Victoria councillor Geoff Young not seeking re-election
A longstanding member of Victoria council says he will not be seeking re-election this year.
Victoria Coun. Geoff Young has served more than 30 years on city council over two periods.
He was a city councillor from 1983 to 1999, and from 2005 to 2022.
During that time he also served as chair of the Capital Regional District Board for seven years, among other roles in the CRD.
"It has been my honour to serve this city for many years and I wish the incoming council all the best," said Young in a statement Thursday.
"To the current mayor and council, I offer my appreciation for their ability to respect alternative opinions and to separate the personal from the political," he said.
Young said he's proud to have contributed to introducing the 911 emergency response system to the capital region, helping manage the creation of the Galloping Goose trail, and helping safeguard the region's water supply as part of his tenure in local politics.
Young, who has a BA in economics from the University of British Columbia and a PhD in economics from Harvard, says he's looking forward to both travelling and pursuing other professional roles as an economist.
The outgoing councillor says "Victoria is not without challenges and at the moment some of these challenges are very serious," adding that he wishes the incoming council luck in addressing those issues.
Young is now the third city councillor to confirm he is not running for re-election, following announcements from councillors Charlayne Thornton-Joe and Sharmarke Dubow.
Meanwhile, two other council members have declared their intentions to run for mayor.
Councillors Stephen Andrew and Marianne Alto are running for mayor in the upcoming municipal election in October.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps announced last year that she was retiring from politics after eight years in office.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.