Plans are ready.
Let’s get to work.
Wes Routley for Mayor of Golden
Over the past four years on Council, we’ve set the foundation for unlocking more housing and opportunity in our community. The next four are about seeing it through.
My focus after October 17, regardless of the outcome: more housing, room for business to grow, finding a way to “yes” for projects, and much more intentional engagement with folks.
Why I'm running
I grew up in Golden, and I've always loved volunteering: from fundraising for winter bird feed to helping start the Youth Centre and Interact Club. After university, I came home and worked in the public and private sectors. Today, I run the admin side of Stolen Bell Distillery.
I started going to Council meetings well before first getting elected in 2022, for no reason other than curiosity. Local government has the most intimate impact on people's lives, with most decisions going unnoticed until things break down. Water, sewer, roads, cemeteries, and all the fun stuff on top. I wanted to understand how those decisions got made and eventually I was encouraged to run for Council by some around the table at the time.
Four years later, I've kept putting my hand up for work beyond the council table. I learned my way around the regional district under Mayor Oszust. Colleagues from across the Kootenays elected me to the board of the Association of Kootenay and Boundary Local Governments. And I sat on a provincial working group looking at updates to the Local Government Act, the law every municipality in BC works under.
The biggest thing these years taught me: patience is indeed a virtue. Nothing at Town Hall fails because someone had a bad idea. It fails because it takes time to see things through and plans can outlive attention spans. The work this term has been foundational: an updated Housing Needs Report, a rewrite of our Official Community Plan, a new approach to development financing, honest long-term budgeting, and an extended strategic plan for Council that went beyond the election cycle. All great work. The Official Community Plan has just been adopted. There's still so much to be done.
That's why I'm running for mayor. It isn't a bigger vote, or really any extra powers; it's a service job: ensuring the community is heard at regional and other tables, keeping Council's meetings on course, and setting the example. Follow-through starts in the mayor's seat. We can do better to ensure everyone has a chance to be heard, is encouraged to share concerns, and can see the impact their contribution makes. I'll be going door-to-door between now and October 17, and I'd love to hear from you sooner if you'd rather reach out.
What we've done so far
Council has got a lot done this term: more than 1,400 decisions across 135 meetings, and counting.
More homes, big and small, given the green light.
The Downtown Housing project (Cornerstone) is well on its way, with people expected through the doors by summer 2027. Two more have their permits, including well over a hundred market-rate rentals. Gentle density projects (like laneway homes) have also been given the go-ahead.
Pickleball, skatepark and aquatics, oh my.
The Whitetooth Legacy Racquet Sport Courts are open and final touches on the Rec-Plex block are underway. Council has also set clear direction for staff on investigating next steps for aquatics in our community, picking up where the Regional District left off.
Growth pays for growth.
Our new development cost charge bylaw is with the Province for review. Once it's adopted, new construction will pay toward the extra water, sewer and other services it uses, charged by floor area rather than unit count. This will ensure we're using our limited land efficiently, and not relying on residents for yet more investment.
Across the term
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Housing
Three projects moved from talk to shovels this term. The Cornerstone Housing Project is under construction now, with people expected in the doors by summer 2027. A BC Housing second-stage housing project for women and children leaving violence has received its permit and I'm very excited to see shovels in the ground soon. The Ridge North America development has its permits, which brings well over a hundred market-rate rental units plus a hotel that widens the tax base instead of leaning on residents.
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Planning & Development
Golden has updated its Official Community Plan, the rulebook for what can be built where, using the first real count the Town has had of how much housing it needs. Council also introduced an updated development cost charge bylaw so growth pays its own way instead of the rest of us covering it. The biggest change: charging projects by floor area, so that a larger building pays more, a small property owner isn't hit with a flat fee, and fitting more homes onto one lot isn't punished.
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Recreation
The Whitetooth Legacy Racquet Sport Courts are built and open, and updates continue on the Rec-Plex block. When the regional district's indoor pool process stalled, Council didn't let it drop, and ordered a review of the options for a pool in Golden.
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Bylaw
The Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw got more public consultation than any other bylaw this term. The result is recognized as among the strongest in the province. That was Town staff's work, and they deserve the credit for it. We've also implemented the changes necessary to manage illegal short-term rentals.
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Public Works
This has been a revealing four years for the state of infrastructure in Golden, and we've met the challenge head-on. Well 7 is expected to meet Golden's water needs for the foreseeable future once it's online. Council also agreed to pay for critical sewer main upgrades up front so projects could go ahead, with connection fees paying that back. The utilities themselves are on a three-year path to paying for themselves.
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Finance
Council has directed staff to plan further ahead than one budget at a time, and to count what a thing costs to run and replace rather than only what it costs to build. It's dull. It's also how a town our size avoids handing the next generation a bill it can't pay. We're breaking the chain of underinvestment, and looking at lifecycle accounting... I love it, to be honest.
