Mayor Janet Evans has held the office of Mayor of the District of Sooke since December 1999. Her most recent term commenced in November 2008. She hosted the 10th anniversary celebration of the incorporation of the District of Sooke on December 7, 2009 at Council chambers.

Click here to read Meet the Mayor ~ 10+ years with gavel ~ as published in the Fall 2010 issue of MapleLine Magazine.

Photos: Copyright MapleLine Magazine

Here is the season's greetings message to the Sooke community that Mayor Evans contributed to MapleLine Magazine's Holiday 2009 issue (released Nov.4, 2009):

How time flies. On December 5 the District of Sooke will be 10 years old and the new Council will have been in office for one year. It has been a busy 10 years and many great things have been accomplished – the change with the greatest magnitude being the successful vote for our wastewater treatment plant and our partnering agreement with EPCOR.

In 2002 Council purchased property for better access to the waterfront and developed Ed Macgregor Park. The Sooke Rotary club built the Rotary Pier and the District built the boardwalk, which has turned out to be a great asset to the community.

The past Councils put together a strong budget and were finally able to install sidewalks and road improvements in various locations in the community, and more are scheduled for next year.

During a rezoning application Council was able to obtain 17 acres of park land at John Phillips Park on Otter Point Road. Sooke has had many new developments built, the biggest being Sunriver and new smaller subdivisions throughout town. These new homes have brought new families and residents to Sooke; this keeps our schools full, our businesses successful and our communities strong.

With the dedicated work of the Sooke Elderly Citizens Society volunteers, Sooke now has Ayre Manor, a fabulous seniors assisted living and complex care facility.

There has been disappointment as well. A few years ago the failed referendum for the connector road and the
downtown beautification project forced us to return over $3 million to the government. Today we are still needing the connector road and we are back to applying for the funds.

This year Council worked on the agreement with Prestige Hotels for the long awaited hotel and conference centre, and we purchased property for a public boat launch. This project will bring many
tourists to our community and will help our struggling local businesses.

We’ve also had severe wind and rain storms in the last 10 years, the biggest being the storm of December 2006 which brought down huge trees and destroyed homes, parks and vehicles. Thankfully no lives were lost. The storm proved to me that Sooke people are resilient and helpful. The volunteers from the fire department, the emergency crews, the service groups and neighbours worked tirelessly for many days giving support to residents and we thank them once again.

Since incorporation Council has honoured our volunteers with a celebration for all the great work they do for this community, for without them we would not be the great community we are today.

For me working together with staff and all Councillors has been very rewarding, demanding and yes fun, and we all look forward to the next few years. With the completion of the OCP, the town centre plan, the parks and trails and the transportation plan, we are well on our way to making our community an even better place to live, work and play.

Please come out on Dec. 7 and help us celebrate our 10th anniversary.

As the holiday season approaches I would like to wish everyone a safe time of celebration and a Happy New Year. ~ Mayor Janet Evans

LEADERSHIP PROFILE ~ MM