Lindsay Woods has just returned to Quesnel after years away, and is hoping to win a spot on the local city council.
Woods was born and raised in Quesnel but left around 15 or 20 years ago.
“As of September 1, I officially moved back. I’m just fresh back, and I discovered it’s not the same. I thought about running for City Council in Dawson Creek where I was living, but I thought, ‘Where better to start than home?’”
Woods was the chair of policies on the local electoral district association in Dawson Creek under MP Bob Zimmer.
“I had to take a step back, but I’m looking forward to [running for council]; it’s going to be challenging,” she says.
Woods says she’s been talking to locals since she returned to Quesnel and she sees homelessness, drug problems and the understaffed RCMP department as major issues to address.
“Just from walking around and talking to people – I walk everywhere, I take transit, I’m your normal everyday person! – I’m shocked at how many issues there are.
“It’s hard when you are a candidate, and you are stopping and talking to people – even homeless people who don’t even like seeing some of the drug use. They sometimes sleep on benches in the playgrounds and see needles and spoons, and they don’t like that. These are things that people have brought forth,” she says.
Woods has returned to Quesnel with her daughter, and thinks her experiences as a single mom and, previously, as the stepmom to four boys, will put her in good stead to tackle some of the issues city councillors will deal with.
“I’ve been raising my daughter on my own on and off… being a single mom has been the most challenging thing. Between being stepmom to four rowdy boys and being a single mom… wrangling some of these other challenges will be a good thing, give me something to focus on.
“I’m hoping to be able to take some of the experiences I’ve learned in every day life … I’m hoping those skills can come into play. There are a lot of things in this town that need to be changed, but I’m also amazed at how much it’s grown, it’s flourished,” she says.
Woods is hoping her “blunt, straighforward” personality will also be a useful attribute for a city councillor.
“I’m hoping to run on integrity and complete transparency. I want to bring someone who will tell the truth. … I want to hear and bring forth what people in Quesnel want, not my own personal agenda. It’s got to be about what people in Quesnel want to see.”
Woods believes she can bring a different perspective to Quesnel City Council.
“I’m hoping being someone with a different perspective and an average Joe, that might drum up some support.”
READ MORE: 12 hopefuls for Quesnel City Council in upcoming municipal election
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