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Meet the Candidates: Richard Howes

Howes is vying for a seat on Creston’s town council this fall
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My family and I recently moved to the Creston Valley from Vancouver Island. We were drawn by the abundance of local produce, mountainous landscape, and welcoming community.

Unfortunately, our move was not without peril. Our truck and trailer filled with all of our worldly possessions was stolen while en-route across the province.

READ MORE: Family moving to Kootenays has truck and trailer stolen

As heart wrenching as this was, it was not the crushing experience one would think. Expecting to arrive at an empty house with nothing to furnish it with, we were overwhelmed when we arrived. The house was filled to the brim with supplies, food, bedding, and a caravan of people offering their support. This was the moment I knew that I wanted to contribute to the community that supported us like their own.

I believe that for a community to function properly we all need to participate in its growth. I’m also very interested in how governments work and I plan to approach this position with interest and curiosity.

My background in industrial automation and engineering have given me the framework to observe problems from different perspectives in a non-biased manner to ensure the most valuable and effective solutions are pushed forward.

My day job is centered around solid governance and implementation of programs that are both practical and provide value to the users and organization. The key to my success is an ability to align strategic objectives, which I do by working directly with people at all levels to understand their concerns and ideas.

Currently, I apply this strategy in my organization to help provide better service to the BC government ministries. I believe this will directly translate to municipal service. I also plan to bolster our council’s decision making process through the identification and removal of bias using sound data and facts.

My primary focus if elected would be to support the transfer of knowledge from our elders to youth. As a community, we have valuable and skilled people who build, grow, design, and orchestrate many different products and services. I want to leverage this expertise to ensure Creston can support itself long into the future. This starts with supporting our younger generation to increase their skills, trades, and abilities to produce value for our community. Tactical examples of this could include maker spaces, energy diversification, and the support of our local business networks.

Vote for me because I am ambitious, inquisitive, and will seek out opposition in order to fully understand an issue.