BCA picks slate: Redman, Evans won't be running in November

By Dan Hilborn
Published July 27, 2005


There are going to be at least two new faces on city council this fall after a couple of surprises during the Burnaby Citizens' Association nominating meeting on Sunday afternoon.

Council veterans Celeste Redman and Doug Evans will not be running again after the former failed to win her nomination and the latter chose to retire in the moments before the votes were cast.

"It's not the end of the world," Redman said Monday afternoon. "I had to turn my phone off and stop answering it. I've had quite a lot of BCA members calling me up, quite horrified and sympathetic."

Redman was a six-term member of council who first got involved in civic politics as a "sacrificial lamb" for the then-floundering NDP- affiliated civic electoral party during the 1980s. Despite her long history of political service, Redman finished in ninth place in the race for eight seats.

And while Redman said she doesn't know what she'll do with her newfound free time, she doubts that civic politics will play much of a role in her future.

"I'm not going to run independently. I have a better grasp on reality than that," she said.

Redman also said that she "truly enjoyed" her time on council and is especially proud of strengthening the city's animal control bylaws, offering a rebate for spaying or neutering a pet and for giving animal control officers the authority to enter a property to investigate complaints of cruelty or neglect.

Evans, meanwhile, said he made a last-minute decision to retire in order to spend more time with his family.

"I've spent 15 years on council and I think it's time for me to pack it in," said Evans, who topped the polls in the past two civic elections. "I'm 76 years old and I've got a wife, eight children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. I want to spend more time with them."

Evans said he is most proud of his work on Burnaby's community policing committee, helping to set up the network of four community police offices around the city during the days when Bill Copeland was mayor.

"I don't know what would have happened with that mess around the SkyTrain if there wasn't a community police station up there - when those 13- or 14-year-old kids were attacking people and taking money," Evans said. "The community police got active and, in two days, bang, they cleaned it up. That's the beauty of having a community police station."

Winning the BCA nomination, in order of finish, were incumbents Nick Volkow, Sav Dhaliwal, Pietro Calendino, Colleen Jordan and Dan Johnston. Newcomers to the council slate are current parks board chair Leslie Roosa, former Simon Fraser health board chair Paul McDonell and Edmonds area business owner Dave Myles.

Mayor Derek Corrigan, who won his nomination unopposed, said Redman likely lost her spot on the slate simply because she waited too long before announcing her decision to enter the race.

"My best read on it was that Celeste had been vacillating whether she'd run again or not," Corrigan said. "Celeste was back and forth and didn't make a final decision until quite close to the nominating date, and when coupled with the hard work going on by people who wanted to be nominated, her to-and-fro worked to her detriment."

Corrigan also said the loss of two veterans, including the city's most popular councillor, will create a gap on the BCA roster but the calibre of new candidates should more than make up for the change.

And the newcomers plan to start door-knocking as soon as possible in an attempt to meet as many voters as possible before the election.

McDonell, president of the Edmonds Lions Club, chair of the area's Santa Claus Parade and a former chair of the Burnaby and Simon Fraser health boards, said his focus will be on the ongoing redevelopment of the South Burnaby neighbourhood he calls home.

"People want to see that you've done work in the community whether through committees or whatever," said McDonell, a retired deputy fire chief who also serves on the Burnaby parks commission. "And, obviously, I'll be pushing for the Edmonds area."

McDonell expressed enthusiasm for the coming campaign. "I'm chomping at the bit, just turn me loose, boy," he said.

Myles, who may be best known as the original owner of the Myles of Beans coffeeshop, is a longtime community activist who serves as chair of the Community Business and Professional Association. He is also a member of the Burnaby Interagency Council, works with South Burnaby Neighbourhood House, is a longtime supporter of Amnesty International and is co-chair of the medical committee for the Vancouver International Folk Festival.

Despite his long list of community involvement, Myles considers himself lucky to have won a council nomination.

"I was really surprised," he said. "I didn't think my chances (of winning a nomination) were very high at all, but it was quite a stunning day, actually."

Roosa, the current chair of the Burnaby parks board, is going back to school this summer and was unavailable for comment prior to Burnaby NOW deadlines.

For school board, the BCA chose incumbents Kathy Corrigan, Diana Mumford, Larry Hayes, Ron Burton and Mondee Redman to run alongside newcomers Baljinder Narang and Tony Coccia.

The civic election is slated to take place on Nov. 19.