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Victoria mayor Lowe mum on who should replace him

When outgoing Victoria mayor Alan Lowe first won the job in 1999, it was with an endorsement from his predecessor, Bob Cross. But now that Lowe's leaving, he's declining to give the nod to any of the eight candidates vying to succeed him.

“I'm staying out of it,” said Lowe. “I am not endorsing anybody for mayor.”

Current councilor Dean Fortin and running store owner Rob Reid are considered favourites in the race. In the 2005 election, Lowe did endorse Fortin as part of a slate of councilors with whom he figured he could work. “I knew he probably would win anyways,” said Lowe, who in the past has said Fortin did not welcome the endorsement.

(Fortin said he and Pam Madoff, who were running under the banner of the NDP connected Victoria Civic Electors, were “blindsided” by the 2005 endorsement.)

Lowe said there are a few reasons he's staying out of this year's race. For one thing, Reid, Fortin and the other candidates have been “very, very cautious” and done little to distinguish themselves. “It's a non-election almost . . . It's been pretty boring. A yawner.”

Victoria has plenty of issues, he said, but added “I haven't seen anyone with solutions.”

Nor does he want to alienate anyone, he said. “At the end of the day I'm going to have to work with whoever becomes mayor.”

That might be an odd thing for a retiring mayor to say, but Lowe said he's sticking around to chair Victoria's Spirit of B.C. Committee and help on the homeless file. Besides, he said, he may also appear in front of the council in his work as an architect.

He may also seek election “when there's an opportunity” either provincially or federally. “If I knew what my future was, I'd have a crystal ball,” he said. “I'm actually looking forward to not being the mayor. I still enjoy what I'm doing, but if I stayed around another three years I probably wouldn't enjoy it by the end of the term.”

The runner-up in the 2005 and 2002 campaigns, Ben Isitt, also declined to endorse a candidate for Victoria mayor, the Tyee reported last month. He has since said in an e-mail that he is supporting former Green Party provincial candidate Steve Filipovic.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.


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