After being frustrated with the current Creston town council’s direction, local entrepreneur Jim Rota has thrown his hat into the mayoral race.
Rota has deep roots in the community, starting with his father, Leonardo Salvatore (Sam) Rota, who created the first garbage collection service in Creston and sold it to the town.
He says he has a 40-year career in business, science, and technology with experience in sales and manufacturing.
He says he decided to run after a bit of a run-in with the current administration in Creston
“As a local entrepreneur and commercial property developer, I was told on three separate occasions several years apart from three separate individuals who work for the town their ubiquitous authoritative message that ‘We are watching you’ and I thought this was rather odd and ominous and sounded a little too much like George Orwell’s 1984 or like the 1950s Stepford Wives and was simply too authoritative for me to stomach for very long.”
He says the recent years of “ridiculous external globalism forces, the like of pandemic masks, vaccines, business closures, skyrocketing property values” and more were just more fuel added to the fire.
“As a commercial property developer, I was also being asked to pay big money $50,000 and receive nothing in return. [That’s] extortion.”
He adds an encounter with a local by-law officer added even more reasons to run.
“Years later, as an entrepreneur of another spontaneous big idea summertime project, I was secretly being filmed while ticketed for not having a business license, on my property by the by-law officer, without my knowledge. [That’s] invasion of my privacy. ”
Rota says he has three main running points.
No. 1, he says the removal of property tax is necessary.
“I believe the property tax system (current funding model) is obsolete and is prone to be influenced by internal factors, like a natural desire to spend capital expenditure on mega projects that benefit the community and external forces or factors [like] skyrocketing property values, globalism, communism, federalism, Vancouver-ism, and more.”
He would like the future funding of the town needs to “become more like a pay-for-service based system.”
No. 2, he would like to curtail any more implementation of “globalist or communist bylaws,” outside of following building codes.
“We are here as a resource to help you succeed instead of penalizing you for non-compliance.”
Lastly, he would like to protect the “laissez-faire life living lifestyle.”
“Citizens are free to do whatever they want on their properly. After all, it is your money to spend, not ours.”
When he’s not running for mayor, Rota says he has many interests, including art, writing, and music. He has produced his own rock/pop album and two independent albums. He’s also reinvented the periodic table for chemistry, which he has dubbed the Rota Period.
He says he loves living in Creston and it’s a paradise to call home year-round.
“I have a better and bigger plan for the future that does not involve spying on citizens or fining them for breaking stupid rules, or practicing extortion upon naive commercial developers or following stupid globalist ideals.
“I have a plan for a much bigger and better future.”
Rota is one of three candidates running for mayor. Arnold DeBoon and Nora Maddocks will be running against him come general election day on Oct. 15.