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Len Gostick running for second term on Elkford council

Gostick was first elected in 2018 and has deep roots in town
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Len Gostick is running for a second term on the District of Elkford council in the October 15, 2022 municipal elections. (Joshua Fischlin/The Free Press)

Len Gostick is seeking a second term on Elkford council.

Gostick has lived in Elkford for over 35 years, and was first elected in 2018.

He said he first ran to get involved in the community and bring a small business mindset to council.

“Can’t sit there and arm chair quarterback all the time, so get involved,” he said.

His focuses were infrastructure, essential services, and small businesses.

Speaking to what he’s most proud of from his term on council, he said “bridging the gap and building a relationship with our largest employer, Teck.”

He pointed to his (and the whole council’s) contribution in securing donations for the seniors housing project land, forming a housing committee with Teck, and “not blowing our budget to pieces.” He said housing is a crisis province-wide, especially in Elkford.

Gostick pointed to a large sum of money spent on paving over the last few years, and said they were able to do it ‘without really cranking our taxes,’ adding that there have been tax hikes but they ‘haven’t been crazy.’

“And to safely get our community through the economic scare of COVID,” he said.

He said they’ve finished a lot of good projects in Elkford, but there are a few more to go.

If elected for another term, he would like to push to get secondary employment in town that’s not so tied to the mines.

He’d like to tackle housing, which he said needs to be addressed at all levels, and spoke about securing 24-hour medical coverage for Elkford that was acceptable for the community.

He pointed to the district’s efforts to streamline and clean up antiquated bylaws, saying they’d like to get that completed, and mentioned user group service agreements to get set up.

He spoke about an upcoming housing open house, and expressed hope that it would spawn interest in kickstarting development.

“And see what we can do to incentivize people to come here and start building.”

If elected, he said he looks forward to working with a fresh council.

“I’d like to see an actual election at all positions this year,” he said.

“And talk to the candidates. I can’t express enough, talk to the candidates.”

The municipal elections are taking place on October 15.