From council watchdogs to possible lawmakers

With about 50 days until the election, the leaders of the Beaconsfield Citizens Association (BCA) have dropped out of their non-partisan roles to announce their bids for a council seat in the upcoming Nov. 1 municipal vote.

Karin Essen, who has headed the BCA for about three years, will run in District 2, the seat currently represented by Karen Messier who had a hand in the BCA for a short time in early 2005. Essen said the BCA’s vice-president, Greg Stienstra, will be seeking public office in District 5 against incumbent Roy Baird. Another former BCA executive member, Gilles Perron, is running for council in District 3 against incumbent Wade Staddon.

With Essen resigning from the BCA last week due to her political aspirations, the council watchdog group’s former president Larry McKinnon returns to lead them. The BCA’s next meeting is set for Sept. 16 at the recreation centre, according to its website.

Essen said the BCA operates as a non-partisan group and does not officially back any candidate.

“There’s no controversy,” she said of BCA members switching hats to become candidates for city council.

“I think it’s something that occurs in many municipalities, such as Baie d’Urfé and TMR. I see it as more of an extension of community service that I have been doing for BCA members. I’m not in the race for myself, it’s for the people in District 2 who deserve a voice on council,” Essen added.

Essen, 39, believes her BCA background, community involvement and her management experience in the pharmaceutical and aerospace industries have prepared her well to become a city councillor. She has set up a website to reach voters www.karinessen.com).

Essen, a harsh critic of Mayor Bob Benedetti, told The Chronicle in an interview earlier this year that “there’s a lot of dissatisfaction with the current management of the city.” She is a regular speaker at public question period during city council meetings.

Messier is not all surprised by Essen’s election announcement considering her tenure as the BCA president.

“She has been campaigning for the job for the last three years, and I welcome this opportunity to highlight the profound differences in the way we approach the management of Beaconsfield and local issues in District 2,” Messier stated. “(She) has created her own public record through her regular public statements and speeches at the public question periods of council meetings. She does not hesitate to criticize, yet the absence of her endorsements on council’s significant investment projects and tax cut initiatives, can only be speculated upon. Just as I take responsibility for my positions, she must take responsibility for hers,” she added.

Messier said slashing services, such as eliminating outdoor skating rinks or reducing library hours, in order to procure a minor tax cut is not what the majority of Beaconsfield residents want.

Meanwhile, District 4 councillor Kate Coulter has confirmed she won’t be seeking re-election, though she didn’t rule out the possibility of running again sometime in the future. Other than David Pollock, who is taking a run to become mayor and James Hasegawa who is retiring, the remaining Beaconsfield council incumbents, including Benedetti, have confirmed they plan to seek re-election.

Essen, running as an independent as are all the other declared candidates in Beaconsfield, stated she plans to back Pollock for mayor.

Pollock, who, so far, faces Benedetti and Hela Labene in the mayoral race, said he would love to see Essen and Stienstra become city councillors

“Any time one has concerned and committed citizens like Karin Essen and Greg Stienstra that have been actively engaged in helping to make Beaconsfield a better city, wanting to run for council, I think it is great. The BCA has raised important questions and have offered constructive suggestions. Members of BCA running for Beaconsfield city council also happened four years ago,” said Pollock, a former BCA member himself.