FSJ councillor Jim Lequiere running for re-election

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Fort St. John councillor Jim Lequiere announced Thursday that he will be running for re-election in the upcoming fall election.

Lequiere was initially elected as a councillor last May in a by-election. He says he sought election to give back to the community where he raised his family.

In a post on social media, Lequiere described his time as a councillor as a “productive learning curve.”

“Now that I have some experience in civic politics, I am ready to combine my newfound skills as a councilman, my enthusiasm, and many years of experience managing budgets in the natural gas industry as the team leader of the largest sour gas infrastructure in Western Canada to better our ever-growing community we all call home,” he said in his post.

He says if elected, he’d like to see the downtown core continue to develop and ensure that the city gets a new aquatic centre to replace the aging North Peace Leisure Pool.

“Our old pool was built in 1996, and you know, it wasn’t built to the best standards back in the day… So, the quicker and the better we can get a new aquatic centre, the better for Fort St. John families,” Lequiere told Energeticcity.

Lequiere, a co-chair on the North Peace Leisure Facility Replacement Steering Committee, says he’s been to many of the community engagement meetings, which have been well-received.

“Everybody would like to see a little bit of something different, whether it be a multiplex with a swimming pool or a gym and some basketball courts,” Lequiere said.

“I think at the end of the day, as long as we can get a good pool that’ll last us. When we build something in town, we like to build it for like 30 years out.”

Lequiere added that Fort St. John is a growing community and hopes to continue to be a part of that growth.