Four years ago, Mayor Jack Crompton stood at the podium in the Maury Young Arts Centre’s theatre, and predicted in his first address as mayor that in 2022, Whistler would elect its first born-and-raised resident to office.
“On Oct. 15, Whistler elected that person,” Crompton said in his second inaugural address at the Maury Young Arts Centre on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
“Jessie Morden is a passionate, intelligent, thoughtful person this community is lucky to have to serve on our council. She is pushing us to make decisions that will serve workers; she is pushing Whistler to make decisions that will build a more dignified housing system for the people who live and work here."
Morden, the daughter of former Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, may be the first born-and-raised Whistlerite elected to council, but she won’t be the only new face at the table.
“Jeff Murl was also elected by Whistler,” Crompton said. “Jeff is someone who has put in the work he comes into, having served on many, many boards, I'm sure often passing off a child to his partner Zoe on the way in or out of the door. He has provided deep financial insights to the arts community, to our housing efforts, and to wherever that insight is needed.”
Murl and Morden join incumbents Arthur De Jong, Jen Ford, Ralph Forsyth, and Cathy Jewett at the council table, all of whom were officially sworn into office, alongside Crompton, by Judge Patricia Janzen on Nov. 1.
In his opening address, Crompton laid out his priorities for the coming term, and spoke of people who have helped build Whistler into what it is today.
The mayor also spoke of his relationship with the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre over the last four years, commending the great work that Georgina Dan and Alison Burns Joseph in particular are doing to help shape Whistler and revitalize the Lil’wat and Squamish languages in the region.
“This election was about housing. We heard a lot about housing, and this group of people is committed to the task,” Crompton said.
“We will leverage the housing reserve funds that we have to advance employee housing projects. We will ask the [Whistler Development Corp.] to accelerate the completion of Phase 2 of Cheakamus Crossing. We will ask the WDC to come to council with increased density on the next buildings in Cheakamus Crossing.”
Further, the new council will work with BC Housing and new B.C. Premier David Eby to take full advantage of the province’s soon-to-be-announced housing strategy.
“We will complete a long-term housing strategy that will allow us to continue the momentum of addressing our housing needs over the long run,” Crompton said. "Housing for Whistler workers will fill our work this term.”
In addition to housing, Crompton listed climate change mitigation, municipal efficiency, daycare, recreation, and the proposed Northlands development as important topics brought up during the election that the new council will tackle.
“Building the Whistler we want to live in is a team effort. We need all of us,” he said. “This group of people here is grateful that you have trusted us to lead.”
Find a full schedule of upcoming council meetings, along with the new council’s committee and board appointments, here.
