Creative spaces Fun and funky offices help attract professionals. Page 7 School rally Parents hope to reverse decision to close Cedar schools. Page B1 gallery installation Brothers collaborate on new exhibit. Page 3
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ThuRsDAY, sePTeMBeR 19, 2013
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Manager draws on gridiron lessons Ted Swabey takes over top job at City of Nanaimo By Tamara Cunningham The News BulleTiN
A
young Ted Swabey hung his head low as he faced his father on the gridiron of a private boarding school. It was his father’s alma mater, and the same field where he had played football before heading to Princeton University. Swabey wanted the same kind of opportunity and after a season-long losing streak, saw the final game as his last chance to impress scouts. Instead he suffered another heartbreaking loss. It’s all there in black and white in the office of Nanaimo’s new top bureaucrat. The old photograph is a reminder of how dejected he felt that day and his father’s advice that the game was just the beginning – that he needed to persevere instead of letting the loss get him down, Swabey said. “I ended up getting scholarships to the U.S. and Canada so it did all work out,” said Swabey, who went on to play college football. “I think that was my dad’s point. There are ups and downs in everything you do ... [but] if you put in effort and time things will work out.”
CHRIS BUSH/THe NewS BUlleTIN
Ted Swabey took over as city manager earlier this month. He met with reporters in his office to outline his plans and goals for the coming years.
It’s a lesson Swabey plans to use as he makes his mark on city hall. The new city manager took over the helm earlier this month from longtime manager Al Kenning, with plans to invest time in building relationships within the organization and change public perception around who’s in charge. His appointment comes
Quality & Service at Budget Prices Wisecrack Of The Week
Procrastination is the solution so don’t put it off.
on the heels of criticism that senior employees have become more powerful than council and a recent review that red flagged negative internal issues as undermining attempts at good governance. In a far-reaching discussion with media, Swabey said he expects there will be challenges ahead in taking over management
of about 650 employees, including building trust among staff members, crafting a new budget process and potentially restructuring city hall. “The starting point is the relationship building and trust building and I don’t think [those are] insurmountable issues to deal with,” he said. “I think dealing with the cultural issues first will help – ensuring that my role is seen for what it is.” “[We] need to make sure we always recognize who is in control and that’s council.” Swabey has been working at the City of Nanaimo for the past 23 years, climbing the corporate ladder from a counter clerk to economic development, protective services, and community safety and development. He understands the organization and its culture – tools that will help him move the corporation forward, he said. A top goal will be in turning the attention away from the city manager, who he says has received undue focus as a significant power player. Swabey said he’ll begin changing perceptions around city leadership by emphasizing more strongly his supporting role to council and checking in with elected officials more often about priorities, improvements for community engagement and potential reorganization at city hall. u See ‘SIGNIFICANT’ /10
VOl. 25, NO. 50
Reconciliation Week offers chance to heal By meliSSa Fryer The News BulleTiN
Tolerance is not enough for Doug White, chief of Snuneymuxw First Nation. It’s not enough for aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians to simply stop fighting and walk back to their respective corners. He sees a future in which engagement is sought, where concern for others’ well being is paramount and all work together to heal the dark history that plagues Canada’s relationship with its indigenous people. “Things aren’t going to really change until we engage with the hearts of Canadians,” White said. “It’s going to be Canadians reconciliaTion evenTS themselves – not at Vancouver island lawyers and politiuniversity on Friday cians.” (sept. 20) include movie It’s Reconciliascreening at 9 a.m., tion Week in Canfollowed by discussion, ada, and while the then procession from focus is mainly on the Gathering Place sharing and com(Bldg. 170) to the ing to terms with library at noon. what happened in residential schools, issues like poverty, children in care and violence still plague First Nations today. Aboriginals face lack of access to potable water – Snuneymuxw reserves were connected to the municipal water supply last year – grinding poverty leading to alcoholism and domestic violence, and what White describes as a crisis for child welfare with more than half the children in care aboriginal. “It’s effectively become normalized,” he said. But change is happening. Reconciliation Week came out of the 2008 apology from the federal government over physical, sexual and emotional abuse perpetrated at residential schools. White notes it was a Snuneymuxw man who attended the Port Alberni school who was the first to file a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse. “That was the spark that lit the fire across the country,” White said. u See ‘ABORIGINAL’ /4
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