An early contender has emerged for a Vancouver City Council seat held by Bill Turlay. Turlay has not yet indicated whether he intends to run for a second term in November.
Ty Stober, a self-described community leader and advocate for youth, equality and protecting the vulnerable, announced his candidacy Tuesday for council Position 6. According to his campaign’s press release, he advises businesses on the marketing and adoption of energy-saving technology.
“What I want to bring is a clear, consistent voice of vision of where we’re going,” Stober said. “The council has done a lot of work around creating a vision, and I’m excited about what they’ve done. We’re still missing opportunities to be communicating that to the people of Vancouver.”
Stober, 44, said he aims to use his business and technology background to bring good-paying jobs and companies to town to create a sustainable future for Vancouver’s economy. He also wants to create and support safe, healthy neighborhoods and opportunities for kids, families and at-risk populations.
Stober decided to run against Turlay because “there’s a difference in focus,” he said.
“I think that we need to be talking about the potentials for the future, and I think there’s a lot of issues Bill talks about that I don’t think are beneficial to the community,” he said, offering the example of climate change, one of Turlay’s frequent topics.
Turlay, who expects to make an announcement next month regarding his political plans, believes natural factors contribute to climate change to a much greater extent than human behavior. Elected in 2011, Turlay said he anticipates other challengers for his seat as well, given that politicians are more vulnerable at the end of their first terms.
City council positions are part-time and pay $1,800 per month.
This is Stober’s third run for public office. In 2013, he ran for Vancouver City Council Position 2, now held by Alishia Topper, but he lost in the primary. In 2012, he announced his intent to run as a Democrat for the 49th District state Senate seat vacated by Craig Pridemore. Later, Stober dropped out of the race.
Stober said in the two years since he lost his council bid, he’s worked to boost his name recognition and develop relationships in the community.
“You’ll be seeing my name around town much sooner in this election than in the last election,” he said.
Stober, who has lived in Vancouver for 20 years, has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Puget Sound and a master’s in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is looking for work in the technology industry in Vancouver after being laid off from his job at the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance last fall.
A resident of the Hough neighborhood, Stober has led local efforts for redevelopment and improving neighborhood safety, according to his press release. He has served on numerous boards, including the City Charter Review Commission, Equal Rights Washington and Clark County’s Daybreak Youth Services.
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