Plasco one of Kennedy’s planks

Port Moody Mayor Joe Trasolini will have a challenger as he attempts to retain his job in the Nov. 15 civic election.

Shane Kennedy announced yesterday he will run for the mayor’s chair.

Calling himself a David to the Plasco development Goliath, Kennedy said the main plank in his election platform is to immediately terminate the letter of understanding between Plasco Energy Group and the city of Port Moody, thus stopping the proposed development of a waste-to-energy on city land.

“I am really concerned about the quality of air in the airshed,” Kennedy told The Tri-City News. “There are a lot of reassurances coming from the Plasco Group but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the technology is actually there.”

“I don’t want to wake-up one morning and find that one of my daughters is sick from the air,” he said.

Kennedy pointed to recent media reports that Plasco had to shut down its demonstration site in Ottawa for nearly two months to perform upgrades and to fix a problem with its sulphur dioxide emissions regulatory system.

Since signing an agreement with Plasco to explore the feasibility of building a gasification plant in Port Moody, Mayor Trasolini, a member of Metro Vancouver’s waste-management committee, and city councillors alike have faced a barrage of criticism regarding the proposal. A task force held meetings throughout September, giving residents opportunity to present their views on the issue.

Trasolini has said that council will vote on the matter before or at its Oct. 28 meeting, so it’s likely the decision will be made long before the election.

Kennedy is the president of Consolidated Wireless, a private technology company. He and his wife moved to Port Moody in 1997 to raise their two children.

Kennedy has served as a director on several public corporations and has worked on a variety of community committees, including Port Moody’s traffic and safety committee. He also has a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of British Columbia.

Beyond terminating the proposed Plasco development, Kennedy said that if elected he would:

• slow the rate of development in Port Moody to preserve its “small town” feel;

• preserve Rocky Point Park by prohibiting any further development in or near the park;

• undertake a program of encouraging technology companies to locate their businesses in Port Moody; and

• freeze the mayor’s salary.

bwalkinshaw@tricitynews.com