Quietly caring for Creston

If it’s good for his community, Creston’s mayor supports it

by Marie Milner — December 16, 2015

Ron Toyota, mayor of Creston, B.C., is a flat-out fan of his community and the whole Kootenay region. — Photo courtesy Town of Creston

It’s unusual for a politician to be reproved for not talking enough, but that occasionally happens to Ron Toyota, mayor of Creston, B.C.

“If the topic is something I don’t know much about, I just listen,” Toyota said. “There’s no sense putting anything into the conversation if it’s not valid or factual. And if other people are talking and I agree with what they’re saying, I don’t have to talk again about it. It’s just my manner, and when I do talk, I have something of value to say.”

Mayor Toyota spoke quite freely with Kootenay Business when we called him with a few questions.

What have you learned about your community in the past year?

I’m now seven years in, and the fact that I’ve got a new council means that we’ve spent some time getting oriented and up to speed as a team. As mayor, it’s my responsibility to place the councillors on committees where they’re a good fit. You hope you have the right ingredients, because when you’re trying to develop a plan for every department and responsibility, it can get a little tough. In my case, it has worked out very well.

What have you learned about yourself this past year?

A year after the election, I can see that my experience in the past two terms has served me well in terms of the challenges of working with a new group of people. I was in business for 30 years, with stores in five Kootenay locations, so that gave me some good leadership experience as well.

What are your council’s main strengths?

Openness, wanting to learn and the ability to listen.

What do you think are important elements of a successful character?

Genuine open-mindedness, genuine willingness to listen—and those are not so easy to maintain when decisions need to be made. Also, willingness to do research is important. With today’s media, you don’t know if what’s being said is the truth—there are tons of inaccuracies out there, posing as fact. It’s part of what we, as leaders, are responsible for figuring out.

The other thing is being willing to compromise, finding the solution that will help the whole cause, even if it’s not 100 per cent what we would want personally. If it’s good for the community, then we have to learn to give a little.

If it were possible, what’s the project that you’d like to move ahead with right away?

First thing I’d like to focus on is the highway-Cook Street realignment project. It’s been an important item on our strategic plan for six years now. If we can parallel it onto Cook Street, then we can take all the heavy truck traffic four blocks off our main street. That’s my main goal, and we are making progress. It’s a huge project involving the Ministry of Transportation.

Last year, we had completion of Phase 1 of the highway realignment, and Phase 2 will take $20 to $30 million. If it can happen in the next three to five years, that would be great.

What’s the best advice you were ever given?

There was no one bolt of lightning that came out of the air and said, “This is what you’ve got to do!” I think it’s important to be open to new ideas and to learn from your experience, and we probably do more of that as we mature.

What’s a meaningful compliment you’ve received?

Someone told me that if people are not complaining, then they’re happy. People do come up to me on the street and say they like what we are doing as a council, and that’s a positive.

What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?

It’s not exactly a risk, but raising a family is certainly my greatest accomplishment. I have three children and five grandchildren; I’m still married to my one and only wife, and my kids are all married. Everything you do in life is a risk.

Do you have a favourite quote or inspirational theme?

Not really, but I guess mine would be "look for the good." It’s common today for the media to focus on the sensational and the negative, but I like to look for the good.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

I’m biased and prejudiced, but I believe I live in a community that’s tremendous and a valley that’s unbelievable, and I just want to continue to work and make sure that it progresses.