Although Coun. Garth Frizzell didn't land a spot on the executive, Prince George is still positioned to have its voice heard in upcoming Federation of Canadian Muncipalities (FCM) discussions.
Frizzell was in the running for the third vice-president position during the organization's annual general meeting in Saskatoon over the weekend but didn't come home empty handed. He was voted back to the eight-person board of directors representing B.C.
"It was reassuring that after having not made it through on the third vice-president [election], they did re-elect me as a board member to continue on the work I've been doing," Frizzell said.
Vancouver's Raymond Louie was elected into the third vice-president spot and will become FCM president in three years.
"[The FCM] certainly speaks nationally, but to have somebody so close to home that you've got access to, to be able to champion for you, is a real opportunity for us," said Mayor Shari Green.
Green said many of the issues discussed at the conference and within the big city mayors' caucus were echoed at last month's inaugural B.C. Mayors' Caucus.
"It was great to hear that the very things that cities in B.C. are challenged with, and the mayors got together to discuss, is being discussed across the country," Green said.
These challenges all relate to aging infrastructure and how to pay to fix it in the nation's communities. Heading into the conference, also attended by councillors Cameron Stolz and Frank Everitt, the concern was for the federal infrastructure funding agreements set to expire in 2014.
But the federal minister in charge said there would be something in its place.
"I got to sit down and ask federal Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel directly what his vision was for infrastructure in the future," said Frizzell. "He said there's not going to be a break in 2014, but what that's going to look like in 2014 is a big concern for us."
To that end, the FCM is launching a campaign to to remind MPs of the challenges muncipalities are facing.
"We'll be looking that over and seeing how we can apply it locally," Frizzell said. "The full-court press is going to be on."
Conference attendees also had the ears of other federal leaders, including Green Party leader Elizabeth May, interim Liberal leader Bob Rae and NDP leader Tom Mulcair.
"The federal focus of this, the national focus of this problem was very evident. It was the topic of conversation everywhere," Green said.
