Town of Barrhead council candidates attended an open forum for the upcoming municipal election at the Seniors Drop-In Centre Oct. 4.
The seven candidates, Greg Semenchuk, Rod Klumph, Ty Assaf, Don Smith, Leslie Penny, Shelley Oswald and Dausen Kluin are each competing for six available seats and answered a variety of questions including what they hoped to accomplish over the next four years, what could be done regarding sidewalk issues and their respective plans for economic development. Town council elections differ from county elections in that there are no divisions or wards within the town proper.
The majority of the candidates said they believed teamwork and cooperation with their county counterparts is as important as a balanced budget, community involvement, communication, and sidewalk maintenance.
“It doesn’t matter what your ideas are if you can’t take action on them and if there is no teamwork, nothing is going to work,” Semenchuk said.
Oswald, who previously served as a town councillor and is seeking re-election, agreed with him.
“Our current success and our future development relies on better communication and collaboration with all levels of government whether that is federal, provincial or municipal,” Oswald said, noting it is important to recognize that working together is better for all involved.
And Kluin concurred, acknowledging that building a stronger relationship with the county was vital to the success of the town.
For their own parts, Assaf and Smith who, like Oswald and Penny, are seeking re-election, acknowledged that the last four years have been challenging.
“That’s one of the reasons why I chose to run again,” Assaf said, noting he is passionate about the issues that affect every resident’s life on a daily basis.
“I could stand here and say I want economic development, more roads and sidewalks, that I want a safer community, but you tell me who amongst all of the candidates doesn’t want that? What I want to see is a better relationship with our county partners because by working together, we will have one another’s respect and I know that our goals can be achieved,” he said.
Smith agreed.
“The last four years were probably the toughest four I’ve ever had as a councillor,” Smith said, adding there were some really difficult conversations with respect to amalgamation.
“Those were very tough talks. We didn’t achieve what I feel is the right thing for the Barrhead area but looking forward, it is time to put some of that stuff behind us and look for ways that we [town and county] can work together to make this area a place we all want to live and raise our families in.”
Klumph, who is trained in financial management, said he believes in a balanced budget.
“I have many years of accounting experience behind me. I also believe in an efficient use of resources and keeping costs to a minimum,” Klumph said, adding his vision for Barrhead includes ample green-space for children and adults alike and economic development that is orchestrated to fit in with the community’s needs.
On a question regarding economic development and why town council has chosen not to engage the local business community, Assaf pointed out that as the town’s representative at bi-monthly Barrhead &District Chamber of Commerce meetings, he recently had a chance to participate in a workshop put on by Alberta Labour representative Kristy Tuts with respect to Business Support Networks.
“This program allows its partners such as the town, the county and business-owners themselves to come to a round-table type meeting and ask questions which enables us to find out what the challenging trends our communities are facing,” Assaf said, noting by the end of the meeting [Sept. 21] he was excited by the prospect of having Barrhead involved.
“In the past, we have tried to sit down, the chamber with the town and the county, but we always needed someone to initiate the discussion. With Alberta Labour coming on board and spearheading this, I’m very excited for the future. We’ll be able to come to the table, work together and collaborate to the benefit of all.”
