After many years of working with business and municipalities around the province, retired Lake Cowichan realtor Wendy Klyne is hoping to serve her community as mayor.
"I have always been interested in politics and when I look around town and see all of our empty buildings, I'm hoping for more for Lake Cowichan," she said.
"The Town did a wonderful job in what they call downtown revitalization. It does make the town look like it has a sense of pride but that is not going to bring businesses into town or encourage light industry."
What is really needed, Klyne said, is a welcoming atmosphere.
"We need to be able to offer them a municipality that is open to opportunities and I feel that this council and town office do not offer the atmosphere of an open door policy and a receptive welcome to people who want to come to town," she said.
She also wants to see more longterm planning.
"There is a lot of expenditure, and yes, a lot of it is covered by grants, but the long-term cost of maintaining or running what they are doing does have financial implications on the taxpayer," she said.
Klyne was involved a few years back in the Gateway branding project that was aimed at increasing tourism to the Cowichan Lake area and wants more of the same.
"Tourists flocked to Lake Cowichan this past summer. Now, we have to have more things for them to do. We have to expand our tax base. I don't see much effort there," she said.