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Watch: Johnston hopes Red Deer will vote for him again

He is vying for a second term
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Incumbent Ken Johnston is seeking a second term as a Red Deer city councillor. Photo supplied

It’s a privilege to serve.

That’s how one-term incumbent Ken Johnston describes his past four years as a councillor for the City of Red Deer. He is now vying for a second term.

Johnston describes his first term as a steep learning curve, and he is hoping people can see he has received an “A” on his final results and vote for him again.

“I’m getting a lot of feedback on the job I’m doing, which is encouraging,” he said.

Johnston advocates for safe neighbourhoods. He has worked on community safety strategy that was adopted by council in 2016.

Along with his council colleagues, he supported 2019 Canada Winter Games coming to Red Deer.

He wants to advocate for crime prevention and lobby for expansion at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. At a recent rally for the hospital, Johnston took to the stage and advocated for the same.

“I dare to dream in the next five years we will get the expansion and some of the cardiac support services we desperately need,” he said.

From his conversations with the general public during campaigning, he said he knows the current council has done well, and he is looking for another opportunity to continue doing exactly that.

“They have high expectations in terms of quality of life in Red Deer. It’s near and dear to them, and they want to maintain that,” he said.

The city has economic potential especially with 2019 Canada Winter Games — which is a step in the right direction, said Johnston.

From a social issues point of view, he said he knows the city has a lot of work ahead such as dealing with the opioid crisis and legalization of marijuana.

He wants to keep working towards making Red Deer a safer community for everyone to live. He wants the community to be closely knit together and, therefore, vouches for neighbourhood development.

He is also happy the city is able to work closely with Red Deer College to make it a polytechnic institute.

mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com