Squamish's new mayor-elect, Greg Gardner, can no longer get away from mere suggestions - there is no doubt he is following in his father's footsteps. But he feels no need to distance himself from the man who is arguably the most beloved politician Hope, B.C. has ever seen. "My father has been my role model all my life," said Gardner. "He is the person in the world I respect the most."Bud Gardner, who founded Gardner Chev in Hope and served as a councillor and mayor for 27 years, and his wife Elaine were with their son Saturday evening (Nov. 15), celebrating his successful bid at the local government's top spot. The mayor-elect said his parents' presence was important because of the positive influence they've had throughout his life."They've both instilled core values in me that I am very proud of. They're both very hard working." After getting a science degree in forestry, while spending summers working on pipelines, Gardner decided to return to school for a law degree. He practised for seven years before approaching his father about getting into his car dealership business. The pair partnered and in 1994 bought the first good dealership that became available, McKay Motors in Squamish, transforming it into Greg Gardner GM. However Greg says his parents' biggest influence lies in the moral realm."If I had one quality that I would talk about most, and this is from both of them, it's their respect for other people and other cultures. They're both very, very tolerant people and very welcoming of other cultures."The political maverick dad and artistic, free-spirited mom shed some light on what residents can anticipate when it comes to Gardner's leadership style.Bud Gardner said he believes his son's experience and education will be a boon to Squamish resident craving good leadership."Not because he's my son or anything, but I think Squamish is fairly lucky to have a person with that kind of education and qualification to even run for mayor," he said. "Not many people want to do it. In a lot of other places, we're not getting that kind of qualified people." And, politically-speaking, Bud Gardner knows what he's talking about. He began his political career in 1969 after buying a lot in Hope and requesting that the district extend a sewage system that ended one lot over. When authorities said they didn't have the money, he offered to pay for it. They still refused."I thought, 'This is a terrible way to treat people who want to spend money in our community.' So I ran for council."He ended up serving on Hope council from 1969 to 1978, and took the mayor's seat from 1978 to 1996. In every single election, he topped the polls. When asked what made him so popular, Bud Gardner points to honesty. "I firmly believe that you need to give people, when they ask you, an honest answer. You get so many politicians that give you a wishy-washy answer: 'I'll look into it.' "When you ask me 'Are you going to pave my street this year?' I pretty well know whether we're going to do it or not. You have an idea of what's going on, you can say 'No I'm sorry we don't have the money.' "I had a few people get mad at me when I didn't do what they wanted, but they got over it in a week or two and they kept voting for me, so"Bud Gardner also showed canniness with budgets, and purchased Crown land for the district, subdivided it and sold it. Hope went on to build a swimming pool, an arena and a library complex at no cost to the taxpayer.So respected was Bud Gardner that both the B.C. Social Credit Party and the New Democrats (NDP) tried to woo him as a provincial candidate. The unsuccessful attempts are indicative of his father's balanced approach, said Greg, and reinforced his belief that ideological parties don't apply at a municipal level.Will the father's statesman-like qualities transfer to the son? Greg's mother thinks so."[Greg] has a soft-spoken kind of patience with people. I'm far more abrupt," laughed Elaine. "He seems to be sensitive to people in a quieter way. His father kept his calm with people and tried to heal their complaints for so long, I think the kid was aware of how his father handled people."However hearing her son tell the tale of influence, the singer and performing arts enthusiast has also had a tremendous impact on his life. Not only did Elaine bring richness into her son's life by bringing him "sometimes dragging" to symphonies and stage performances of all kinds even into adulthood. She also introduced him to numerous artistic people - such as Russian dancers and a variety of vocalists - who would often stay with the family while visiting during a tour.Elaine is quick to expound on her son's achievements, yet, like all mothers, she also frets."I'm worried about the heavy workload," she said. "He'll have to pick 'I'm going to this meeting and not that meeting.' And that's hard to choose when you can't be everywhere."
