Close to winning four years ago, Victor Cumming hopes to land the mayor鈥檚 job in Vernon this time around.
Cumming, 63, an economist and volunteer, finished second to Akbal Mund by only 625 votes in the 2014 municipal election. He has announced he is again throwing his hat into the ring for the Oct. 20 vote.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my passion for working on integrated community development, that鈥檚 my profession, that鈥檚 my practice and I want to focus on my own region and community,鈥� said Cumming on his decision to seek election.
鈥淢any others strongly encouraged me to run again, based on what they see as my demonstrated skill set. It鈥檚 about doing locally what I鈥檝e done regionally, provincially and across Canada.鈥�
Born in Golden and raised in Naramata, Cumming holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics and geography, and a master of arts in rural planning and development. He has taught economic development for Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, and his consulting firm provides economic development, planning and operation assistance to local, regional and First Nations governments across Canada.
In 2014, Cumming鈥檚 platform talked about how Vernon鈥檚 diverse economy is a positive and how he wants to come up with new approaches to address the infrastructure deficit in Vernon.
鈥淭his time, I鈥檓 more focused on attainable housing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really critical issue. If you鈥檙e in the top 40 per cent, housing isn鈥檛 an issue. If you鈥檙e in the bottom 60 per cent, yeh, it鈥檚 an issue. Safety is another big issue, I don鈥檛 need to say much more than that. It鈥檚 been on the front pages. Community safety is an issue that has really accelerated in the last three or four years.
鈥淏usiness and economic development continue to be really significant and will be in the next three years, particularly with a dramatically changing international environment. Infrastructure continues to be key. The city is putting significant efforts into restoring old infrastructure and there鈥檚 infrastructure that needs to be fixed that鈥檚 not operating well.鈥�
Cumming said he was an unknown entity in the 2014 race but still finished second behind a more well-known candidate in Mund. Being so close then, along with plenty of encouragement now, convinced Cumming to take another crack at the mayor鈥檚 chair.
鈥淔our years ago, if I鈥檇 been way back it would have been an indicator to let this idea go,鈥� said Cumming. 鈥淚 was a new face when I ran four years ago. I came from relatively unknown to doing well with someone like Akbal who is extremely well known.鈥�
Candidates for mayor and council will again be running for four-year terms in the October vote. Cumming said that鈥檚 not a problem for him.
鈥淚鈥檓 now 63, at the end of my career, and this would signal a shift,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the right time for me. Doing the mayor thing is a full-time job, I recognize that and will give it that respect.鈥�
Mund has not publicly declared if he plans to seek re-election in October. Former Mayor Wayne Lippert and painter Art Gourley have declared their intentions to run for mayor.
