There are two people vying for the mayor’s seat in Red Deer.
Red Deer’s incumbent Mayor Tara Veer is being challenged for the city’s top job by Sean Burke, an unconventional candidate with social issues on his agenda.
As CEO of his own digital advertising provider, Burke revealed in an interview that he’s a recovered crystal meth addict, who wants to reach out to the “lost souls … (since) I was one of them.”
Burke, who is now 36, was 21 when he became a drug addict briefly while living in Edmonton and trying to fit in.
During this period, he was also convicted and sentenced to community service for staging a fake robbery at the hotel where he worked.
While he knows some people will hold his past against him, he believes a lot of others will relate to his overcoming previous difficulties and desire to go forward to serve his community in a positive way.
Considering the dismal voter turn out in the last municipal election, Burke many citizens don’t feel represented by establishment candidates.
He wants to fight homelessness and clean up the city. Burke said he was inspired to run for office after seeing Oprah Winfrey during her show in a Calgary arena in 2013. “It was the best session of my life … the largest classroom … I learned so many things.”
Veer said she welcomes the chance to run a democratic race.
“I never presume anything from the public. I believe in democracy and the will of the people,” said incumbent, who’s running for her second mayoral term, after previously serving for three terms as a city councillor.
Veer is running on platforms of fiscal responsibility, improving core services, protecting the environment, and advocating for community needs.
The former executive director of the Children’s Ministry for Living Stones Church is especially hoping to get a renewed mandate from the community to keep working on increasing public safety in the city. “There remains significant challenges and opportunities.”
She also wants to “elevate Red Deer’s voice” in lobbying the province for a local hospital expansion and to give Red Deer College polytechnic status.
After grappling with economic and social challenges over the past four years, in which Veer was working with council on a new policing plan, and “to build community life in Red Deer,” she hopes the public will recognize her passion for the city and her strong work ethic.
The municipal election is Oct. 16.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com