Goetz seeking re-election as Merritt’s mayor

British Columbians are set to head to the polls this October to elect regional area directors, councils and mayors.

Mike Goetz will be seeking re-election in Merritt, where he has served as mayor for the last four years. Goetz says there are still too many projects on the go he wants to personally see completed.

“Diking is one of them. We have 70 per cent of our diking but we are still missing 30 per cent. I would love to see 100 per cent of it covered,” Goetz told CFJC News. “I want to work on that, so I formed a group of five mayors, we have a name and are going to FCM trying to get funding for all of us. Watching the city still repair itself and grow, we’ve managed to get some really good investment in the community, have more investment we are looking at, but like anything else, that takes time. I would like to see that come to fruition.”

Merritt has recently had a string of one-term mayors, a pattern Goetz will be seeking to break this October.

One of his main priorities is getting Aspen Planers back up and running as soon as possible. He also addressed the challenges around homelessness and mental health, which are provincial jurisdiction.

“My job is to get those complaints to the people – MLA, minister – those are my jobs to get them there. The minute you start saying, ‘That’s not my bailiwick. Leave me alone,’ you aren’t doing your community any favours,” said Goetz, “so you take that on. We are always the first to be yelled at for something. And then when you work with that, one thing I do find is if I go to that person and talk face to face, the rhetoric comes down, tone comes down.”

So far, nobody else in Merritt has officially stated their intention to challenge Goetz for the mayor’s office.