Just call him V.
That’s what mayoral candidate Vytas Vaitkus is telling people as he tries to convince voters to go a different route and select an independent.
“I’m nervous getting into the debates because this is my first time but had some good responses when I talk to Delta residents,” he told the Optimist in an interview.
“I want to come in and offer a change in perspective, I want to offer my expertise and experience. One of the reasons I’m running is that the current options are not a group that would get my vote, so the next question would be would you vote for yourself? So, with my wife (Fawn), we developed something that’s meaningful,” he said.
When it comes to the challenge of being a first-time candidate running on his own, Vaitkus noted he knew going into the campaign the financial costs would be whatever he could personally put into it.
“I’ve had to be clever on how I will present myself. I’ve done a bunch of Facebook ads that went out to the Delta community and I got some good feedback and dialogue, which solidified my strategies on the issues… I don’t do signs because they really bug me but I will do the electronic ones,” he explained.
Vaitkus said it’s disappointing how the mayoral campaign has turned into an intensely negative one.
“I’m looking at the Optimist coverage and there’s been a lot of extra headlines and extra controversy. I don’t like it, that type of politicking and that type of bickering. It takes away from the issues and maybe from getting the right person into office,” he said.
“I don’t mind if it gets a little heated but I mind when it gets a little stupid. Even with the George Harvie stuff and Lois Jackson around the compost issue, there’s question marks about how everybody handled it and certainly a lot of fingering pointing. There’s very little accountability and a lot of angst coming from council and for me the question mark was how all that was handled… it’s absolutely been one of the nastiest campaigns in Delta. What I’m worried about is the election will favour the ones that are the most nasty.”
Vaitkus said his campaign has been growing organically and people have begun to learn what he’s all about, whether it’s talking to people while at the grocery store or getting his tires changed. It has been tough, though, because he still has a full-time job. He added his platform is a “Delta platform” encompassing all three communities rather than treating them separately.
