By Chris Lewis | July 22, 2021
A familiar face will be back on the municipal ballot in Mount Pearl this September.
For the last 14-years, Jim Locke has served as a member of Mount Pearl City council, including most recently as Deputy Mayor, and when occasion warrants, as Acting Mayor.
Oddly enough, Locke first entered the political realm almost on a whim. He admits local politics was not on his radar at the time, but was told by a friend that he would make a good fit for council during a byelection back in 2007.
After mulling it over with his wife, Locke decided to it might be a worthwhile endeavour.
“It was very heart warming to see all the support that would come in, even back then,” Locke said.
Now, 14-years later, Locke is able to look back on many things the various incarnations of council have accomplished over the years. That, and his evergreen to-do list, are two of the main reasons he’s decided to run again, he says.
“My mantra is ‘thoughts become things,’ said Locke. “Anything that has been developed, someone had to think that up at one time. So, it’s just very rewarding to have seven people around the council table having such a great influence on the direction our city will take. The question is always, how do we better the City of Mount Pearl? I may come up with an idea first, suggest it, and at the end of the day with my council colleagues, the final idea that comes off the table is a modified version that stems from everyone’s perspective.”
Locke said one of the biggest lessons he’s learned on council is that in general no change is immediate. Some initiatives he likened to the planting of a seed, needing time and commitment to fully blossom.
And there are still plenty of projects in the hopper that he would like to see come to fruition.
Locke said there is a sense of pride and commitment to the place he lives.
“The heart of Mount Pearl is the sense of community living,” he said. “People look out for one another. Growing up, my parents did a wonderful job of raising us, but they didn’t do it alone. It was the community at large that did it. Growing up playing sports, being involved in the scouting program, all those things were possible because at the time they were run by volunteers. People in the community, out of the goodness of their heart, built the city from the ground up.”
Locke said his two sons, who now have children of their own, grew up in a similar environment and reaped the benefits of Mount Pearl’s community spirit. Now, he hopes to see his grandchildren afforded the same opportunities. He wants to use his position on council to ensure all families in the city have the same opportunities to enjoy life.
Locke says he is also happy to have provided council with “ a green lens” over the course of the last 14 years. When a decision is made regarding a project, he explained, there are usually three ways to look at the cost: the financial cost, the social cost, and the environmental cost.
“I feel like I’ve brought a little more emphasis on that environmental cost,” he said.
Locke is particularly proud that Mount Pearl residents now use far less water per capita than when he started on council. Back then, the City was often referred to as a ‘water hog’ due to the amount of water residents purchased from the regional water supply – some eight billion litres annually.
Thanks to the purchase of a water correlator, the City was able to discover a number of leaks in its water system. Mount Pearl has since managed to reduce its water consumption on a yearly basis by nearly half, and continues to make use of its correlator to address other water issues.
Although the correlator cost about $40,000 at the time, it has gone on to save the city much more than that in water consumption costs all while reducing Mount Pearl’s impact on the environment.
Locke said the City has had other accomplishments that people may not be fully aware of such as the purchases of electric and hybrid vehicles for city staff, the urban renewal and forestry initiative, and even the purchase of a wood chipper that helps rejuvenate the forests while reducing diesel fuel consumption by shipping less wood down to the Robin Hood Bay landfill.
“It’s really been an honour to serve, and I’ve loved it for these past 14 years,” Locke said. “I’m looking forward to the next council, and hopefully I’m able to work together with them to keep bringing these opportunities to the city.”
