Salmon Arm’s newly elected mayor and council were sworn in during a special meeting in council chambers.
“I will carry out my duties with integrity, I will be accountable for the decisions that I make and the actions that I take in the course of my duties. I will be respectful of others; I will demonstrate leadership and collaboration.”
This was part of the oath of office stated by Judge George Leven and repeated by Mayor Alan Harrison and councillors Debbie Cannon, Kevin Flynn, David Gonella, Tim Lavery Sylvia Lindgren and Louise Wallace Richmond on Monday evening, Nov. 7. The two lines mirrored the Council Code of Responsible Conduct signed by council after the swearing in.
“The time was right because the past council lived by the code without having to sign the attestation,” said Harrison, crediting Lavery’s leadership on the code of conduct.
A portion of the meeting was set aside for speeches, beginning with the only newcomer to council, David Gonella.
“I’m honoured to be here, I’m honoured to have the opportunity to serve you,” said Gonella. “It’s been a heck of ride since me and Ellen moved here in 2006, and I think we’re one of the stories of a couple coming to this town to try and add something to this community and I think we’ve done as best as we can. We’re going to continue doing that.
“That’s one of the things I love the most about this city, the community is friendly, it’s open, and the people who are in the right places are working really hard for everyone. I hope to keep up that standard.”
Along with thanking family and friends, Lavery thanked the citizens of Salmon Arm, who he said were “very clear on the attributes they wanted in their local government reps, and in the type of city that they wanted Salmon Arm to be.”
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Gratitude was shared by all of council for Salmon Arm residents – friends, family, city staff and fellow councillors. Flynn also recognized former councillor Chad Eliason and all the work he did for the city.
“I don’t think our residents understand how much Chad did for our community,” said Flynn. “So thank you Chad, wish you were here, going to miss you but it appears that the person stepping into your spot (Gonella) is a very able, capable and wonderful replacement by what I’ve seen already.”
In his speech, Harrison summarized the community’s expectations of council for the next four years.
As per the code of conduct, one of those expectations is that council be respectful in its interactions.
“This applies to all of our interactions, those with individuals in the grocery store, those who come to council to present, it includes our interactions with staff, with groups, when we serve on committees…and of course around this table,” said Harrison.
The community expects council to be nimble, and willing to change course as necessary, Harrison continued.
“We need to be able to recognize a mistake and fix it,” he said.
“The community expects us to move forward together. We need to provide balance from where we’re coming from and where we hope to go. We need to be innovative, perhaps creative, we need to find ways to say, yes we can, despite barriers that may appear to be there.”
lachlan@saobserver.net
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