THE MAN behind a current-event focused website running for mayor says it's a lack of political baggage that makes him stand out from the crowd.
“The present candidates are all carrying baggage from [the Terrace Tourism Society],” said Merv Ritchie, who spends much of his time writing about Terrace and surrounding areas on his site the Terrace Daily. “I'm not running to justify a reputation or to prove anything.”
Ritchie comes from a politically conservative and active family, but Ritchie said at a young age he knew the right-wing was not for him.
Nevertheless, he's running for mayor to bring change and “bring unity” to Terrace, he said.
Ritchie wants votes on city council conducted by secret ballot.
The current system of councillors voting in public “opens up the opportunity for bribery and retribution,” said Ritchie.
In order to keep the integrity of the vote, and democracy, elected officials shouldn't be opened up to intimidation and coercion by those watching their actions, which happens a lot in Terrace, he said.
Ritchie said his second focus is unity and economic development, specifically achieved by attracting tourism to Terrace.
Terrace's economic development authority missed a key element, he said, by ignoring the message destination-marketing expert Roger Brooks gave to the city years ago.
“People haven't been able to come up with a vision to develop tangible results,” he said, citing Brooks' message about focusing on the niche. Here, the niche is First Nations art and culture. It's not available anywhere else.
Focusing on unifying those in the tourism industry will heal the divide caused by the Terrace Tourism Society's dissolution, he continued.
Ritchie also says he would have voted against a 2009 city bylaw regulating the use of parks and public spaces.
Ritchie said the bylaw is restrictive, and was criticized by human rights organizations as it limits the ability to gather in large groups without municipal approval.
“City council didn't do their homework,” he said of the bylaw passing, noting council trusted the research done by other municipal bodies which passed a similar bylaw first.