When he debuted in politics, Mayor Stew Young was just a “young guy that wanted to try and make [Langford] better,” he said. Now, a 26-year veteran, his motivations for staying in politics are the same.
“I’m always trying to think of ways to change things and make them better,” he said.
Young always wanted to make Langford somewhere he is proud to be from. He was raised on the West Shore and attended Belmont Secondary. All of his brothers and sisters left to go to Alberta after high school, but Young stayed and figured he’d try to make a difference.
Young said the teamwork of his council and volunteer committees has been instrumental in accomplishing what the City has over the last 26 years.
“I like my council,” he said. “For 26 years we get a lot done because we’re not fighting. It’s easy to be motivated when you like what you’re doing, seeing results and council is great,” noting that he also credits community support for being able to achieve a great deal.
Young has several things he would like to accomplish in the next four years and with each of them he hopes to create passion and pride within the City of Langford. His priorities for the City include continuing to build recreation and infrastructure, taking steps to ensure families feel safe in their community and to “get things done fast,” he said.
His long term priorities include bringing government offices and post-secondary campuses to the West Shore to alleviate the commute into downtown Victoria. Young said that he wants to bring satellite campuses to the West Shore to give more young people the opportunity to get a post-secondary education.
“If I could solve that in four years I’d be happy,” Young said.
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lindsey.horsting@goldstreamgazette.com