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Council itself
We adopted a Code of Conduct and a set of transparency and governance updates, so people can trust (and verify) the decisions we make. That trust is critical at the local level, and probably needs the most work; Council's strategic plan refresh includes better engagement with partners and our neighbours. If we stay on schedule, we'll also do a full service level review: a look at everything the Town does and what it costs.
What’s left: seeing the plans through
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First, get the lay of the land, and the budget
A new mayor and at least half a new Council arrive in November, and the staff supporting them will still be carrying everything already in motion. Before we add anything to our plates, Council needs to get acquainted with each other, staff, and our budget process. That orientation should include reviewing the strategic plan with everyone.
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Then a focused first year
The five priorities already exist, so the work isn't about inventing new ones quite yet, it's helping Council choose what moves first. A short list that gets finished is worth more than a long one handed to the next Council, and that is the clearest lesson of the last four years. Holding Council accountable to that strategic direction is part of the mayor's job.
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And, if Council is open to it, a look at how we work
We've asked a lot from Town staff over these past few years, but it's important that Mayor and Council make sure we're running on all cylinders too. If Council is open to it, I'd like to look at what other communities do: committees, open houses, other ways of bringing people in. We could hear from residents earlier and run a tighter meeting at the same time.
What I’ll be pushing for, whatever happens on October 17
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Workforce housing
Golden and Area A's rental market is stretched thin. By gathering community partners, and leveraging funds available to us as a Resort Municipality, Golden could build dedicated staff housing for our frontline workers.
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Room for business to grow
Revitalization tax exemptions are one tool for getting underused commercial buildings back into use. A vacancy registry is another. The point is to make sitting on an empty building less attractive than doing something with it.
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The Community Forest
The Province should be localizing landscape planning where it sensibly can. There's real opportunity in the forest sector here, and a community forest that balances social and environmental values could support those jobs.
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Helping others find a way to “yes”
Whether it's a cool mural or a new business, I'll keep helping my neighbours shape our community.
Straight answers
A few of the questions I've already heard, answered here the same way I'd answer them at your door.
My utility bills are going up, and you voted for that. Why?
Because the alternative to honest rates isn't lower costs. It's hidden ones. Golden's pipes and plants cost what they cost whether or not the rates admit it, and for years the gap was covered by pushing renewal into the future. That's a loan our kids co-signed without being asked. Phasing the real cost in over three years means no emergency levy, no crisis borrowing, and a system that works on the day you need it. You deserve the real number, and I'd rather tell it to you straight than hand the bill to whoever lives here in fifteen years.
You voted against the majority on the time observance survey. Why?
I did, and I went into that meeting leaning toward Daylight Time.
What changed my mind was winter mornings. Under permanent Daylight Saving Time, the sun wouldn't rise until 9:50 early in the new year, and with our mountains we wouldn't get direct light until closer to 10:30. I grew up catching the bus out on Highway 95 in the dark, and I really struggle with the idea of making that worse. That's not to say that the case for Daylight Time didn't have merits.
That's the short version. The longer one, including where I think we fell short on process and what I'd like done, is coming and I'll post it here. If you want it sooner, reach out to chat.
You help run a business in town. Do you even have time to be mayor?
I have loved being on Council, and I wouldn't be putting my hand up for mayor if I wasn't sure I had the time. I've been doing both for four years already: a full Council term, every budget, and the regional work on top of it. The mayor's job is bigger and I'm going in with my eyes open about that. Also, if a Council matter touches the business in any way, alcohol licensing included, I declare a conflict and leave the room. That small business experience is an important viewpoint at the Council table, as long as those conflict rules are followed.
You're 29. Is that enough experience to be mayor?
Honestly, I've asked myself that more than a couple of times, so I get why you might wonder. Ultimately, I think you have to judge the past four years and my impact, rather than my birth year. Housing, infrastructure renewals and upgrades, finance updates, and regional advocacy have happened alongside helping my team get a small business across the start line. I'm pretty proud of all that.
What about short-term rentals like Airbnb? Isn't that where all the new housing is going?
Some of it is, sure, but we're seeing a net gain to the long-term supply with each project. Golden and Area A's economy is strongly supported by visitors, and some folks get by on their mortgage by renting out a spare room. The bigger issue is how short-term rentals are assessed and taxed. Local governments have been pushing the Province to change that, so residents aren't solely footing the bill for services visitors also benefit from. Understanding how tourist accommodation gets assessed has been a focus of mine for the last year and a half.
Why haven't we heard about any of this until now?
That's on me. I have spent these past four years with my head down in the work, alongside my private job, and told myself that was the entire point. It was, in a sense, but sharing and explaining the work is the point too. That's especially true for a mayor. This page and my social media are the start of the correction, and my standing commitment to communicate better going forward.
Key dates
Get in touch
Have a question you want to ask directly? Want a lawn sign? Would you like to learn more about how to support the campaign? Want a Voting Day reminder you can share with your family, friends, and neighbours? Send me a message, and I'll touch base.
wes@wesroutley.ca
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