At the end of the day, Lyn Hall decided the time was right to walk away.
The two-term Prince George mayor announced during last night’s (Monday) city council meeting a third term was not in the cards for him with the municipal election set for October 15th.
Hall started his career in municipal politics in 2001 when after winning a seat as a School District 57 Trustee, spending 10 years on the board.
In 2011, he successfully ran for City Council and went on to win the Mayor’s seat in 2014 and 2018.
In an interview with MyPGNow.com, Hall stated the decision on whether or not to run again has been weighing on his mind since the holiday season.
“It’s always around Christmas time of an election year coming up that Lorrelle and I and the girls (Sidney and Jordan) would talk about what dad is going to do next. Are you going to run? We had that conversation and I had to struggle with it for four or five months and every time I thought I was ready, I needed more time to think about this.”
“For me, it was just the fact it was time. The timing was there and I’ve got other things that you would like to do and you reach a certain age where you start looking around and thinking wow, I better take advantage of some of the things I want to do.”
“You battle with the decision and once you have made it that is when my heart and mind met and once you do that, you weigh your options as to when you think it’s a good time to announce.”
Since taking the mayor’s chair in 2014, Hall enjoyed several highlights during his tenure including the completion of the Riverbend Manor Seniors Complex and the Marriott Hotel as well as two other additions.
“There was just a foundation when I took this on (the Marriott). I got together with partners and folks that were involved in that project and here we are today. I think too that we needed a new fire hall so we got Fire Hall One, which was really important and we needed a new pool so that ranks up there as well.”
Other memorable highlights include the 2015 Canada Winter Games, and 2022 World Women’s Curling Championship.
Hall also was one of the driving forces during the 2017 BC Wildfires, opening the door for evacuees in 100 Mile House and Williams Lake to come and stay for much of the summer season.
At its peak, PG had 11 thousand extra people living within city limits due to the blazes, many of whom were taken in by those who graciously offered their homes to those impacted.
However, it hasn’t been all rosy in the mayor’s chair for Hall.
He, along with the rest of council and city staff faced relentless criticism for how the George Street parkade project was handled.
The parkade was approved in tandem with a housing project in 2017, which eventually came to a price tag of over 34 million.
In December, an independent report found the final cost for the George Street Parkade was $22,458,437.
The original estimated cost was $12.6 million.
Hall admitted issues like that along with a pandemic sandwiched in, took its toll on him over the last two years.
“You know, I would get the odd phone call from people who were very, very upset with me, and those phone calls concerned me. When you are sitting there thinking about what your future is and what you may do tomorrow those kinds of thoughts have to be considered.”
“I understand people get very frustrated and I get it they are going to show their frustration in an email to me and that becomes part of the decision making and the conversation,” added Hall.
As for his advice on anyone looking to run, Hall said having the right mindset is key.
“It’s a seven-day a week job, 24 hours a day. You are always on. When I would go away on holidays, I would always take my phone because it’s important, that is the commitment and for anyone thinking about running out there, that is the commitment. If you don’t have that commitment, you will have a tough time.”
When asked if he’ll be settling for greener pastures elsewhere, Hall said that’s not his style.
“I am not going anywhere. We are not leaving. This is home and we have been here 30-plus years, which is in some respects not a long time – some people have been here longer than that but I am not leaving.”
“This is a great spot and we are going to hang out.”
Hall’s last day as mayor is November 7th.
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