By the time you read this, I will have been sworn in as the new mayor and will be in Vancouver along with the rest of council at UBCM. The Union Of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) provides an opportunity for mayors and councillors from all over BC to attend educational workshops, debate issues of common interest and to meet with various provincial government officials and their staff. Your council has several meetings that will be reported back to the public in the near future.

It has been a busy time transitioning from candidate to mayor. I have already attended several community events and meetings, some funding announcements as well as open houses for BCTC and Mica 5/6.

Several members of council and myself travelled to Fernie to attend the Speaker Series and hear Mayor Dianne Watts share Surrey’s Economic Diversity and Strategic Investment Plan.

Some of the concepts that we picked up during that session will be part of the discussion when we prioritize for the future as we review our current strategic plan this fall.

I want to again thank the residents of Golden for putting their faith in me, the council and staff. I encourage you to continue to make civic engagement a priority as you did during this election. I will be reducing my hours at my regular job and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wonderful co-workers for their patience during this time.

Regular office hours at town hall will be advertised shortly as well as the October Coffee Klatch so please keep an eye on the Town of Golden’s back page in The Star for times and places.

Mayor Christina Benty