No 'pot queen' here says Nelson's new mayor Deb Kozak
By Suzy Hamilton
She’s not the queen of pot.
Speculations that pro-cannabis Sensible BC delivered the winning votes to Nelson mayor elect Deb Kozak “couldn’t be further from the truth,” she said. “I’m not a pot queen.”
But she didn’t discount that Sensible BC had an impact on the final tally in the Nelson municipal election November 15.
And she acknowledged that current anti-cannabis legislation “isn’t working. We totally need to have another look at this.”
The long time councilor, first elected in 2005 and was re-elected in 2008 and 2011, edged out incumbent mayor John Dooley by less than 300 votes and challenger Pat Severyn to become the first woman to serve as mayor since the city incorporated in 1897.
“I don’t think that Sensible BC pulled that 300,” she said. “They came out really late in the day and they did not drive my campaign.”
However, hundreds of automated calls were made on her behalf from Sensible BC the week before the election, with some personal phone as well, said Sensible BC organizer Dana Larsen.
The pro-legalization organization gathered thousands of names across the province a year ago in a failed attempt to earn enough names provincially to put the issue on a ballot.
However, Nelson met its quota and is considered a stronghold for the movement in the province.
Now Sensible BC hopes to convert that data into votes at the ballot box and Nelson is considered a success story in the municipal elections, to be continued in the upcoming federal elections.
“We endorsed quite a few candidates,” said Larsen, “but we focused on Nelson.”
The endorsement came as a result of a questionnaire sent to all the mayoral candidates.
Candidates Pat Severyn and Deb Kozak came away with high marks.
But a poll conducted by Sensible BC revealed that Kozak had a better chance of beating incumbent mayor John Dooley.
“We called every land line in Nelson with a recorded message asking who they planned on voting for,” said Larsen. “Although the results aren’t scientific, they were very consistent.”
Dooley had the most support with 30%, but Kozak was a strong second place with 24%, while Severyn was lagging behind at 16%. There was a large block of undecided voters at 30%.
Kozak didn’t seek Sensible BC’s support. She didn’t even answer the questions.
“I didn’t fill it out, but I sent a paragraph saying this (criminalization) isn’t working. We have far more important things to be dealing with. “
Whether or not Sensible BC provided the final blow for Kozak would probably never be known for sure, said Sensible BC local organizer Herb Couch. “Absolutely we had an impact, but we were one of many factors.”
Couch said that Sensible BC’s campaign to oust John Dooley came as a result of rising arrests for simple possession of cannabis since he became mayor.
“In 2003 when Dave Elliott was mayor there were two arrests. From 2006 to 2011 we saw a drastic increase to 117,” said Couch.
“We wanted to defeat Dooley because arrests had gone up and we want to make marijuana arrests the lowest priority for the police.”
Although statistics are not available for arrests since 2011, Nelson City Police Cst. Paul Burkhart said arrests for simple possession have likely gone down since then.
“The trend for possession seems to be down and I suspect the arrests for possession for the purposes of trafficking are down for this year, too,” he said.
