Mike Clay will seek a third term as mayor of Port Moody.
Clay, 52, is a life-long resident of the city who launched his political career in 2005 when he was elected to his first of two terms as a city councillor. He won the mayor’s job in 2011 and was re-elected in 2014.
Clay’s professional background is in the transportation and warehousing industry, where he was a manager of customer service, built his own company and then helped developed web-based applications for the shipping industry.
“I believe an essential role of local government is to provide core services to residents as efficiently and effectively as possible,” Clay said on his website, which he recently relaunched for his campaign to retain his position in the Oct. 20 civic elections. “Local government should be responsive, respectful, and communicative.”
So far, only one other candidate, Port Moody councillor Rob Vagramov, has announced an intention to challenge Clay for the mayor’s seat.
Candidates for council also step up
Two candidates have officially launched their election campaigns for Port Moody council and a third posted her intention to run but has yet to declare her candidacy.
Coun. Meghan Lahti will seek reelection. She was on council from 1996 to 2011, then took a break, returning to council in 2014. In 2016, Lahti opened her own small business — Sweet and Savoury Pie Company in Vancouver — after a long career as an educator.
Richard Biedka also started his campaign to win a council seat in the Oct. 20 municipal elections. He ran for council in last year’s byelection after Rick Glumac resigned his seat when he was elected to the provincial legislature as the MLA for Port Moody-Coquitlam. Biedka, who works in the seafood industry, finished sixth out of eight candidates with 147 votes.
And Coun. Diana Dilworth posted a message on a Facebook discussion group that she intends to run but she has yet to launch her reelection campaign. She was first elected to council in 1999 and would be seeking her sixth term.
