Langford Mayor Stew Young is mulling over whether to run again in fall 2022 after selling off his business interests and scaling back his hours.
Young agreed to talk about his future on Monday because of speculation in Langford, where he’s been fielding questions from residents aware he has stepped back from his businesses.
He’s concentrating these days on his job as mayor, devoting about seven to eight hours at day to that role.
“I’ve been doing 16 hour days since I was 17. So, it was just getting a bit much,” Young said.
He felt he had to choose between business or serving as mayor. He chose Langford, selling off 90 per cent of his business interests in the past two years. It has cut his workday in half.
“It’s given me a bit more time for the mayor’s job now and it’s a bit more relaxing for me, not having to burn the candle at both ends all the time,” he said, adding: “I’m getting older.”
He will be 62 by the October election next year and he has to think about whether he wants to serve four more years.
Young said he will decide in the three months prior to the election whether to run again.
Known for his passion for Langford, Young is seen as the driving force behind the community’s transformation into an economic dynamo providing jobs, affordable housing and amenities such as major recreational facilities.
Langford is recognized for its fast-paced approval process for development projects.
If he chooses to run again, Young said it would be his 10th term on council. After serving on the community’s advisory planning commission for three years, he was elected as a councillor in 1992. He served for one year and was elected as mayor the next.
“It’s been good, it’s been enjoyable, there’s a lot of good things that have happened in Langford,” he said. “I’ve had a great council and it has been productive.”
As for who might step up were he to not run again, Young said two councillors’ names have come up: Denise Blackwell and Lillian Szpak.
When asked about whether she would run for mayor, Szpak said: “I have always said that it’s a privilege to serve my community as councillor for the city of Langford and when asked, have said I do not have aspirations to serve as mayor.”
For her part, Coun. Denise Blackwell said: “I have always said, when asked, that I would not run against Stew. However, if he doesn’t run, I will consider it. It’s a little early to say for sure, though.”
