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John Koury running for mayor of North Cowichan

Koury is a former two-term councillor
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John Koury is running for mayor of North Cowichan. (Submitted photo)

Former North Cowichan councillor John Koury is running for mayor of the municipality in the elections on Oct. 15.

Koury, a business consultant through his company CanEcDev Corp, served two terms as councillor and is the former chair of the North Cowichan Economic Development Committee.

He holds a Masters degree in Business Administration and is a chartered director qualified professional in corporate governance.

Koury has been married to Nora Koury for more than 40 years and has two adult sons, and enjoys being a caregiver to one of his sons with special needs.

He said it’s time to bring in a new era of opportunity for everyone in North Cowichan, especially for youth, and an era of affordability, particularly for seniors and working families, and an era of security for the community at large.

“We need to elect effective leadership to govern and steer North Cowichan into safe harbour, and chart a sound fiscal course for growth and development to control rising costs and runaway property taxes,” Koury said.

“I will promote economic growth to create more opportunities for skilled trades, professionals, and service sector workers. Critical mass creates more affordability with abundant inventory of diverse housing which leads to higher competition and lower prices; a bustling and vibrant retail trade and commerce and more choice, more entertainment, and more fun for everybody.”

Koury said North Cowichan needs to revive its sustainable forest operations, restore its revenue and put its forestry workers back to work, and needs to promote its forests and make them more accessible for public recreation and tourism.

He also said it’s time to get tougher on crime.

“We need to make life miserable for known deadly drug dealers until they go to jail or leave town,” Koury said.

“Our small communities can’t deal with big city problems any longer. Too many families affected by addiction are suffering in silence and we must be a voice for them. This mess rests squarely on the shoulders of current local governors. A new council with strong leadership and a different, more assertive, approach is needed to tackle the problems for the sake of the future of North Cowichan.”

As for the environment, Koury said North Cowichan needs to take the politics out of climate change policy and act upon practical applications for specific infrastructure projects like dikes and storm drains, instead of draining cherished tax dollars into a revolving door of social-science consultants.

“I’m proud of my track record of protecting vast swaths of wetlands and riparian areas, promoting sustainable forestry practices and stewardship, providing flood protection, improving water and sewer infrastructure, improving our transportation links and forecasting financial planning for capital projects to accommodate future growth,” he said.

Koury said North Cowichan must restore the confidence of citizens and businesses and change course for a brighter future.

“Over the course of my campaign, I want to exchange ideas with people about how we can grow our community, create more opportunity, more affordability, and more security for all,” he said.

“Contact me direct john@johnkoury.ca, or find me on facebook @JohnKouryforMayor.”



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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