By Cheryl Jahn

Meet the Mayor-Elect

Oct 27, 2022 | 4:02 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – “I just didn’t know I was so loved. Thank you, Prince George. I’m just so moved. I just wish Elroy were here to watch this.”

That was an emotional and slightly overwhelmed Simon Yu on election after running away with the mayoral race. Nearly two weeks later, he still feels like he’s in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

“It’s overwhelming. Because it’s still very much in awe. The size of the win. The mandate I received from the people,” says Yu. “I thought I might have a chance, right? But to win in this fashion is a very humbling experience.”

And soon, he will be at the head of a corporation with 750 employees and a $144-million budget. For the past week, Mayor and Council-Elect have been in orientation. Learning the ropes. And for a novice to municipal politics, it will be steep learning curve.

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And he has a familial connection to City Hall.

“My father-in-law was Elroy Garden. He was a legend in town,” says Yu. “There’s a park, a street named after him. He was a Councillor here for many years. He taught me a few things about municipal politics.”

Yu has been a businessman in the city for years and says he plans to stick to his plan of getting things done, to be accessible and accountable.

“I want also want to be remembered as action-oriented. Personally, I don’t like having meetings for the sake of a meeting, or discuss files. I do not like to re-packaging problems.”

The Mayor-Elect, five returning, and three new Councillors will be sworn in during the inaugural meeting on November 7th and then the real work begins.