dreams to be a reality, next to many of yours. Again, I thank-you from the bottom of my heart, for the opportunity to be one of your elected officials. I'll see you around town with a smile on my face and with gratitude for the opportunity everyday to be a leader amongst other leaders, like you.
Yours Truly
Gordo
PS Sorry about any Sp's and Grammer, I'm working late tonight.
