A self-described former ski and mountain biking bum with a degree in chemical engineering, is challenging incumbent Leslie Baird for the Cumberland mayor’s chair
Eduardo Uranga is running for mayor of Cumberland because he believes the current mayor and council have failed the village.
“I believe that the current administration is not serving the residents of Cumberland, and me in particular, and there is complete chaos on how our tax dollars are spent, too much debt, too large expense accounts, too large payroll, too many chiefs and not enough Indians,” he told Decafnation via email.
Uranga said the lack of action by incumbent Mayor Leslie Baird is making the village “a very inhospitable place.”
He says the village’s wastewater management plan, devised with consultant Paul Nash, doesn’t provide a solution that will comply with the Ministry of Environment regulations. He says the village’s recent upgrades to its drinking water system is “a waste of money and totally unnecessary.”
And although Mayor Baird voted with council to ban all wood burning devices in new construction, Uranga accuses her of denying there is an air quality problem.
Uranga said if he’s elected he would have a “lagoon-less, self-contained sewer treatment plant … in operation and in compliance by the end of 2019.” Plus, he said, village taxes would be lower.
Uranga, who was born in Mexico City in 1954 and came to Canada in 1982, says he has “been connected to the Comox Valley for 37 years.”
He has a degree in chemical engineering. He’s worked for Club Med, was a self-described ski bum for nine years in Colorado, Austria and Whistler, and a mountain biking bum for four years in Squamish. He says he’s had “many professional experiences.”
He describes himself as a “climate change warrior” who was once homeless and has a “Ruth Masters degree in shit disturbing.”
“I am committed to working on behalf of all residents of Cumberland. I will take the directions indicated by the majority after the priorities are established by the community in a referendum for major decisions and surveys when opinions are appropriate,” he said.