Lois Jackson is poised to begin her sixth, and what she says will be her final, term as Delta's mayor when the council elected last Saturday is sworn into office on Dec. 1. The upcoming term will see Jackson operate without a majority, a fact she's quick to downplay, saying council will continue to function as it has for the last 15 years under her leadership. It would be easy view such sentiment as a politician looking to put the most positive spin possible on an unenviable circumstance, but history would suggest the mayor's not just blowing smoke.
Jackson's DIVA slate, as well as its TriDelta predecessor, has never occupied more than four seats at the council table, and even then it's sometimes been a rather tenuous grip. Regardless, she's found a way to govern and to move an agenda forward, a situation I don't necessarily see changing a whole lot in the next four years.
When Jackson was elected mayor for the first time in 1999, she enjoyed a slim majority, but it wasn't long before Vicki Huntington effectively left the fold. The arrival of Scott Hamilton in 2002 solidified things for her second term, but the departure of Guy Gentner in 2005, who was replaced on the ticket by Krista Engelland, created a situation similar to the first term. DIVA decided to only run three candidates in 2008, but added Ian Paton part way through the term in a byelection. Hamilton vacated his seat earlier this year after being elected MLA for Delta North, once again leaving DIVA without a majority.
History shows Jackson's decade-anda-half at the helm has been far from topdown majority rule. She has found support for everything from staff overhaul to debt reduction from a variety of sources, including many who didn't run on the same ticket. The likes of Ann Claggett, George Hawksworth, Anne Peterson and, more recently, Bruce McDonald and Jeannie Kanakos, have all supported Jackson and her slate mates at various times.
When you look at some of the biggest issues of the soon-to-be-completed term, you don't see an us-versus-them pattern of voting. If anything, there's been a high degree of solidarity. Only Sylvia Bishop opposed the Century Group's plan for the Southlands, while all council members were supportive of the 37-storey highrise in North Delta known as Delta Rise. With six of the seven members of the current council returning for another term, it's hard to see that changing to any great extent. Even if the mayor doesn't have a majority.
