Chad Krahn is a Red Deer city council candidate.
Do you ever think that Red Deer could be so much better? It can! Population growth has slowed and businesses haven’t increased since 2002 – yet neighbouring communities keep increasing significantly. I have some ideas.
Do the next simple thing
It turns out kids, friends and cities all change and improve the same way – you love them unconditionally while inspiring them with high expectations.
We need to push for smart, bottom-up change – find the next simple thing we can do to make our neighbourhoods and our city better. This starts with strategic little bets that we can take to say yes – to new ideas and new ways of doing things. This can look like finding a way to pave a well-worn dirt path, coming up with innovative ways of slowing down traffic in a school zone, or reducing barriers for local businesses. The next simple thing works!
Promote young families
Red Deer is a great place to raise a family and our demographics reflect that. Young families are exactly what cities need to grow. Yet our current city council is missing the important voice of young families.
My wife and I are committed to raising our kids, who are 7, 5 and newborn as well as twin 2-year-old foster kids, in Red Deer. As a young father, I will be a voice for young families, promoting this city as the best place to raise a family in Alberta. Red Deer, the ‘City in a Park’ has so much to offer young families, and we are living proof. Raising a family is hard enough, and we must make sure that government doesn’t make it more complicated. Keeping taxes low and focusing on the key services that we all enjoy are simple ways we can ensure Red Deer realizes its potential.
Say yes to innovators
As Red Deer grows into its city-identity, we are experiencing new challenges to which we must find creative solutions! As a city, we must seek to say yes to innovators rather than defaulting to “no” or “maybe later,” a practice that has been driving away business. Doing things the way we have always done it won’t cut it anymore. Red Deer is too often a city that thinks like a small town, rather than a great city with a small town feel.
There must be a customer service attitude within city hall towards entrepreneurs and those who want to invest in Red Deer. We are long overdue for a concerted effort to reduce red tape within the city. Governments are typically far more comfortable adding regulations rather than removing them – but this is the critical work that must be done to see Red Deer grow into the great city we know it needs to be.
I can help
I am proud to be a community builder in Red Deer! I serve as the president of the Riverside Meadows Community Association where I work to create opportunities for neighbours to connect and form community. One of my proudest accomplishments was seeing a vacant lot transformed into a community garden, which has become a neighbourhood feature.
I also have experience in politics – advocating for important local issues, helping people navigate government programs, and working with people who love Red Deer to do the next simple thing to improve our community.
Previously, I have worked in a number of fields. I have spent time working with underprivileged youth, pouring concrete, sorting helicopter parts, organizing a benefit concert, stocking shelves, and preaching sermons. I also hold a Masters in Theological Studies.
Will you join me in doing the next simple thing?