Make it a dozen: Lions Bay's Karl Buhr the 12th Metro Van mayor to not seek re-election
The one-term mayor says he wants to go back to focusing on his career
Another month, another Metro Vancouver leader announcing they're stepping down.
Lions Bay Mayor Karl Buhr has decided not to seek re-election, choosing to end his leadership of the small village north of West Vancouver after one term.
"I took four years out of my career to be sort of the elected, volunteer public servant for Lions Bay, to accomplish a variety of ... organizational things, which I think are pretty well accomplished or underway, so it's time to get back to my career," he told CBC News while on vacation in the San Juan Islands.
Buhr runs a business consulting firm but put his work on the back burner while serving as mayor — which came with a salary of $14,085 in 2017.
"Any small-town mayor needs to be quite accessible. It's a seven-day a week job," he said, adding that the increased transparency and a focus on infrastructure investment were his proudest accomplishments.
Nomination period fast approaching
Buhr joins Vancouver's Gregor Robertson, Surrey's Linda Hepner, Delta's Lois Jackson, North Vancouver District's Richard Walton, Maple Ridge's Nicole Read, Port Coquitlam's Greg Moore, North Vancouver City's Darrell Mussatto, Langley City's Ted Schaffer, White Rock's Wayne Baldwin, Bowen Island's Murray Skeels and Belcarra's Ralph Drew.
That exodus will come to an end, by necessity, in a matter of weeks: the nomination period for 2018's local elections — which take place on Oct. 20 in all B.C. municipalities — is from Sept. 4 to Sept. 14.
West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith and Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart are the two remaining local heads of government who have not announced their intentions.
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