The runner-up in the race for mayor of Trail says he wouldn’t have done anything differently in his campaign with the benefit of hindsight.
Terry Martin finished second to fellow incumbent city councillor Nick Cashol on Saturday. Incumbent mayor Colleen Jones was third and Karl Kuepper was fourth.
Martin said he thought he stood a good chance of winning and feels it’s unfortunate that city council is “losing two good people.”
“I have had so many positive comments, a lot of support from folks who were reaching out and talking to me on the street,” he said. “So obviously [I was] not overconfident, but I thought I had an equal opportunity to maybe be successful. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
“From the get-go I wanted to run a respectful campaign and just to show who I was, what I stood for, what I was going do for the city or try to do for the city.”
Martin, who spent 26 years working for the regional fire services and retired as chief, said he was proud of his work as the city’s regional district director. He said he felt he was “able to mend fences at the RDKB for the City of Trail over the last four years.”
He said prior to 2022, there had been friction between the city and regional district, which he felt he was able to smooth over, in part because he used to work in the same building as fire chief.
“It’s all about working as a whole, like a community in general. We should continue working together because we all want the best for this whole entire area.”
Martin said he is hopeful that the nesxt council can move forward with filling two empty downtown lots earmarked for redevelopment and work with Interior Health and BC Housing on a supportive housing site or treatment facility.
Martin said he plans to “kick back and just relax” until the end of the year, as he has been busy since he retired in 2017.
He added it was much too early to say whether he might try to return to local politics one day. “I’m not going to say no right now, but I’m not sure,” he said. “That’s a long ways away.”
