Bill Turlay will not seek re-election for Vancouver City Council, he said Tuesday.
In a phone call with The Columbian, Turlay said he hoped that the announcement might encourage a few other people to run for his position on the council.
He said he dislikes the current crop of candidates who have declared a campaign — Diana Perez and Sarah Fox — though he expressed support for David Regan, who’s challenging Councilor Ty Stober for his seat.
“Perhaps we might see some other folks jump in for my seat. As it is now, I don’t support either one of the two,” he said.
Turlay, who’s lived in Vancouver for decades with his wife, Stephanie, served two terms and eight years on the city council. The 83-year-old doesn’t want to put himself through the rigors of fundraising and campaigning again, he said.
“I’m getting a little older now, and my wife and I have a bucket list,” he said. “I think it’s her turn to have a little bit of say in where we go and what we do.” On the agenda: traveling, and more time with their children and grandchildren.
His announcement that he wouldn’t seek re-election walked back his assertion a couple weeks ago when he declared “I am definitely in the race” for Position 6.
Though city council seats are formally nonpartisan, Turlay’s been a consistent conservative voice since he was first elected in 2011. His proudest memory on the council was when he helped stem the bleeding following the Great Recession, he said, leading a self-proclaimed “revolt” to save Fire Station 6 and prevent cuts to the Vancouver Police Department. He’s also proud to have helped shepherd The Waterfront Vancouver development, he added.
He’s been a vocal advocate against the existence of man-made climate change, and at the city council retreat on March 1 scoffed at the idea of creating a city action plan to respond to the dangers of climate change. What he’d prefer, he said, is “the courage to do nothing.”
“CO2 is just a minor influence on weather. It’s the sun and the oceans that cause our climate changes,” Turlay said.
