With the municipal election five months away and two seats already opened up - with Raj Khalon's retirement and Greg Gardner's shot at the mayor's seat - more people are showing an interest in running for a spot on council.Former councillor Paul Lalli said he is thinking of stepping back into the ring of municipal politics after a six-year absence."There's a few things that still have to happen before I will be able to run," he said. "Basically I've just got to take care of a few business things."He said he would be running for the position of councillor rather than mayor.Lalli was first elected to council in a byelection in 1996 and was re-elected in the general elections in 1996 and 1999, topping the polls among councillors that year, before running against Mayor Ian Sutherland for the mayoral seat in 2002.Lalli subsequently sought the federal Conservative nomination in Surrey-Fleetwood-Port Kells in 2006, but his nomination papers were rejected by the party.The Squamish Nation might also have a candidate running for council. Donna Billy said she is thinking about vying for a spot in the election but was undecided as of yet.Another person interested in becoming a council candidate is local writer and Chief columnist Bryan Raiser, who has unsuccessfully run for the seat of councillor in the past. With 1,501 votes, Raiser was barely beat out by Patricia Heintzman, who made it on council with 1,538 votes."I'm seriously thinking about it," he said. "I came way too close last time not to try again."Raiser said he is passionate about the community and would like to play a hand at improving it."I certainly like this town and certainly have a lot of ideas. Squamish is broken and I'd like to help fix it."While there have been rumours that former councillor Sonja Lebans would run for council, she said last Saturday (June 28) she is not considering it.Besides Coun. Greg Gardner's bid to run for mayor, no one else has declared an interest in the seat.If no one steps forward, longtime council watchdog Terrill Patterson, who traditionally runs for a spot on council when more than one candidate vies for the mayor's seat, said he would go head-to-head with Gardner in hopes of boosting public interest in the race. Otherwise, he said he would again run for a seat as councillor this election."Without the mayoral race there's very little interest," he said. "It's important that we have a good turnout, otherwise we're going to be looking at the same group that we have in there now."Patterson estimates about 5,000 people will likely turn out to vote, adding that about 1,000 of those voters will be new residents who weren't around for the last election."That's why it's important to engage as wide of a spectrum of people as possible."Patterson said he expects about 15 to 20 people to vie for a spot as councillor since two seats have freed up."Whenever there's a breakout it attracts more. They think that it'll be easier to run."While Gardner is perceived by many to be a strong candidate for mayor, Patterson said he might prove to be fallible during the race."Of course he's beatable," he said. "He cannot run on the issues because his record of the issues is already there. He's got a real problemwhatever he does will cause him to lose support."Patterson said he hopes someone else opts to run for mayor, but noted that he will stay poised to run to ensure no one walks into the mayor's seat without a fight."You want that position, then you're going to meet me, and if that scares you than you're in the wrong game."
