OLDS - January’s byelection marks the second time Keith Bishop is vying for a seat on council.
Bishop has been a resident of Olds for seven years and ran in the 2017 municipal election, losing out by 33 votes.
A fair bit has changed in town since then, he said, noting not all of it is negative like the downturn in the economy.
“I think the town is trying to push the beautification of the town more -- beautification of the main drag which is something I was pushing for last time around,” said Bishop.
He would like to explore further opportunities to beautify neighbourhoods, such as giving a tax credit for each tree planted in a property owner’s front yard.
“I say explore because I’m not a politician and there might be a better way to make that happen. But the truth of it is, I go into the newer neighbourhoods and there’s three trees. And I think, you guys, you’re not thinking ahead. We need to keep the beautification of the town in mind,” Bishop said.
The married father of six grown children said he’s not big on debt.
“Obviously we had to be frugal (as a family) and so my fiscal approach is definitely balancing budgets and yet also having a forward thinking approach to municipal planning,” he said. “I think we’re better to live within our means as much as we possibly can.
His professional background, he said, lends itself well to the demands of being a member of council.
He currently works from home serving as the vice-president of Vanguard College, and is in charge of strategic partnership development.
Bishop has served on numerous boards and committees including the Alberta registered nurse ethics committee and several municipal hospital pastoral care committees. Bishop has also been a general contractor and been involved in crisis management.
He’s running to be one voice on a council of seven and says he will listen to concerns.
“I will bring forward their concerns in an honest, forthright manner. I won’t make promises I can’t keep. I just don’t do that,” he said.
Since declaring his candidacy, Bishop has been out in the community, talking with potential voters.
“The things I’m hearing at the door -- and I've talked to a lot of people recently -- I hear people concerned about their assessment on their property. They feel they are over-assessed and therefore the tax rate on their personal dwelling is too high,” said Bishop.
He said he’s also hearing concerns about the smell of marijuana that sometimes emanates from the southeast corner of town.
“I’m hearing a lot of that. And so I truly believe that we can minimize it. I don’t think we’re going to be able to get rid of it. And I think we have to look at that. How can we minimize the odour coming off the marijuana grow-ops,” he said.
Other concerns include ensuring town staff have a business-friendly customer service attitude so new businesses choose to locate in Olds as opposed to other locations.
“So I think we can work on that. As I say in my platform, I think we have to insist on a business-friendly customer service attitude of all of our employees of the town and pull in the same direction and say hey, we are working for the public, not the other way around,” said Bishop.
He said the town has a tremendous amount going for it.
“It’s certainly not all negative by no means, but can we do better? The answer is I believe we can.”
Going forward, Bishop said there are opportunities to strengthen the uptown core and to seek opportunities to fill vacant buildings.
“I do think we want to continue to make decisions that are going to strengthen uptown Olds. I believe we are admired by a number of communities because of the strength of our uptown core. I believe that’s extremely important to continue.”
Bishop joins Mitch Thomson, Sundai Cody, Rudy Durieux, Darcy Dobush, Darren Wilson and Jan Thompson in the race. The byelection will be held on Jan. 20.
