Mayor Bill McKay will take on the lion’s share of political seats this term, according to a new roster of council appointments.
Political appointments to the city’s boards and committees were announced by the mayor Monday, with the heaviest assignment loads going to McKay and councillors Jim Kipp and Jerry Hong.
According to McKay, tasks were assigned based on job demands and councillors' interests. He took a lot of 'fill ins' for positions others weren't keen on.
Ten appointments in total have gone to the mayor, with half to external boards and liaison committees like the Tripartite Liaison Committee and Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce. Hong will have positions on the Regional District of Nanaimo board and six city committees – the highest number of internal seats given to any one councillor – including the new Youth Advisory Council, while Kipp saw most of his seven appointments to external groups.
Coun. Diane Brennan will join five committees and boards which include the Culture and Heritage Commission and a return to the Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability and Social Planning Advisory Committee. Coun. Wendy Pratt will join Brennan on the Culture and Heritage Commission, as well as groups like the Grants Advisory Committee and Parks and Recreation Committee.
The brand new Red-Green Tape Committee, which has yet to get a mandate, will include Coun. Bill Bestwick, as well as Hong and the mayor. Bestwick is also on the RDN, and will join the Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation Nominating Committee and Nanaimo Port Authority.
Coun. Gord Fuller, who is still recovering from a January heart attack, will sit on the NEDC Nominating Committee, Parks and Recreation Committee and two liaison committees that involve the Snuneymuxw First Nation. The mayor said minor tweaks will be needed when Fuller returns to city business.
Councillors Bill Yoachim and Ian Thorpe, both in their first term, have the lightest workload with three assignments each including to the RDN board. Yoachim will also be on the Safer Nanaimo Working Group and Social Planning Advisory Committee, while Thorpe – formerly a citizen member of the Parks, Recreation and Culture Commission – will return to the Parks and Recreation Committee and Grants Advisory Committee.
A full list of city appointments can be found on last week's city council agenda, at http://goo.gl/RNkci5.