On August 9, Andrew Leonard made public his intentions to run for office in the upcoming municipal election. His social media post outlining his reasons included imagery of Tom Cruise’s character from Jerry Maguire asking in the famous scene, ‘Who’s coming with me?’
Two months later he’d get his answer: 860 Bowen voters came along with Leonard’s vision, sending the political newcomer to victory in his bid for mayor of Bowen Island.
“That was a really galvanizing post, in two ways. It galvanized the people that wanted change, and then it galvanized the people that didn’t want change,” said Leonard of his unofficial declaration. “To have the status quo and feel like that’s going to continue was frustrating.”
By default, the decision by incumbent councillor Maureen Nicholson to pursue the mayor role made the debate between staying the course and pursuing a fresh route a focal theme in the campaign. Nicholson naturally represented the former, while Leonard and fellow candidate John Turner took up the mantle of offering a fresh alternative to municipal business as usual.
When the final numbers came in on election night, it was clear which approach had swayed island voters. By Bowen standards, Leonard’s 132 vote margin of victory over Nicholson was a runaway, the past two mayoral elections having been decided by just two and 15 votes.
“I started to feel that it could happen once we realized that we were leading in the advance vote… And then once those general and mail-in numbers came in it was becoming increasingly clear,” said Leonard of his feelings on election night, where he watched the results come in with friends and family at Tunstall Bay.
So what worked? Change was certainly in the air on Bowen, but that didn’t mean anyone new who stepped up would be elected. Leonard spoke to a few campaign approaches he said were key to success.
“I showed up consistently and kept things issues-focused and was able to go out in the community with really diverse people… and get into their minds and hearts and talk to them about what it was that they wanted for Bowen,” he says. “And I think coming from that perspective of shining the light on what we want to grow and what it is that we can build, that just led to some resonance out there.”
In addition to taking part in scheduled events such as all candidate forums hosted by the Undercurrent and Belterra, and appearing on the Bowen Island Podcast with Don Shafer, Leonard also took his own approach to getting out in the community. These included an event at Tunstall Bay, an online gathering for new candidates, and being at as many community events as possible. You may have even seen him walking the morning ferry lineups with a backpack of coffee from the Snug Café to share with travellers.
“This is part of having a summer camp background or an experiential education background is how can we make this interesting and how can we make it fun, and how can we not do the same things that they’re doing in the urban centres?” says Leonard. “I think ultimately it led to some engagement.”
With the race won, there’s now plenty of work to be done. There will be several major issues for Leonard and the new council to tackle over the next four years, whether they’re known (Cape Roger Curtis Park proposal, housing, water and septic issues, etc.), or unknown (take your pick). While those will come down the road, Leonard has a few priorities in mind off the bat, particularly in shaping how he sees the position itself.
“One, it’s going to be to foreground through our agenda and through the conversations that we want to have around the council table. The second… sitting in the mayor’s chair there has to be an objective humility, and an ability to steward process that feels neutral,” explains Leonard on how he’ll approach the role.
“It’s creating solid, transparent, compassionate, open engagement processes right from the outset, and continuing the same energy that I had in my campaign of going out in the community and listening to those perspectives and hearing what’s coming in from staff, and being able to ensure that those are woven together around the council table.”
Speaking of council, Leonard says he’s excited to start working with his new colleagues around the table. “I think there’s a great mix of some incumbent experience, particularly Coun. (Sue Ellen) Fast’s ecological background and Coun. (Alison) Morse’s experience – she’s got a real sharp and detailed policy history that is lightning quick when it comes up around the table.”
“And then the new councillors. I’ve sat and chatted with each of them one-on-one in addition to the more formal events, and they represent a real wide range of experience and some real thoughtful perspectives that I think we’re going to see around the council table,” says Leonard.
Growing up in Ottawa, Leonard says he’s inspired by one of the pillars of mayoral history in Canada, Jim Watson. The four-term mayor, and longest serving in the capital city’s history at more than 14 years, exemplified many of the qualities Leonard hopes to carry on.
“He was known as the mayor who would go to anything. If there was a paper airplane competition with four people and he was invited, he would go,” says Leonard of Watson, who is finally retiring from the position following Ottawa’s municipal election later this year.
“That set for me a model and a tone of visibility and being of service to the community and showing up and just being out there. Yes it’s about going to the events you’re getting invited to. But just the simple fact of being visible and present, then you talk to people and you hear about what’s going on, and you can also inform the community about what’s going on,” explains Leonard.
In order to best emulate Watson, Leonard says he’ll be treating the mayor position as a full-time role, and is downscaling his business practice to accommodate that, allowing him to give his undivided attention to the job, and to attend as many paper airplane competitions as possible.
The one place Leonard may be taking a step back from is the comment section of the local Facebook group, following a combative tone that emerged among many of its users during the election. Leonard says what he experienced in the group varied widely from his in-person encounters.
“There’s a real difference in the energy that I felt out in the community talking to people and groups, at one-on-one over coffee or at all candidates events: there’s a very open and energetic and generative feel in those conversations in the real world that just wasn’t there on social media in Bowen Island Everything Else, where the energy is of closure and of taking-down and argumentative,” he says.
“Some of the folks that had those sharper opinions, I would just say ‘let’s go out for coffee.’ And I would have coffee with those people and they were utterly reasonable and really open and warm and we got to a much better place. There’s something built into the structure of how Facebook and social media works that just doesn’t foster that,” adds Leonard.
For his part, Leonard notes he’ll also be dialing down some of the rhetoric that emerged during the campaign; an early reference to forks and eyeballs sparked particular discussion as the race progressed. Leonard says the comment was (mostly) hyperbolic in nature, and assures people he plans to keep the cutlery in the drawer during future council meetings.
Leonard also gave nods to his competitors, and says he hopes to stay involved with both Nicholson and Turner moving forward. “I think this does highlight one of the tricky things about how municipal elections are set up. Having not been successful in her bid, Maureen Nicholson is no longer around the council table,” comments Leonard on the electoral process.
“I know many in the community are feeling that loss and they’re worried about that loss, as am I. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for her service and engagement and I hope that we will be able to keep her involved.”
On Turner, “He’s just a real humble and friendly and down-to-Earth guy that advanced a couple of things for me in my mind. So I hope that he’ll stay involved too.”
Leonard has had meetings this week regarding the transition process in anticipation of the new council’s first meeting on Nov. 7. The group will hit the ground running, both with new material and taking over ongoing projects from the current council after their final meeting on Oct. 24.
Until then, Leonard has a few more days to take stock of his somewhat improbable leap from political unknown to mayor of the island in just about 60 days. It’s a job he says would not have been possible without support from his wife Chela, and two sons, who he had many discussions with prior to declaring for the role. Leonard also credits his campaign team, notably Bobbi, Tara, Lu, and Aaron, as well as platforms he says helped drive engagement and disseminate information, including media outlets such as the Undercurrent or individual efforts like the Bowen Island Podcast.
And, of course the community at large, or, as Leonard says, “The friends we’ve made along the way.”
In Jerry Maguire, only Renée Zellweger (and Flipper the Goldfish) answered Tom Cruise’s call. Leonard’s ask was answered by a substantial part of the island's population; it’s now time to see how he will translate this into action and success for Bowen going forward.
