Outgoing Enderby mayor says residents wanted to ‘fire the head coach’

Oct 17, 2022 | 12:59 PM

The citizens have spoken and a new mayor has been elected in Enderby.

Greg McCune, the two-term mayor of the city who lost the seat to Huck Galbraith by a vote of 416 to 347, told Vernon Matters, voters chose to make a change following nearly three years under the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What we went through the last three years, and there’s lots and lots of challenges that were created by the surrounding events and policies and whatever, you kind of pretty much know that you’ve got to fire the head coach,” McCune said.

“It was a very difficult last three years and someone has to go.”

McCune noted the COVID-19 restrictions were handed down to municipalities from provincial and federal levels, and while his analogy of ‘firing the head coach’ should more reflect the upper levels of government, he said that isn’t a real option for local citizens to fire the prime minister, so that need for change translates to local representation.

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“‘Fire’ is kind of a supposed to be a funny type thing, but [people] were frustrated and [thinking] ‘How do I make a change?’ I didn’t like, at all, anything that happened in the last three years to my friends or my family. So something had to make them feel better and they made their choice, and I’m OK with that,” he said.

Though McCune will not resume his role in November, he told Vernon Matters the city is in a good spot with experienced personnel, including four incumbent councillors, at the helm.

“[The city] appears to be, at this point, very, very strong. Obviously you’ve got to get in there and hope everybody gels and can respect each other and move forward in the best interest of the community, which I think will happen,” McCune said.

“We’ve got a great staff at city hall, run by probably one of the best [chief administrative officers] in possibly the whole province [Tate Bengtson]. So I don’t see even a skip in the beat in the pace that we’ve been running. So it looks good for Enderby.”

Looking back on his past work leading the city, though he refused to take full credit, McCune said he was happy to help oversee the growth in the community with about 3,000 residents.

“I think at one point early in my time we were just known as a bedroom community. People lived here, they slept here, but they pretty much did their shopping in another city, they worked in another city, they took their kids to recreation things, whether it was a pool or whatever in another city, and then they just came home and slept here,” McCune said.

“That, honestly, bugged me 30 years ago, and I think we’ve erased that. We’re a thriving community now, people live, work, play, participate, volunteer. Everything is available in Enderby.”

Looking forward to the next few years, McCune said he plans on spending more time with his family, noting he has “an extra 200 hours each month” to focus on his loved ones now. He told Vernon Matters he has no plans at this time to pursue a further career in politics.

“I’m proud of my service to Enderby, and it wasn’t to be continued and I accept that, no problem whatsoever, and I wish the new group well.”

RELATED NEWS: Change of mayor in Enderby

by Liam Verster

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