Four years ago, Andrew Leonard was elected Mayor of Bowen Island. Now, as another municipal election approaches, we sat down to talk about what those four years have taught him — about Bowen, about local government, and about being mayor.

It has been a consequential term. Bowen has wrestled with a campground proposal, housing and affordability, ferry congestion, aging infrastructure, water supply, environmental protection and reconciliation, while undertaking a major update of the Official Community Plan that will help shape how — and where — the island grows.

We talk about what Andrew is proud of, what he might do differently, and what remains unfinished. We also explore some of the harder questions facing the next Council: How much can Bowen realistically take on? How do we balance what people want with what we can afford and deliver? What should our relationship with the Islands Trust look like? What should guide our decisions about growth when questions about water and infrastructure remain? What does reconciliation require of a small municipality? And how do seven independently elected people work together when they don't always agree?

This is a conversation about the choices Bowen Island will be making over the next four years — and the kind of community we want to become.


Note: This episode is transcribed using Musixmatch, an AI platform with some limited editing capability.


The Bowen Island Podcast is produced in a small cabin in the woods on Bowen Island, on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw — the Squamish Nation — with gratitude for their stewardship of these lands and waters over countless generations.

If you’d like to explore more of my work on conversation, community and polarization, you can find me on other broadcast/podcast platforms, including The Conversation Lab, Everything Podcasts.com, Central City Foundations Hope Dialogue, or on Substack. 

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