Victoria Councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe has announced she will not be seeking re-election in the upcoming municipal election, after serving on council for 20 years.
Thornton-Joe was first elected to council in 2002, and has served on several community boards including Victoria Women’s Transition House, the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, the Victoria Chinatown Lioness, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the Victoria Police Diversity Committee, and the Lion’s Society for Children with Disabilities.
“I never expected to serve on Council for 20 years! However, there was always so much work to be done (and still is),” Thornton-Joe said in an open letter to Victoria residents. “It’s been a privilege to serve the people of Victoria for the past 20 years and to have had the opportunity to hear what was important to them.”
She says while she feels there are some reasons she may want to run again, there are more reasons to not run again.
“I am now looking forward to focusing on other aspects of my life that have had to take a back seat in the last 20 years and to continuing to serve the community in other ways,” Thornton-Joe said in the letter.
“These include my health, time with family, opportunities to do more and extensive travel, to focus on the new Chinese Canadian Museum Fan Tan Alley exhibit, to read the many books I have collected through the years, spend more time in my garden, and much, much more.”
This makes three Victoria councillors who have announced they will not seek re-election.
Mayor Lisa Helps and Coun. Sharmarke Dubow have previously announced they do not intend to run in the upcoming election.
The 2022 General Local Elections will be held on October 15, 2022.
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