Jeff Bateman
Jeff Bateman has confirmed he’s running for election to the District of Sooke Council.
A professional copywriter who has operated a local, home-based business since 2003, Bateman also volunteers as president of the Sooke Transition Town Society and as a board member with the EMCS Society and the Sooke Farmland Trust Society.
“I’ve met many spirited individuals through my roles here in Sooke, and I’ve been genuinely inspired by their visions for our community,” says Bateman. “Now I’m ready to engage respectfully with council and staff in addressing our growing pains as a young municipality in a realistic, fiscally responsible fashion. This is already a rare and special place to live, but who knows what we can do for Sooke with positivity, imagination, hard work and good humour.”
As part of Transition Sooke’s core team since 2010, Bateman has been networking with a global movement promoting resilient lifestyles rooted in thriving hometown communities. He took a lead role in the recent campaign to add a plebiscite question to the November ballot regarding oil tanker traffic in Juan de Fuca Strait.
Bateman was a public appointee to both the District of Sooke Community Grants Committee and the Economic Development Commission in 2012, and was a founding director of the Sooke Slow Food Cycle. He volunteers his time and social media expertise to Awareness Film Night, Sooke Region Food CHI and Ahimsa Sooke Yoga & Wellness, among other local organizations. The 58 year-old’s one experience with politics to date was as campaign manager in Alanda Carver’s 2011 bid for JDF regional director.
“My wife Carolyn and I live, work, shop and socialize locally,” says Bateman. “We’ve come to truly cherish this unique, imperfectly perfect little town. Now I’m keen to play a role in the next stage of its evolution.”