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I’m Kevin Snaden. I was raised in Cumberland, built my career outside the Valley, and returned home in 2017 because I wanted my children to grow up with the same sense of community that shaped my life.
I’m Kevin Snaden. I was raised in Cumberland, built my career outside the Valley, and returned home in 2017 because I wanted my children to grow up with the same sense of community that shaped my life.
I’m running for Council to help look after the village we have and make thoughtful decisions about its future.
I’m running for Council to help look after the village we have and make thoughtful decisions about its future.
Cumberland has always been home
Cumberland has always been home
My family’s connection to Cumberland goes back to my grandparents. My grandfather came to the Comox Valley during the early days of the air base and would come to Cumberland for dances at the Recreation Hall. My grandparents eventually built a home here, beginning a family connection to Cumberland that continues today.
I grew up in Cumberland, attending Cumberland Elementary and Cumberland Junior before continuing to GP Vanier Secondary and studying Computer Information Systems at North Island College.
Growing up meant riding our bikes through the forest to Whyte’s Bay for a swim, followed by the uphill ride home in wet shorts. It meant parades, dancing around the maypole, swimming at the old Village Park pool and hanging on to the school’s merry-go-round. I remember former coal miners visiting our classrooms and telling us what life underground had been like.
In high school, other kids sometimes called our village “Scumberland.” There were jokes about locking your doors and rolling up your windows when driving through.
Cumberland was a working-class village, with loggers, blue-collar workers and families getting by on modest incomes. Artists and creative people were always part of it, too. We had a strong identity and a bit of an underdog mentality. Cumberland kids stuck together, and I was proud to be one of them.
A community that looked after each other
A community that looked after each other
When people say it takes a village to raise a child, I think of Cumberland.
It was a neighbour helping when you wiped out on your bike. People donating to build the “Big Toy” at Village Park in the early 1990s. Someone spotting you on Dunsmuir in a snowstorm, carrying groceries from Marocchi’s, and giving you a ride home.
It was also people rallying to protect the Community Forest and preserve something important for the generations that would follow.
That connection has lasted into adulthood. When someone loses their home to a fire or faces a serious illness, people we grew up with still contribute and help each other. There is a common bond in having grown up here and learned to look after one another.
Experience beyond Cumberland
Experience beyond Cumberland
My career spans nearly 20 years in procurement, supply chain, process improvement and enterprise asset management.
For more than seven years, I worked as an IBM consultant supporting major Canadian organizations in energy, utilities, mining and aerospace. Earlier in my career, I provided leadership to a team of 25 procurement professionals.
That experience taught me to ask questions, understand how systems fit together and think beyond the initial cost of a decision. Buying or building something is only the beginning. Operating, maintaining and eventually replacing it need to be part of the plan.
Municipal government isn't a corporation, and I don't think it should be run like one. But good information, thoughtful planning, accountability and asking the right questions matter in any organization.
I want to bring that same care and preparation to Council, where decisions affect both public finances and people’s everyday lives.
Why I came home
Why I came home
I returned to Cumberland in 2017 because I knew the kind of childhood I wanted for my children.
I wanted them to have good schools, neighbours who knew them and a community that helped look after them. I wanted them to ride their bikes in the forest, enjoy Halloween and experience the feeling of safety and belonging I remember growing up.
I also want them to understand the place they call home: its coal-mining roots, logging history, difficult years and the people who worked to preserve its history, forests and traditions. The cabins at the lake, Empire Days and soapbox racing are all part of that story.
Today, my two children attend Cumberland Community School. Raising them here gives me a personal stake in the decisions we make for the village’s future.
Proud of where we’ve come from
Proud of where we’ve come from
Cumberland has changed considerably since my childhood. As housing has become more expensive and the village has attracted new residents, the community’s makeup has changed too. Many familiar faces have moved on. I miss some things, including the quiet downtown streets on weekends.
There are also changes I appreciate. The skate park is used by children, teenagers and adults. Cumberland Community School and the extracurricular activities supported by our community give children opportunities to learn and participate. Our downtown is busy, and it is encouraging to see businesses become longstanding parts of village life.
I want my children to know how Cumberland became the place it is today, including the difficult years and the people who kept working to make things better.
My pride in Cumberland didn’t begin when it became a popular place to be. It comes from growing up here and knowing the community behind the reputation.
Staying involved in my community
Staying involved in my community
I serve on the Village of Cumberland Board of Variance and North Island College’s Program Advisory Committee.
I read Council agendas and reports, attend meetings and research local issues. I enjoy digging into an issue, challenging my initial assumptions and seeing where the evidence leads. I try to be conscious of my own biases because sometimes the more you research, the more your view changes.
I also find Cumberland’s institutional knowledge and public record fascinating. Some of the challenges we are dealing with today were being discussed in Village documents and newspaper archives 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. Understanding that history can help us ask better questions before making the next decision.
Through Cumberland Matters, I try to take that research and explain municipal issues in straightforward language. People shouldn’t need to read hundreds of pages of reports to understand what their local government is doing. Clear information helps residents ask better questions and have a meaningful say in decisions affecting our village.
Why I'm running now
Why I'm running now
I’ve considered serving on Council for several years. With my children a little older and more time spent following Village business, I’m ready to put my experience to work.
I want us to look after the roads, water systems, sewer, drainage and public facilities we depend on. I want decisions to account for the costs of maintaining and replacing what we build, and I want residents to understand the choices Council is making.
Cumberland will continue to change. I want to help us manage that change carefully, preserve what matters and leave a strong community for the children growing up here today.
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