A second Red Deer city councillor has entered the mayor's race.
Victor Doerksen will join Coun. Lawrence Lee, who announced in January he will seek council's top job. John Gallagher, Sean Burke and Gareth Scott are also running.
"Continuity on council is important and new faces are important, said Doerksen, 71, who was first elected to council in 2021.
"I think it's also important to offer Red Deerians a choice at the mayor's position and my background lends itself to that. I offer myself as that choice."
Doerksen said he believes he can work well with the current administration and is not trying to re-invent the priorities set out in February and which he believes remain the best way forward.
The city is facing a number of challenges that he wants to see addressed in the next four years.
"We have limited sources of revenue. We don't have a reserve account. We need to fill that back up," he said, adding he would like to see reserves built up to around $20 million.
"We need some economic vitality," he said, adding that will be measured in growth in new businesses and construction and job creation that exceeds population growth, so newcomers have jobs to go to.
"We also need to address social disorder, which I think is a huge barrier to the success of Red Deer."
Success on the social disorder front will be measured by a reduction in the number of homeless and improved crime statistics, he added.
Doerksen also would like to see some changes in how the city is run.
"In terms of administration, one thing I would like to work on is I think we are heavily process-oriented," he said. "I'd like to see administration focus more on outcomes – getting to action faster."
He would also like to see administration remain focused. "It's easy to get going down rabbit trails and I think I can bring focus to what we're trying to achieve."
Doerksen points to his "unique background" of public service, at both city council and provincial Legislature levels and is experienced in not-for-profit management and board leadership, and banking and business management.
A former banker, Doerksen entered provincial politics in 1993, becoming Red Deer-South MLA and was re-elected three more times. He dropped out in 2006 in an unsuccessful bid for the Progressive Conservative Party leadership. He did not seek re-election in 2008.
He was one of four councillors to vote against the 2025 city budget, which called for a 10.5 per cent municipal tax rate increase (later reduced to 10.35 per cent), saying more alternatives should have been explored.
The municipal election takes place Oct. 20.
