A new candidate has emerged for the upcoming by-election 鈥 Philip Solman.
Readers may be familiar with Solman through his role with the Penticton Farmer鈥檚 Market, or as the founder of Edible Vancouver & Wine Country Magazine (which he sold in 2019).
Before that, he immigrated from England and first landed in Vancouver. While there, he met his future wife 鈥 she grew up in Vernon and convinced him to move to Penticton in the early 2000s.
鈥淪he wanted to be back in the Okanagan, for obvious reasons,鈥 Solman said.
鈥淧enticton is quite frankly, close to being the best place on earth 鈥 this whole region is amazing.鈥
Solman says he doesn鈥檛 have any problems with the way Penticton is being run.
He鈥檚 loving life and doesn鈥檛 expect that to change as long as he鈥檚 in Penticton. But a strong sense of gratitude has left him feeling indebted to the community.
鈥淚 think I鈥檝e got to give my time to do something important; I鈥檝e got to give back to this city.鈥
After speaking with people in his circles and members of the public, Solman considers the three top-of-mind issues are crime, affordability and homelessness.
But, as a political outsider, he isn鈥檛 pretending to have all the answers.
鈥淯ntil you鈥檙e in council it鈥檚 very difficult to know how you鈥檙e going to approach the problems. Whoever gets elected needs to learn what council can and can鈥檛 do.鈥
He realizes how divisive the Lake-to-Lake Cycling Route has been, but he wants to give it a chance before reevaluating it.
鈥淟ike anything new you build, it needs a few years of tracking the usage, and seeing whether it has attracted the level of bike traffic to make it worth the number of drivers it鈥檚 taken off the road鈥 if it doesn鈥檛 do that, and residents want some sections removed 鈥 I鈥檒l be in favour of that.鈥
Solman takes the same approach towards the Car 40 program (teaming RCMP officers up with nurses) 鈥 reflect upon the data a couple years from now, 鈥渁nd if it鈥檚 working, how do we grow it; add to that?鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 not going in with fixed ideas because until something has run for a while, you don鈥檛 know whether it鈥檚 a good or bad idea,鈥 he said. 鈥淧entictonites: you tell me what鈥檚 important, and I will do my darndest to represent you on council.鈥
However, there is one issue Solman won鈥檛 bend on 鈥 he promises to prevent more development from encroaching upon the valley鈥檚 hillsides.
Expanding into rugged terrain, that鈥檚 significantly more vulnerable to wildfires, seems like a bad idea to Solman.
鈥淚 want to see what legal blocks can be put in the way to prevent developers from building up in the hillsidem,鈥 he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a smart decision 鈥 where are the fires when we have fires in the summer? Always up on the hillside.鈥
And while affordability is one of his major focuses 鈥 鈥淲e don鈥檛 need multi-million dollar homes in the hills.鈥
Solman will prioritize more housing units between the lakes, and especially in the vicinity of schools.
Solman鈥檚 in it to win it, but he realizes how low voter turnouts tend to be for by-elections, and wants to see that trend get bucked this time around 鈥 even if he鈥檚 not the successful candidate.