Mayor Doug Findlater cheers after Premier Christy Clark pronounces West Kelowna the province's 51st city.
(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)
July 27, 2018 - 12:43 PM
WEST KELOWNA - Long-serving West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater has announced he will not seek another term as leader of the fast-growing Okanagan city.
Findlater has served on West Kelowna council since the community incorporated in 2007 taking over the mayor’s chair in 2008 when current councillor Rosalind Neis decided not to seek a second term.
In a statement emailed to media, Findlater said he plans to devote more time to family, travel and “personal matters”.
His statement reads more like a man entering politics, not leaving it, as Findlater details what he views as his achievements, including stints as chair of the Westside governance restructuring committee regional district director and a long list of infrastructure and other projects in West Kelowna.
"In the coming weeks, I will be considering ways to stay involved and still be supportive of our journey to a great city," he said.
Despite the length of the list, Findlater leaves office with the speculation tax still in place for West Kelowna.
The mayor has gone to great lengths trying to have the city excluded from the tax introduced by the provincial NDP government in a bid to cool the real estate market and boost razor-thin vacancy rates.
Findlater earned $65,870 as full-time mayor in 2017.
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