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Vandalism doesn’t damage accomplishments: Giuliano
City of Fernie Mayor Mary Giuliano’s campaign for re-election was vandalized the evening of Oct. 10.
A collection of her campaign signs, damaged, were deposited in front of Fernie City Hall, prompting the two-term mayor and before that three-term city councillor to note she doesn’t need signs for recognition, opting instead to point at all she has accomplished as an elected official.
“I would be horrified if anyone I knew could commit a federal crime by removing campaign signs that belonged to any of the other people running in this Fernie election. I have always stated that Fernie people are the best. I still believe this to be true so to whoever has done this I can tell you honestly that I don’t need signs to have recognition,” Giuliano stated on social media, turning an insult and violation into an opportunity to campaign.
“I am proud of what I have initiated and accomplished in this town, I am proud of the volunteer work I have done to the benefit of many including business, politicians, sports, and so many others with all the years I hosted and produced a TV show.
“I am proud of the initiatives I put forward like beautification, saving the oil derrick, coordinating the Miners’ Walk, dumpster program, and health care such as the dialysis unit, changes to home support delivery, keeping the operation room open, helping to organize all those demonstrations, bringing attention to highway maintenance, getting a Lizard Creek bridge replacement and a wildlife corridor just to name a few.”
The city’s Regional District of East Kootenay board of directors’ representative also pointed out she recently negotiated a two-year grace period for West Fernie residents regarding reducing costs with the removal of septic systems.
“I have done these and many other things to benefit residents of Fernie because I love this town. I decided to run again so I can keep doing more because I know I can make things happen due to my experience and the connections I have built with influential people over the years,” she stated.
“I have heard people want change. If so then this is an election and you can use your vote to effect that change. Perhaps you should also decide what the change is going to be that you want to see happen because Fernie has never been busier or more vibrant than it has been in the past seven years under my leadership. Perhaps the change you want to see is that Fernie reverts back to the days when the downtown was half boarded up and there was nowhere to go if you were a teenager or an adult,” Giuliano said, adding, “I know because I was raised in this town when it was just like that. A deserted downtown that as more than one person said ‘you could shoot a cannon down the street and it wouldn’t hit anything.’
“I love Fernie as it is now; busy, vital and offering so much more than any other town of its size. I’ d like to see it continue to grow by having more innovative solutions to affordable housing, addition of child care spaces, more office and retail space.
“So to the persons who destroyed my signs and turned them into garbage, what you did doesn’t destroy what I have accomplished for this town I love, what it does do is show the world the kind of person that you are, because if ever caught you have committed a very serious criminal offence punishable by law,” Mayor Giuliano concluded.
“It is horrible that people feel the need to destroy signs. That is why it is a crime. It doesn’t undo the work you have done for your community,” said outgoing RDEK Electoral Area F Director and vice chair Wendy Booth in a response to Giuliano.
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