INSIDE

Voters group begins renaissance

By Meg Olson

After another slump in participation the Point Roberts Registered Voters’ Association has a brand new board and is hoping to reconnect with its roots.

“We’re trying to breathe new life into the organization to get some community cohesion here,” said Holly Malysh at the group’s April 19 annual general meeting at the Gulf Road community center.

Malysh opened the meeting by leading the pledge of allegiance and talking about the group’s history. In 1973, she explained, the group was formed to provide an official voice for local voters opposed to turning Point Roberts into an international park, which was studied by an international joint commission in 1973 and 1974. Thanks in part to strong lobbying by the association, Malysh said, the proposal did not move forward. “Who knows, they might try and do it again,” she said, “so we need to be here.”

There were not enough people among the two dozen members attending to fill the nine empty spots on the association board but a group of eight prospects was put together from some present at the meeting and suggestions of possible candidates from others in attendance.

Several members emphasized that the association needed to remain what it was founded to be: an association for registered voters. “That was the original intent,” Malysh said. “We represent registered voters who are members of our association. It was never supposed to be a community organization to get all the Canadians and everyone all together.”

Responding to a suggestion that the group would be more successful if it were more broadly representative of the community, Ruby White, a founder of the organization, harked back to the days when the group needed federal help to keep their town from becoming an international park. “By the skin of our teeth we were able to overthrow it,” she said, and only because elected officials were responsive to U.S. voters. “This is the only organization that can legitimately go to all three levels of government. It’s like an insurance policy.”

The guest speaker at the voters meeting was outgoing port director Chris Demello, who said they were already seeing heralds of summer in the form of more traffic volume at the border.

“I’m trying to find ways to not compromise security but facilitate legitimate trade and travel,” he said.

“Even with hoped for staffing increases as we move into the busier season” Demello said he was fairly certain he would not be able to operate a cargo lane or an extra lane on Saturdays if they also went forward with a plan to post staff at the marina, but different combinations of services on different days to meet demand in each area might be possible. “I’m not going to be able to handle it simultaneously,” he said.

“Crossing the border would be faster for everyone if travelers had identification and proof of citizenship ready,” Demello said, adding “There are some new faces and they are also mandated to assure people have ID.”

Demello dashed hopes for longer NEXUS hours this summer, saying he had studied traffic patterns and “the principle traffic hours are exactly as we have set up with the NEXUS lane. I can’t expand the hours.” If NEXUS users want longer hours, he said, the port needs more manpower.

White asked if there could be leniency offered to those who were denied NEXUS because of minor infractions or old offenses. “Some people were wild in the 60s but now they’re old and bald,” she said. Demello said he was not in a position to discuss details but he understood that “there is an intention at some point in time to expand the facilitation of legitimate trade and travel.” Loosening of NEXUS restrictions could be part of that effort.

(Ed. Note: Due to an editing error, this article did not appear in the May issue.)