Erik Olesen is running for mayor of Vernon.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Erik Olesen
August 28, 2018 - 5:00 PM
VERNON - A 26-year-old convenience store operator is the latest candidate to enter the race to become mayor of Vernon.
Erik Olesen officially announced his intention to run for mayor today, Aug. 28. Olesen, who operates two 24 hour convenience stores, says in a media release the idea of a younger candidate entering the race has "peeked interest in the community."
Olesen says the three most pressing issues in Vernon are homelessness, drug addiction and housing affordability. He says he has had daily dealings with these issues from running the convenience stores and has recently toured the Turning Points Collaborative recovery and addictions support-housing complex to see the situation first hand.
Despite his age, Olesen says he isn't new to politics as he ran for a seat in the provincial legislature in 2017 and for a seat on city council in Ottawa when he was 18 years old. According to his release, he's also worked on seven municipal, provincial and federal political campaigns.
Olesen joins addictions specialist Darrin Taylor and former mayoral challenger Victor Cumming, along with Art Gourley, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for council in 2014, in the race for the top job. The current mayor Akbal Mund has not yet said whether he will run again.
Candidates have from Sept. 4 until Sept. 10 to register. Municipal election day is Oct. 20.
— This story was corrected for spelling on Sept. 21. A previous version had the incorrect spelling of Erik Olesen's name.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2018