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A third candidate enters Red Deer’s fall mayoral race

Two additional people are campaigning for seats on city council
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So far, three mayoral candidates are campaigning for the job now held by Tara Veer — who has yet to announce whether she will be seeking re-election. (File photo by Advocate staff)

A third candidate has declared his intention to become the next mayor of Red Deer in the fall election.

Dwight Hickey, a local businessman and entrepreneur, is running on a platform of bringing more employment to the city.

Red Deer hasn’t fully taken advantage of its central location, states Hickey on his Facebook page. “That giant Costco in Edmonton should have been ours, we could have serviced both Calgary and Edmonton from it,” he stated.

“Amazon shipping should be here, as we are the most central location…. (We need) large job opportunities to keep our workforce local.”

A strong city council can use tax options and land investment as levers to get companies to locate here, continued Hickey. “This would greatly improve our local economy, and create a more unified Red Deer.”

Two other mayoral candidates previously declared their intention to seek the city’s highest office on election day, Oct. 18: Brad Magee, a former oilfield supervisor and truck driver, and Jeremy Moore, an electrician who runs his own company.

The three are campaigning for the job now held by Tara Veer – who hasn’t yet announced whether she will be seeking re-election.

City council candidates Grace Joy Engel and Sadia Khan are also the latest to announce their campaigns.

Engel is making good on the promise she made to run for council after her hair salon was broken into in January 2020. She stated at the time that crime and unemployment need to change in Red Deer.

Engel’s platform, as shared on Facebook, consists of diversifying and bringing new employment opportunities to the city, advocating for a new trauma centre for Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre, and for changing the overdose prevention site into a therapeutic rehabilitation facility to help those with drug addictions.

Khan is mother and a court and community support worker for the Central Alberta Sex Assault Centre. On her Facebook page, she stated she wants to be progressive, inclusive and “committed to representing all voices in my community.”

Her platform includes helping the downtown by reviving under-utilized properties and by fostering entrepreneurship. “Downtown Red Deer is the heart of this city, and having a healthy heart is essential to having a strong community,” stated Khan.

She also wants to help tackle unemployment, the lack of accessible housing, and to encourage youth participation in municipal issues.

Engel and Khan will be running against previously announced city council candidates Graham Barclay, Matt Chapin, Ryan Laloge, Sheyi Olubowale, and Janise Somer.

Jaelene Tweedle, who ran for the Red Deer Public School Board in the last election is running again. “I believe to the core of my being, that strong, healthy school environments create strong, healthy communities,” Tweedle posted on Facebook.

“There is so much more than the reading, writing, and arithmetic that go on within the walls of our schools… The humanity, character and sense of belonging that grow (there) …make our community that much better.”

Previously announced 2021 public school trustee candidates are: Matt Chapin, Terri Grills and Meagan Parisian.

So far no other incumbents on city council or the two local school boards, have yet announced whether they will stand for re-election.



lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

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