Interview with Sean McNulty

Western Academy of Photography

Interview with Sean McNulty

By Paris

Sean McNulty, 24-year-old mayoral candidate, strives for the “real voice” of Central Saanich to be heard.   Over the past several months McNulty has set out to visit the 5500 households in the municipality to hear what is important to the community and allow residents an opportunity to meet their candidate face-to-face. The current tally is 3598 doors knocked. McNulty explains that currently the very vocal minority is a misinterpretation of the community as a whole. The people who come out to complain at council meetings, he says, are the only ones being heard, while the remainder of the community, many whom are busy with their own lives, are not.  McNulty’s goals include making council more accessible and transparent; to give what he calls “the silent majority” a voice at council.

Concerns about deployment and preservation of the Agricultural Land Reserves became evident to McNulty when speaking with residents and he makes his stance on the subject clear. He opposes development on farmable land but strongly supports the rejuvenation of Brentwood Bay, Saanichton and Keating. The rezoning of these regions “for higher density commercial and residential combined use,” as laid out in his platform, would result in raised tax revenue that would then be allocated to municipal infrastructure improvements. One such example of rezoning is the Peninsula COOP proposal on Keating Cross Road and West Saanich Road. This is one indicator of how McNulty plans to expand the tax base instead of raising taxes in order to meet the needs of the municipality.

McNulty vows to make both his campaign and his plans 100 per cent transparent if elected. This includes his plans for efficient and responsible management of tax dollars, was unveiled in the posting of his Economic Game Plan on his website, www.seanformayor.com.

Another pillar of McNulty’s platform is the fair and equal treatment of all citizens, allowing everyone a voice at council meetings, from his experience that’s something, he says, that was not happening in the past. Continuing on his promise of accessibility, McNulty wants to make council agendas available for download by the public online, as well live webcasts of meetings available through the Central Saanich website.

Coming from a business background, currently running the Island View Golf Course and still involved with Five Star Paving, McNulty says he has the leadership and decision making capabilities to “run council meetings properly.” In response to those who are concerned about his age, McNulty hopes voters will judge him on his merits and his platform. “This election isn’t about who’s the oldest candidate, it’s about who is the best candidate.”