OLDS — During a town hall meeting, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper defended the fact that he hasn’t spoken out forcefully on behalf of his constituents, saying he gets more done for the constituency by being diplomatic.
About 20 people attended the roughly one-hour event, held Aug. 30 at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #105 in Olds.
Cooper said by not being publicly critical of the government, he has managed to build relationships with government officials that have resulted in nearly $70 million worth of provincial discretionary spending in the constituency.
He cited a $14 million building under construction at the Olds College of Agriculture & Technology as an example of that.
He said if you add in the money that normally flows to municipalities for spending on things like roads and other projects, that figure jumps to more than $150 million.
Cooper alluded to the fact that he is also the speaker of the legislature. As such, he maintains order during debate.
“People say, ‘oh well, if you’re the speaker, we don’t really have a voice in Edmonton.’ Or ‘how do you advocate for us?’ Or, ‘you never speak up because you’re just trying to keep your cushy job.’” Cooper said, spurring a few giggles.
“It is far more effective in politics to accomplish things with honey instead of vinegar," he said.
"I know that there are lots of times when people would like to see me on the internet or in the public domain, expressing a much more adamant position that perhaps represents constituents.
“But I also know that rarely have I seen that be effective in terms of getting the things that we actually desire, whether that’s policy change or investment in our region.
“And so, as your member and as an elected official, there’s always this balancing act of how do we make sure that the government is hearing from constituents?
At the same time, making sure that we are not marginalizing our ability to get things done.”
“All across the constituency, we’ve seen more investment in the last five years than the previous decade combined," Cooper said.
"So while sometimes it can be frustrating, because you won’t see me criticizing government public policy in the newspaper or on the internet or – you know -- calling any of my colleagues names, on the flip side of that coin is getting what I believe to be very positive results for our region, all at the same time.”
