It’s fair to say that Nick Goreas is in a unique position to have his finger on the pulse of Princeton.
As the owner of Little Creek Grill at the corner of Bridge Street and Highway 3, he chats with customers every day.
“Because our restaurant is positioned where it is we have a lot of locals come in and we have a tonne of tourists come in. I hear from some what their needs are, and also from the tourists I hear the question: ‘What is there to do here?’…A lot of them are positive and a lot of them are negative and I figured if I want to change something I have to be willing to help with the change.”
While this is Goreas’ first foray into the political ring, he has a long history of volunteering.
He was the provincial emergency coordinator for Princeton for 12 years, and served the same amount of time on the highway rescue crew. He was also a volunteer firefighter for five years and when he lived in Kelowna he was instrumental in the opening of a Hellenic school.
Goreas moved to Princeton in the late 1980’s to help his father run the restaurant, then called Santos. He sold the business in 2005 and moved to Kelowna where he was the general manager of a landscape construction company employing more than 100 people.
When the restaurant building - which his family still owned - became vacant again in 2012, he returned with his family and renamed the venture.
“The return was greeted very well by the local people and we’ve been here ever since.”
Unlike some of the other 14 candidates for council, Goreas said he’s overall pleased with the performance of the current administration.
“There’s a lot of good people on council right now but I think it should change every few years just for fresh ideas.”
Goreas’ wife Renee is First Nations, and his daughter Alexandra is Metis. He would like to work for greater co-operation with - and a higher profile for - Indigenous people.
“I also believe we need some more low income housing, to attract families to move here so they can afford to buy a house.”
He is interested in expanding health services in Princeton with a focus on mental health.
While initially he thought he would run on a platform to tidy up the KVR, in an actual rather than a political sense, he told The Spotlight “I think now it’s more to move forward with a lot of decisions the council has made.”
Goreas called the debate over motorized use of the KVR “not an issue that should get you elected or not..I’m not going to get into the fight.
“Of course I would like to see a multi-use trail but whether that’s attainable legally I don’t know,” he added, stating liability issues might come into play should someone get injured.
He is in favor of the proposed indoor pool. “I’m not sure if you have to spend $27 million on it, but obviously they did their homework. I do like the location for the fact that a lot of seniors and youth would be in the central area.”
He believes his business background is good training for a seat on council.
“I have always had a business mentality, watching dollars and cents.”
Ultimately Goreas does not support an over throw of the sitting council. “I think that we need some of the old council in and some of the new council.”
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