The runner-up in the 2018 mayoral race in Trail is seeking a council seat this time.
“There are two really good people running for mayor,” Bryan DeFerro says. “I thought I could be just as effective as a councillor if I was successful.”
DeFerro says his motivation for running is the same time as last. He wants to maintain the city’s infrastructure and continue to implement the city’s new Official Community Plan, adopted in 2019.
“That will give us a blueprint to work from,” he says. “If you look after the OCP all the other stuff will fall into place. I realize the situation downtown is a hot-button issue. It’s a complex problem and there will be no simple solutions.”
DeFerro says supportive housing is needed for people staying at the homeless shelter, as well as more housing at all other levels.
“We have businesses that can’t hire because people can’t find a place to live. Interior Health is continually looking for people. If somebody wants to relocate here to work, say at the hospital, they can’t find a place to live. So we’ve got to deal with our housing supply.”
Born and raised in Trail, DeFerro retired in 2015 after 42 years working at Teck.
He calls himself “a regular working guy” who now keeps busy around the house, works in his shop, and does a little bit of kayaking, but “keeps it pretty simple and pretty laid back.”
He is on board of the Sunshine Daycare in East Trail, which he describes as a learning process. “Daycare’s important. If people don’t have daycare, they can’t get to work and provide the services we need.”
He remains COVID conscious, so he hasn’t been out in the community as much as he would like, but says he has been watching council meetings online and talking to people about their concerns.
He also stresses the importance of teamwork. Despite rough patches the present council has experienced, he’s not worried about the incoming council getting along.
“I use the analogy that if you’ve got six or seven carpenters on a site to build a house, they all want to get the house built, but they’ve all got a different way of doing it. You have to work together and get consensus on where you want to go as a group. You’re not going to agree all the time, but you have to get past that.”