Remembering Coquitlam Mayor Lou Sekora

He was a mayor, a city councillor, MP, immigration judge, and a seemingly indefatigable politician who made enemies, traded insults, and was called an icon.

Sekora died on Aug. 1 following a lengthy illness, according to a recently published obituary. He was 94.

The second youngest of 15 children, Sekora was born in Hafford, Sask., leaving farm life and heading to Vancouver where he worked in the food industry before starting his political career as a member of the Coquitlam school board.

Eventually dubbed “Loud Lou,” Mayor Richard Stewart remembered Sekora as “larger than life,” with a presence that filled the room.

“We have lost a Coquitlam icon,” Stewart wrote in a social media post.

“As mayor, Lou championed many things, including our city’s hosting of the B.C. Summer Games in 1991 – our Centennial year; Town Centre Stadium is part of the legacy of those games,” Stewart wrote.

Coun. Craig Hodge recalled Sekora pushing for a big celebration to mark Coquitlam’s first 100 years.

“He was mayor when the city changed from a district to a city, which meant a lot to him, especially at a time when the groundwork was being laid for the creation of the new City Centre,” Hodge wrote.

Stewart credited Sekora with the ditch elimination program, the prohibition of self-serve gas stations, and Coquitlam’s city hall moving from Maillardville to City Centre.

Sekora left the mayor’s office in 1998.

He was elected Liberal MP for Port Moody-Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam in a byelection.

His two-and-a-half year stint as a federal representative was marked by his efforts to establish a national organ donor registry, as well as numerous verbal spats with other officials.

Following a Reform MP’s lengthy speech accusing the Liberals of reducing the deficit by cutting benefits, Sekora interjected: “What about a brain transplant.”

Svend Robinson once called Sekora: “The loud mouth member from Coquitlam,” and a seemingly irate Reform MP called Sekora a “loser” who “got lucky in a byelection.”

In a discussion about the Nisga’a treaty and self-government, a fellow Liberal asked why the Reform Party wanted to: “usurp that proper jurisdictional ruling by the B.C. court?”

Sekora chimed in: “Because they are racist.”

He later withdrew the comment.

After losing his bid for re-election to Conservative MP James Moore, Sekora served as an immigration judge before returning to municipal politics.

In 2014, at the age of 82, Sekora challenged Stewart for the mayor’s chair.

“I know I can cut $5- to $10-million out of that budget very easy,” Sekora told the Tri-City News at the time, describing his work as: “trying to clean up the mess [Stewart] is leaving behind.”

The two had known each other since Stewart was a lifeguard and Sekora was an alderman (city councillor) in the 1970s.

Stewart defeated Sekora in the race, and the two mayors eventually made peace.

“I’m glad we reconciled,” Stewart wrote.

Sekora had initially persuaded Stewart to run for mayor, offering that same support to others including Douglas College board chair Adel Gamar.

“Lou encouraged me to run for mayor, telling me that serving as mayor was one of the most rewarding things he had ever done,” Gamar wrote in a social media post. “I’m grateful for his many years of service to our community. Coquitlam has lost a good man.”