Abbotsford election: November, 2014, vote Peachey for Council.
By Gerda Peachey. So to condense 70 years into a few sentences.
Born in Holland, just at the end of WW2. Dad took the family to Canada in 1950, the same year my wonderful future husband was born, in Vancouver.
Grew up in southern Ontario. Got a job with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, in St. Catharines, and transferred out West with my best friend Cory.
The greatest event of my entire life was when I gave my life to Jesus Christ in 1969. Took a year of Bible College in ’74, and then a year of university transfer courses at Langara, with teaching as my goal. (Math got in the way)
Married Richard in 1976 and he finished his bachelor of Theology, while pastoring a small group of Christians in Lions Bay. Our daughter was born in 1979 and continues to bring tremendous joy to our lives as she and her family still live in Abbotsford.
Both Rich and I continued with college and university over the years. He quit his bank job some 20 years ago and got a bachelor of science. We’ve just finished his first year of retirement from teaching, mostly math and science in District 34, as a teacher on call. Contrary to all my friend’s dire warnings about how awful it is to have a retired husband, this has been a wonderful year.
I really love nature, so took a few years of Horticulture at UCFV, setting up my own small-scale landscaping business. I still help friends with their gardens.
I’ve had a lot of free time to follow my interests during these years, because my husband was quite happy to work so that I could be home for our child. That has allowed me to study political science, philosophy, history, economics and to generally engage myself in issues that I consider important.
Rich and I belong to the Rock and Gem club, the Naturalists, and a music group that jams at local coffee houses.
The two of us bring our guitars to the Menno Home/Hospital and sing there several times a week.
I have been enriched by my volunteer time at women’s prison, for the past 12 years, mostly doing citizen escort to the many groups that exist to help people out of their addictions. For the last 2 years I had enormous pleasure in showing women just how much fun and pleasure the guitar can bring to their lives. Three of those women formed a band.
Democracy, while imperfect is the finest form of government on earth, so I think it worth my time and energy to be informed, and engaged in politics.
Locally, I think our current council has made some very poor decisions. Local government should confine itself to issues that pertain to our communal needs. Our local taxes should be spent on roads, sewer, water, parks, police, skating rinks and pools for our families. That sort of thing.
Municipal mayors and councils have no business dabbling in big business and big entertainment, for which they have no expertise. Our city council has lost enormous amounts of hard-earned tax dollars on vanity projects, while depleting the public purse of money that should be there for infrastructure needs, and buffer money for ‘rainy’ days.
City council must make by-laws that are sensible, achievable and enforceable, the latter being a colossal failure here. I have tried, largely in vain, to address the obvious disparity of the uneven enforcement of our laws, over the past few decades.
Abbotsford needs to vote for nine individuals who treat the publics money with the care they would their own bank accounts. The nine council members should be informed, intelligent and courageous public servants.
I’m really hoping to see a better council in place after the November election.