The race for seats on Sundre's council is heating up. With the municipal election looming around the corner for Oct. 16 — and the advanced vote scheduled for Oct. 6 — eligible Sundre voters have many candidates to choose from.
The race for seats on Sundre's council is heating up.
With the municipal election looming around the corner for Oct. 16 — and the advanced vote scheduled for Oct. 6 — eligible Sundre voters have many candidates to choose from.
Running for the next four-year term are nine council hopefuls — incumbents Nolan Blatchford, Cheri Funke and Paul Isaac, as well as former councillor Pat Toone, and newcomers Todd Dalke, Sean Davis, Charlene Preston, Richard Warnock and Robert Wolfe. There are also two mayoral candidates: incumbent Terry Leslie and current councillor Chris Vardas. Not seeking re-election are councillors Verna McFadden and Myron Thompson.
Click here for profiles on the mayoral candidates, and click here for profiles on the council candidates. Click here for coverage of last week's election forum held at the Sundre Legion. Anyone who missed the Sept. 26 forum still has an opportunity to attend the second and final forum on Oct. 11.
There are plenty of hurdles the new council will face and strive to overcome: create plans to foster future growth; diversify the local economy to reduce dependency on residential taxation; whether to proceed with municipally-owned broadband Internet infrastructure; promoting tourism, arts, culture and recreation; get the ball rolling on plans to upgrade the wastewater treatment facility; and improving relations and collaborative efforts with municipal neighbours and partners such as Mountain View County to establish mutually beneficial agreements.
Needless to say, the candidates who have commendably stepped up to the proverbial plate will — if elected — have their work cut out for them.
Now that dedicated members of the community have stepped up to play their part in the municipal election to provide residents with options, voters also have to make an effort to get engaged.
The council and mayor hopefuls are fully aware that their decision to run represents a significant commitment to the community. And if the candidates can find the countless hours required to become involved, surely the rest of us can find a few minutes to catch up on the issues to determine which potential members of council will best represent us.
For better or for worse, the new council will steer Sundre into the future over the course of the next four years.
Those who neglect to learn about the candidates and fail to cast a ballot should not expect anyone to be interested in hearing their grievances. Some of us modern consumers will patiently wait hours in line for a sale item; surely we can wait a few minutes in line to vote.
Sundre, as with most smaller municipalities, historically has experienced voter turnouts that leave a lot to be desired. This year, let's turn that track record around and set an example for the community's youth, who might well one day become involved in the local leadership — or not, depending on the example we set. After all, why should they go out of their way to eventually get involved if we couldn't be bothered?
So do not miss out on your opportunity to be a part of the process that will determine who our community's leaders will be.
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Those who neglect to learn about the candidates and fail to cast a ballot should not expect anyone to be interested in hearing their grievances. Some of us modern consumers will patiently wait in line for a sale item; surely we can wait a few minutes in line to vote.
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Now that candidates have stepped up to play their part in the municipal election to provide residents with options, voters also have to make an effort to get engaged.
