Former mayors join BC Conservative strategy group

Jack Peake, former mayor of Lake Cowichan (Photo courtesy BC Conservatives)

Two former B.C. mayors have joined the BC Conservative Tactical Advisory Group to add leadership in election strategy, municipal and provincial issues.Randy White, chairman of the advisory group, said former Lake Cowichan Mayor Jack Peake and former Stewart, B.C. Mayor Andy Burton, have joined the group.

Burton was a Reform/Conservative member of Parliament for four years and mayor of Stewart for 25 years. He is also a former gold card member of B.C. Social Credit.

Burton and his family moved to Prince George in 1953 and have lived in northern British Columbia since then. The 68-year-old former business owner is now retired in Burns Lake.

Peake established an enviable record in municipal politics and community service. He served on Lake Cowichan town council for 15 years, nine years as mayor. He was chairman of the Cowichan Valley Regional District, a member of the provincial Municipal Insurance Authority. He is a former chairman and director of the Island Corridor Foundation and chairman of fundraising for the Kinsol trestle project. He was chairman of the Island Coastal Economic Trust. He is also a regional director for the BC Conservative Party.

Peake said he got involved with the BC Conservatives because the two parties currently in the Legislature do not represent all the people of BC.

“The BC Conservatives will bring grassroots politics back to BC and give the voter and taxpayer a greater say in how governance is delivered in the province. With the BC Conservatives I believe that is possible,” he said. “There is a clear need for an alternative to bring non-voters back to the polls and interested in who leads this Province,” Peake added.

Party president Wayne McGrath, former three-term mayor of Vernon, said more high profile appointments to the advisory group will be announced in the coming weeks.