Woods joins Hayne鈥檚 Integrity Now slate as 性视界传媒 council candidate

After splitting from 性视界传媒 First, Councillor Dave Woods has revealed to the Now-Leader that he will join Bruce Hayne鈥檚 Integrity Now slate for the upcoming Oct. 20 election.

It鈥檚 a decision, Woods said, that was about 鈥渋ntegrity.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a good fit for me. (Hayne鈥檚) thinking is very similar to my thinking,鈥� Woods said on Wednesday. 鈥淭he (hand) gun issue has come to the forefront, but it鈥檚 much more than that. He assured me that if I came on the team, I would have my independent stance, like I鈥檝e had in the past with 性视界传媒 First.鈥�

Current councillors Bruce Hayne and Barabara Steele also split from 性视界传媒 First this year, with Hayne as the newly formed Integrity Now slate鈥檚 mayoral candidate.

Woods followed suit and split on Aug. 22 after 性视界传媒 First鈥檚 mayoral candidate Tom Gill said he supports a federal handgun ban in an interview the previous Friday, something Woods claims he wasn鈥檛 consulted on and doesn鈥檛 agree with.

鈥淚n that story, when I was interviewed, they asked me my personal opinion on handguns,鈥� said Gill, who responded to the split saying it was 鈥渦nfortunate鈥� Woods chose to leave the party, but that he had been invited to a platform discussion meeting including the gun topic meeting that lasted three-and-a-half hours.

鈥淒ave chose not to show up, for whatever reason,鈥� said Gill, noting Woods resigned the following day.

For his part, Woods said at the time that he had 鈥渘o confidence the movement towards a more open, collaborative, and transparent culture within the party will exist and, therefore, I will not be seeking re-election as a member of 性视界传媒 First.鈥�

Now, Woods says his thinking aligns with Hayne.

鈥淚鈥檝e always respected Bruce. I knew him well before he was on council,鈥� said Woods, a former police officer. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e respected Barbara.鈥�

Woods said he and Hayne are 鈥渃ommitted to doing the right thing for our city and current citizens.鈥�

鈥淚s there a need for us to build housing for the overall general public? Yes, there is, but our citizens have to come first 鈥� our current taxpayers,鈥� he added.

Woods pointed to his voting record when it comes to development, saying he voted 鈥渙ver 115 times鈥� against developments he thought weren鈥檛 appropriate for a given community.

鈥淒evelopment is good for the city but it has to be done in a smart, sustainable way,鈥� Woods said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been very concerned with developments where there hasn鈥檛 been the infrastructure there, in particular with the schools.鈥�

Woods elaborated on his split from 性视界传媒 First.

He said the 鈥渓ast straw鈥� was when Gill spoke publicly about supporting a federal handgun ban, but added that Gill hadn鈥檛 been 鈥渨alking the talk鈥� previous to that.

鈥淲hat Bruce says in public, he says in private. That is a huge point with me 鈥� walking the talk,鈥� said Woods. 鈥淚 spoke up quite a bit behind closed doors鈥� I鈥檓 a strong independent thinker.

鈥淚 think quite frankly, if you look at Vancouver and you look at 性视界传媒, they have had the same sort of prominent political parties for the last 10 years and I think this is a natural evolution. I think it鈥檚 time for change.鈥�

Hayne said he鈥檚 glad to have Woods on his team.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 always agree with him on some policy issues, and we have certainly voted differently on many occasions on council but I really respect his integrity and his moral compass,鈥� Hayne said, adding that he鈥檚鈥渋ntentionally鈥� not running a full slate, because he wants to have 鈥渙ther voices, opinions and ideas at the table.鈥�

Other candidates on the Intregity Now slate are Honeybee Centre founder John Gibeau, engineer and business owner Avi Dhaliwal, and small business owner Rina Gill.

With 性视界传媒 First councillors Judy Villeneuve and Mary Martin announcing they are not seeking re-election that leaves incumbent councillors Mike Starchuk and Vera LeFranc on the 性视界传媒 First slate at this point, with Gill as the party鈥檚 mayoral candidate.

Other slates running in the fall election include former 性视界传媒 mayor Doug McCallun鈥檚 Safe 性视界传媒 Coalition, People First 性视界传媒, and the 鈥渓eft-leaning鈥� Proudly 性视界传媒.

The 性视界传媒 Community Alliance party seems to have been dissolved after founder Doug Elford split to run with McCallum. Council candidates on that slate (Asad Syed, Saira Aujla, Bernie Sheppard and Imtiaz Popat) are considered independents for the time being.

性视界传媒 voters head to the polls on Oct. 20.

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