After nearly a decade of serving on Port Moody council, Gerry Nuttall said he plans to enjoy his forced retirement with more travel and time with family.
"I lost the election but I won my freedom," Nuttall said with a chuckle Tuesday morning.
Nuttall served his first term on council in 2005 and was elected to two more terms starting in 2008. He was nudged out of the latest election, however, falling to seventh place by 63 votes behind newcomer Robert Vagramov.
The 22-year-old and fellow council newbie Barbara Junker will have their work cut out for them, Nuttall said.
"I wish them the best," Nuttall told The Tri-City News. "Having said that, they have a real learning curve. Port Moody doesn't have long for them to catch up and things will move ahead fast on the mega home issue, the [official community plan]. Those things will require an awful lot of study by those two so they can give an informed opinion."
Asked for a few highlights from his nine years on council, Nuttall said he's particularly proud of his work as chair of the centennial committee, his efforts to revive planning for a high-tech park and working with the arts and culture committee - "a sheer joy," he said, adding a note of appreciation for the hard work of staff led by city manager Kevin Ramsay.
Nuttall also singled out the last three years as some of the most productive he has seen by a PoMo council.
"We took a lot on and the result is an OCP we can be proud of - one that does not have and never did have highrises all the way down St. Johns Street," he said.
He suggested the next four years will be challenging for council members, particularly after an election campaign that at times veered toward negative personal attacks and introduced what Nuttall characterized as American-style politics.
"The most important thing is you've got to have respect for each other," he said, offering advice for the new councillors.
Nuttall said he plans to step back from the city political scene so he can take up his old hobbies and enjoy life with his wife, Barbara, who also recently retired from the Port Moody Library board.
"I got up on Sunday morning and the world didn't crash down, the sun is shining and I basically said, 'Thanks,' because I look at my life now and it's a blank canvas.
"The trailer is going to see a lot more of the southern states."
